svadhyaya (Study)
The goal of a sevaka is create a person with character, morality, and ethics who can create serve others and lead a meaningful life. As part of this journey, my goal is to have books that every sevaka should read and internalize.
sastras
There are only three essential texts that every sevaka must read and internalize. By interanlizing these three texts, a sevaka gains a strong foundation in dharma, devotion, discipline, and liberation.
- Tulsidas - Hanuman Chalisa. Bhakti/Karma Yoga. Become Hanuman.
- Patanjali - Yoga Sutras. Raja Yoga. Discipline oneself both body and mind.
- Vyasa - Bhagavad Gita. Philosophy of the Real.
Most of the focus of the pravachan will be on these three texts.
Western-Eastern Synthesis
While I think the three primary texts are sufficient for a lifetime of study limiting oneself to just three texts we miss out on a lot of the great works of literature, philosophy, history, and statecraft that have shaped human civilization over the millennia. There are great texts from the West as well as the East that can help us build a more complete moral compass.
- Epic & Heroism
- 📚 Valmiki – Rāmāyaṇa
- ✔️ Vyasa – Mahābhārata
- Vyasa – Bhāgavata Purāṇa
- 📚 Homer – Iliad
- 📚 Homer – Odyssey
- Mind & Discipline
- Shankaracharya – Atma Bodha
- Epictetus – Discourses / Enchiridion
- Cicero – On Duties
- 📚 Marcus Aurelius – Meditations
- Aristotle – Nicomachean Ethics
- St. Augustine – Confessions
- Chanakya – Chanakya Niti
- Liberation & Dharma
- 📚 Ramakrishna Paramahamsa – Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
- 📚 Swami Vivekananda – Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
- 📚 Vāsiṣṭha – Yoga Vāsiṣṭha
- 📚 Didymus Judas Thomas – Gospel of Thomas
- Thomas à Kempis – Imitation of Christ
- 📚 Upaniṣads
- Dante – Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso)
- Literature & Human Psychology
- Plutarch – Lives
- Kālidāsa – The Recognition of Śakuntalā
- Rabindranath Tagore – Gora
- Shakespeare – Hamlet
- Shakespeare – King Lear
- Shakespeare – Macbeth
- Shakespeare – The Tempest
- Dostoevsky – The Brothers Karamazov
- Dostoevsky – Crime and Punishment
- Tolstoy – War and Peace
- 📚 Tolstoy – Anna Karenina
- 📚 Gabriel García Márquez – 100 Years of Solitude
- Kazuo Ishiguro - The Remains of the Day
Yoga-Vedanta
These are texts by Swami Sivananda, Swami Chinmayananda, Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya), Swami Vivekananda and Sri Ramakrishna that focus on the philosophy and practice of Yoga and Vedanta. They are divided into three sections: Hanuman Chalisa (Karma/Bhakti Yoga), Patanjali's Yoga Sutras (Raja Yoga), and Bhagavad Gita (Jnana Yoga).
- ✔️ Hanuman Chailasi
- Narada Bhakti Sutras
- Prayer Guide by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Purpose of Prayer by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Vishnu Sahasranama by Chinmayananda
- Shri Shiva Sahasranamastotram Namavali by Chinmayananda
- Purpose of Prayer by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- The Gospel of Ramakrishna
- The Gospel of the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi
- Vivekananda: A Biography by Nikhilananda
- Vivekananda Volume 3 / Bhakti Yoga and Nationalism
- Vivekananda Volume 4 / Bhakti Yoga
- Imitation of Christ
- Confessions by St. Augistine
- Philokalia
- Life and Teachings of Lord Jesus by Swami Sivananda
- Confessions by St. Augistine
- Hindu Gods and Goddesses by Swami Sivananda
- Lives of Saints by Swami Sivananda
- Sixty-three Nayanar Saints by Swami Sivananda
- Essence of Gita in Poems by Swami Sivananda
- Essays In Philosophy by Swami Sivananda
- Imitation of Christ
- Vivekananda Volume 5 / Interviews
- Vivekananda Volume 7 / Talks
- Vivekananda Volume 4 / Bhakti Yoga
- Vivekananda Volume 3 / Bhakti Yoga and Nationalism
- The Ramayana of Valmiki
- Essence of Ramayana by Swami Sivananda
- Beauties of Ramayana by Swami Sivananda
- Yoga Vāsiṣṭha
- Lord Siva and His Worship by Sivananda
- Bhagavata / Srimad Bhagavatam
- Krishna: The Beautiful Legend of God
- Bhakti Yoga by Edwin Bryant
- Lord Krishna, His Lilas and Teachings by Swami Sivananda
- Bhagavad-Gita by Madhusudana Saraswati
- Ananda Lahari by Swami Sivananda
- Bhakti Schools of Vedanta
- Essence of Bhakti Yoga by Swami Sivananda
- Bhakti and Sankirtan by Swami Sivananda
- Do All Religions Have the Same Goal? by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- All About Hinduism by Swami Sivananda
- Unity of Religions by Swami Sivananda
- Ramanuja Gita Bhayasa
- Moments With Krishna by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Hinduism and Its Uniqueness by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Sri Rudram by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Essence of Bhakti Yoga by Swami Sivananda
- Shiva Puranas
- My Trek Through Uttarakhand by Swami Chinmayananda
- Mahavakya Vichara by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Linga Purana
- Uddhava Gita
- Gurupurnima by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Guru-Bhakti Yoga by Swami Sivananda
- the True Teacher by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Geeta For Children by swami chinmayananda
- I Love You: Letters to Children by swami chinmayananda
- Ashtavakra Gita by Chinmayananda
- The Devi Mahatmya by Swami Sivananda
- Bhagavata / Srimad Bhagavatam
- ✔️ Bhagavad Gita
- Vivekananda Volume 2 / Jnana Yoga
- Vivekananda Volume 6
- Vivekananda Volume 8 / Jnana Talks
- Vivekananda Volume 9 / Gita
- Kindle Life by Swami Chinmayananda
- Holy Geeta by Swami Chinmayananda
- Vedic View and Way of Life by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Living Versus Getting On by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Successful Living by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- What You Love is the Pleased Self by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Sadhana and the Sadhya by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- You Are the Whole by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Insights by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Knowledge and Action: The Two Fold Commitment by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Problem is You, the Solution is You by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Fundamental Problem by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Danam by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Personnel Management by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Action and Reaction by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Living Intelligently by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Discovering Love by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Value of Values by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Surrender and Freedom by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- in the Vision of Vedanta by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Talks and Essays (Vol. ii) by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Talks and Essays (Vol. iii) by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Conversion is Violence by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Vakya Vritti by Chinmayananda
- Dharma by Chinmayananda
- Tune in the Mind by Chinmayananda
- Religion and Human Values by Chinmayananda
- Art of God Symbolism by Chinmayananda
- Sadhana Panchakam by Chinmayananda
- Hinduism by Chinmayananda
- My Prayers by Chinmayananda
- As I Think by Chinmayananda
- The Logic of Spirituality by Chinmayananda
- Forgive Me by Chinmayananda
- Seek the Eternal by Chinmayananda
- Know What You Have! by Chinmayananda
- Perform and Reform by Chinmayananda
- Pursuit of Happiness by Chinmayananda
- Successful Living by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Can We? by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Freedom by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Teaching Tradition of Advaita Vedanta by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Teaching of the Bhagavad Gita by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- First Lessons in Vedanta by Swami Sivananda
- Essence of Vedanta by Swami Sivananda
- Lectures on Yoga and Vedanta by Swami Sivananda
- Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Gems of Prayers by Swami Sivananda
- Lord Shanmukha and His Worship by Swami Sivananda
- Self-Knowledge by Swami Sivananda
- Ethics of the Bhagavad Gita by Swami Sivananda
- Sadhana Pancakam by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Śaṅkara's commentary on the Gita by Gambinanda
- Bhagavad Gita (Sivananda)
- The Bhagavad Gita by Swami Sivananda
- The Bhagavadgita Explained by Swami Sivananda
- Jivanmukta Gita by Swami Sivananda
- Exploring Vedanta by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Introduction to Vedanta: Understanding the Fundamental Problem by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- SWEEPING LOOK AT THE VEDANTA by Swami Chinmayananda
- Self Unfoldment by Swami Chinmayananda
- Adi Shankaracharya's Bhaja Govindam by Chinmayananda
- Drg-Drśya Viveka
- Vedanta Lecture for Drg-Drsya / https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDqahtm2vA728mT-GFH6F-vN2YsS1h72x
- Drk-Drsya-Viveka by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Vedanta Sara
- Vedanta Lecture for Drg-Drsya / https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDqahtm2vA728mT-GFH6F-vN2YsS1h72x
- Tattvabodhaḥ / https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXE0ny857B-oDuJeCZhkXrWhGXZUALRRw&si=p4zos8-WuonaOk3W
- Aparokṣānubhūti
- https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDqahtm2vA710Q4PA2yKn8kqS0y-SZNo7&si=tWSTnUdWPF9DNiI9
- Aparokshanubhuti/Intimate Experience Of The Reality by Swami chinmayananda
- Atma Bodha
- Self Knowledge by Nikelananda
- Art of Man Making Vol 1 by Swami Chinmayananda
- Art of Man Making Vol 2 by Swami Chinmayananda
- Essence of Principal Upanishads by Swami Sivananda
- The Principal Upanishads by Swami Sivananda
- Upanishads Book 1 - Nikilananda
- Upanishads Book 2 - Nikilananda
- Upanishads Book 3 - Nikilananda
- Upanishads Book 4 - Nikilananda
- Dialogues From The Upanishads by Swami Sivananda
- Gambhirananda
- Upanishads 1
- Upanishads 2
- Vivekachudamani by Chinmayananda
- Vivekachudamani: Talks On 108 Selected Verses by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Nārada Bhakti Sūtra
- Kena (KeUp), Samaveda
- Kenopanishad by Chinmayananda
- Kenopanishad by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- We Must by Chinmayananda
- Bhagavad Gita Book 1 by Swami Dayananda Saraswati
- Bhagavad Gita Book 2 by Swami Dayananda Saraswati
- Bhagavad Gita Book 3 by Swami Dayananda Saraswati
- Kaṭha (KaUp), Yajurveda
- Kathopanishad by Chinmayananda
- Kathopanishad by Swami Sivananda
- Bhagavad Gita Book 4 by Swami Dayananda Saraswati
- Īśā (IsUp), Yajurveda
- Isavasya Upanisad by Chinmayananda
- Isavasya Upanishad by Swami Sivananda
- Purnamadah Purnamidam by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Bhagavad Gita Book 5 by Swami Dayananda Saraswati
- Muṇḍaka (MuUp), Atharvaveda
- Mundakopanishad by Chinmayananda
- Mundakopanishad (2 volume set) by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Bhagavad Gita Book 6 by Swami Dayananda Saraswati
- Kaivalya Upanishad by Chinmayananda
- Taittirīya (TaiUp), Yajurveda
- Taittiriya Upanishad by Chinmayananda
- Taittiriya Upanishad (2 volume set) by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Bhagavad Gita Book 7 by Swami Dayananda Saraswati
- Aitareya, (AiUp), Rigveda
- Aitareya Upanishad by Chinmayananda
- Aitareya Upanishad by Swami Sivananda
- Praśna (PrUp), Atharvaveda
- Prashnopanishad by Chinmayananda
- Bhagavad Gita Book 8 by Swami Dayananda Saraswati
- Bhagavad Gita Book 9 by Swami Dayananda Saraswati
- Māṇḍūkya (MaUp), Atharvaveda
- Mandukya Upanishad by Chinmayananda
- Mandukya Upanishad (4 volume set) by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Chāndogya (ChhUp), Samaveda
- Bṛhadāraṇyaka (BṛUp), Yajurveda
- Bṛhadāraṇyaka by Gambhirananda
- The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad by Swami Sivananda
- Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita
- Brahma Sutras
- Brahma Sutras by Swami Sivananda
- Ashtavakra Gītā
- Māṇḍūkya (MaUp), Atharvaveda
- Bhagavad Gita Book 9 by Swami Dayananda Saraswati
- Aitareya, (AiUp), Rigveda
- Muṇḍaka (MuUp), Atharvaveda
- Īśā (IsUp), Yajurveda
- Kaṭha (KaUp), Yajurveda
- Bhagavad Gita Book 3 by Swami Dayananda Saraswati
- Bhagavad Gita Book 2 by Swami Dayananda Saraswati
- Kena (KeUp), Samaveda
- The Principal Upanishads by Swami Sivananda
- Aparokṣānubhūti
- Drg-Drśya Viveka
- Adi Shankaracharya's Bhaja Govindam by Chinmayananda
- Holy Geeta by Swami Chinmayananda
- Vivekananda Volume 2 / Jnana Yoga
- Prayer Guide by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Narada Bhakti Sutras
- ✔️ Yoga Sutras
- Meditation and Spiritual Life
- Vivekananda Volume 1 / Karma and Raja Yoga
- Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali by Hariharananda
- Stress-Free Living by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Conquest of Anger by Sivananda
- Freedom from Stress by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- What's Meditation? by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- How to Overcome Mental Tension
- Ideal of Married Life by Sivananda
- Conquest of Fear by Sivananda
- Freedom in Relationship by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Friendship: The Essence of Vedic Marriage by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Understanding Between Parents and Children by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Freedom from Fear by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Wedding Ceremony Based On Hindu Concepts by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Crisis Management by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Yoga of Objectivity by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Talks and Essays (Vol. i) by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Freedom from Helplessness by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Freedom from Sadness by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Essence of Yoga by Sivananda
- Raja Yoga by Sivananda
- Yoga Darshan by Yoga Publications Trust / Satyananda Saraswati
- Sadhana by Sivananda
- Meditation: Monks of the Ramakrishna Order
- The Eternal Companion by Swami Prabhavananda
- Essentials of Spiritual Life
- Meditation and Its Preparation
- Meditation According to Yoga-Vedanta
- Art of Meditation
- Meditation and Its Practices
- Science of Psychic Phenomena
- Concentration by Swami Sivananda
- Talks On Meditation by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Meditation and Life by Swami Chinmayananda
- Need for Cognitive Change by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Healing Meditations
- Meditation and Other Spiritual Disciplines
- Morning Meditation Prayers by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
- Dyana by Sivananda
- Sri Vijnana Bhairava Tantra: The Ascent
- Man and His Mind
- Mind According to Vedanta
- Will Power and Its Development
- Mind and Its Control
- Conquest of Mind by Swami Sivananda
- Daily Meditations by Swami Sivananda
- Samadhi Yoga by Swami Sivananda
- Spiritual Experiences by Swami Sivananda
- Yoga and Realisation by Swami Sivananda
- Mind – Its Mysteries and Control by Swami Sivananda
- Concentration & Meditation by Swami Sivananda
- Practice of Meditation by Swami Sivananda
- Meditation (Dhyana Yoga) by Swami Sivananda
- Meditation Know-How by Swami Sivananda
- Meditation and its Practices
- Meditation, Ecstasy & Illumination: An Overview of Vedanta
- Meditation, Mind and Patanjali's Yoga: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Growth for Everyone
- Meditation: Its Process, Practice and Culmination
- Paths of Meditation
- Silence as Yoga
- Meditation According to Vedanta
- Yoga: Its Theory and Practice
- Spirituality and Science of Consciousness
- Divine Life: Its Practice and Realisation
- Being Spiritual, Staying Practical
- From Darkness to Light - Selected Writings from Prabuddha Bharata
- Meditations from the Tantras by Yoga Publications Trust / Satyananda Saraswati
- Ananda Gita by Swami Sivananda
- Tantra Yoga, Nada Yoga and Kriya Yoga by Swami Sivananda
- Yoga Darshan by Yoga Publications Trust / Satyananda Saraswati
- Hatha Yoga Pradipika
- Hatha Yoga by Swami Sivananda
- Gheranda Samhita by Yoga Publications Trust / Satyananda Saraswati
- Shiva Samhita
- Sure Ways to Self Realisation by Yoga Publications Trust / Satyananda Saraswati
- A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya
- Four Chapters on Freedom by Swami Satyananda Saraswati
- Bramacharya by Sivananda
- Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha by Yoga Publications Trust / Satyananda Saraswati
- Kundalini Tantra by Yoga Publications Trust / Satyananda Saraswati
- Health and Hatha by Sivananda / Life and Works Volume 2 by Sivananda
- Prana Pranayama by Yoga Publications Trust / Satyananda Saraswati
- Blood Pressure: Its Cause and Cure by Swami Sivananda
- Roots of Yoga
- Health & Diet by Swami Sivananda
- Bazaar Drugs by Swami Sivananda
- A Boon to Diabetics by Swami Sivananda
- Constipation – Its Causes and Cure by Swami Sivananda
- Hindu Fasts and Festivals by Swami Sivananda
- How To Live Hundred Years by Swami Sivananda
- Home Nursing by Swami Sivananda
- Adhyatma Yoga by Swami Sivananda
- Guru Tattva by Swami Sivananda
- Every Man's Yoga by Swami Sivananda
- God Exists by Swami Sivananda
- God-Realisation by Swami Sivananda
- Ethical Teachings by Swami Sivananda
- Bliss Divine by Swami Sivananda
- Analects of Swami Sivananda by Swami Sivananda
- A Trip To Sacred Kailas – Mansarowar by Swami Sivananda
- Autobiography of Swami Sivananda by Swami Sivananda
- Brahma Vidya Vilas by Swami Sivananda
- Brahmacharya Drama by Swami Sivananda
- Come Along Let's Play by Swami Sivananda
- Daily Readings by Swami Sivananda
- Divine Life (A Drama) by Swami Sivananda
- Divine Life For Children by Swami Sivananda
- Divine Nectar by Swami Sivananda
- The Divine Treasure of Sri Swami Sivananda by Swami Sivananda
- Easy Path to God-Realisation by Swami Sivananda
- Easy Steps To Yoga by Swami Sivananda
- Education For Perfection by Swami Sivananda
- Elixir Divine by Swami Sivananda
- The Glorious Immortal Atman by Swami Sivananda
- Nectar Drops by Swami Sivananda
- Heart of Sivananda by Swami Sivananda
- Kingly Science Kingly Secret by Swami Sivananda
- Sivananda's Lectures: All India and Ceylon Tour in 1950 by Swami Sivananda
- Inspiring Stories by Swami Sivananda
- Sivananda Gita by Swami Sivananda
- Sermonettes of Swami Sivananda by Swami Sivananda
- Spiritual Stories by Swami Sivananda
- Spiritual Treasure by Swami Sivananda
- Swami Sivananda: His Life in Pictures by Swami Sivananda
- Thus Illumines Swami Sivananda by Swami Sivananda
- World Peace by Swami Sivananda
- Self-Realisation by Swami Sivananda
- Health and Happiness by Swami Sivananda
- Health and Hygiene by Swami Sivananda
- Dynamics of Yoga by Yoga Publications Trust / Satyananda Saraswati
- Yoga and Kriya by Yoga Publications Trust / Satyananda Saraswati
- Yoga Nidra by Yoga Publications Trust / Satyananda Saraswati
- Gheranda Samhita by Yoga Publications Trust / Satyananda Saraswati
- Hatha Yoga by Swami Sivananda
- Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali by Hariharananda
- Vivekananda Volume 1 / Karma and Raja Yoga
- Meditation and Spiritual Life