Product Description

In our modern, materialistic world it is easy to separate spirituality from everyday life. But spirituality is not just for saints, neither is it confined to the Sunday Service, Friday prayers or holy books. It must be a part of our ordinary, everyday existence: it needs to be implicitly present in business, in politics, in farming, in cooking, and in our relationships. To illustrate this, Satish Kumar draws on the Indian Ayurvedic tradition which characterises the mind as having three gunas, or primary qualities: sattva (characterised by calmness, clarity and purity), rajas (energy and passion), and tamas (dullness and ignorance). These qualities can be applied to our work and the environment: for example, there are sattvic foods, rajasic foods and tamasic foods. The Ayurvedic aim is to live a life which is simple and close to nature (sattvic), to reduce rajasic tendencies, and to avoid tamasic. When we see ourselves in the light of the three gunas, they can orient us towards the direction in which we wish to go. They can help us to recover the art of living, and lead us towards a peaceful and contented existence. Extending the meaning of spirtuality further, Satish explains that there is no dualism between spirit and matter?all matter is imbued with spirit, and spirit manifests through matter. This integrated world-view forms the core of his book.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #48755 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 160 pages

Review
"This book by Satish Kumar is wonderful. Full of wisdom, it is simple and elegant, displaying the quality of sattva as he himself defines it with profound and original insight." --Ravi Ravindra, Emeritus Professor of Comparative Religion and Professor of Physics, Dalhousie University, and author of 'The Spiritual Roots of Yoga'

From the Inside Flap
In our modern, materialistic world it is easy to separate spirituality from everyday life. But spirituality is not just for saints, nor is it confined to religious services or holy books. It must be a part of our ordinary, everyday existence: it needs to be implicitly present in business, politics, farming, cooking - and in our relationships.
To illustrate this, Satish Kumar draws on the Indian Ayurvedic tradition, which characterises the mind as having three gunas, or primary qualities: sattva (calmness, clarity and purity), rajas (passion and energy), and tamas (dullness and ignorance). These qualities can be applied to our work and the environment: for example, there are sattvic foods, rajasic foods and tamasic foods. The Ayurvedic aim is to live a life which is simple and close to nature (sattvic), to reduce rajasic tendencies, and to avoid tamasic. When we see ourselves in the light of the three gunas, they can orient us towards the direction in which we wish to go. They can help us to recover the art of living, and lead us towards a peaceful and contented existence.
Satish explains that there is no dualism between spirit and matter - all matter is imbued with spirit, and spirit manifests through matter. This integrated worldview forms the core of his book.

About the Author
Satish Kumar is an internationally renowned speaker on
ecological and spiritual issues. A recent guest on Desert Island Discs, he
is editor of Resurgence and author of No Destination, You Are Therefore I
Am and The Buddha and the Terrorist. He lives in north Devon.

Customer Reviews

Spirituality without the usual nonsense
Most of the so-called spiritual books I've come across are full of pseudo-religious nonsense. I hope Satish Kumar's work doesn't get lumped in with the mass of literature that I fear it might.

This is a genuinely spiritual and thought-provoking book, applying ancient Indian religious philosophy and Mr Kumar's own ethical and environmental views to the modern world in general. Having mentioned religion, I should say it's not a religious text and shouldn't upset or conflict with anyone's existing religious beliefs.

Speaking personally, it gave me new insight into myself and the world at large. I can't recommend it highly enough.

A wonderful Guide.
This book offers guidance for living in the modern world using age old Indian/Jain philosophy. It should be read slowly as some of the concepts may not immediately come easy to a western mindset. I found it a great read and dip into it frequently.

Cheers

Everyone should read this book
I hate it when people say "everyone should read this book", but ... everyone really should read this one! It is beautiful, elegant, inspiring, life changing and very very important. Please, read it!