Eknath Easwaran

Easwaran taught passage meditation and his eight-point program to audiences around the world.

Eknath Easwaran (1910–1999) is respected around the world as the originator of passage meditation and an authentic guide to the timeless wisdom of both East and West. In thousands of talks and his many books Easwaran taught passage meditation and his eight-point program to an audience that now extends around the world. Rather than travel and attract large crowds, he chose to remain in one place and teach in small groups – a preference that was his hallmark as a teacher even in India. “I am still an educator,” he liked to say. “But formerly it was education for degrees; now it is education for living.” His work is being carried forward by his wife, Christine Easwaran, who worked by his side for forty years, by his students, and by the organization he founded, the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation.

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Words to Live By

Daily Inspiration for Spiritual Living

by Eknath Easwaran

This is our ninth (!) Note on one of Eknath Easwaran’s books. That, my friends, is an all-time record. This book is a 365-day collection of wisdom from Easwaran featuring inspiring quotes from some of the world’s leading spiritual teachers followed by Easwaran’s inspirational take on that wisdom. If you haven’t studied Easwaran yet, this might be the perfect introduction. And, if you’ve already enjoyed soaking your consciousness in his wisdom, I think you might enjoy this one as much as I have. Big Ideas we explore include: how to craft virtuous lives, IQ vs WQ ("Willpower Quotient" for the win!), the three gatekeepers (of the lips), end-of-life question: Why weren't you more like YOU?, your life as a trust (energize!), and finding the virtuous mean.

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Meditation

mindfulness Spirituality

Gandhi the Man

How One Man Changed Himself to Change the World

by Eknath Easwaran

Eknath Easwaran is one of my absolute favorite teachers. In this beautiful and brilliant biography we get his insights into the transformation of Gandhi the man into the Mahatma or "great soul." As per the sub-title of the book, we learn “How one man changed himself to change the world.” Big Ideas we explore include why/how it all starts with being the change, the power of satyagraha (= soul-force!), making history (by ignoring historians), Gandhi and sugar (and fuel for his soul engine), the call to action (to be moral warriors), and "my life is my message" (what's yours?).

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Leadership & Meditation

Strength in the Storm

Transform Stress, Live in Balance, and Find Peace of Mind

by Eknath Easwaran

As I mentioned in the other Notes on his work, Eknath Easwaran is one of my favorite teachers. He was a professor of English literature in India before coming to America on a Fulbright scholarship. He taught at UC Berkeley and became one of the world’s leading meditation and spiritual teachers. In this book, we learn how to love storms—how to use simple tools to find strength in the inevitable storms of life as we “transform stress, live in balance and find peace of mind.” Big Ideas we explore: “I love storms.” -Gandhi, Eudaimantra (how I came up w/the perfect mantra for myself), how to end all boredom, time as an infinite cosmic carpet, the secret of life (in one sentence) and Gandhi 101: how to become fearless.

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Conquering Anxiety & Meditation

20th Century Classics courage Mind Spirituality

Passage Meditation

Bringing the Deep Wisdom of the Heart into Daily Life

by Eknath Easwaran

This book could have been called “The Eight-Point Program for Daily Living” as Eknath Easwaran walks us through not just his approach to “passage meditation” but also the other key tenets of spiritual living. Big Ideas we explore include deciding whether you *really* want to get over your problems, how to tame your mind (and why it’s like an elephant’s unruly trunk!), making your mind one-pointed, swimming upstream and doing the work (vs. just attending lectures).

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Conquering Depression & Meditation

20th Century Classic Buddhism soul Spirit Spirituality

Take Your Time

The Wisdom of Slowing Down

by Eknath Easwaran

This book was written in 1994—WAY before we blew up our brains with the Internet. Yet, the need to slow down and cultivate a calm, unhurried mind has been discussed by all the great teachers for 2,500+ years. We need the wisdom now more than ever. Big Ideas we explore include how use a red pencil, changing the channels of your mind, a quick quiz on whether meditation is right for you, and how to drive your mind safely (no tailgating thoughts!).

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Meditation & Self-Care

20th Century Classic Happiness soul Spirit Spirituality

Your Life Is Your Message

Finding Harmony With Yourself, Others, and the Earth

by Eknath Easwaran

Eknath Easwaran is one of my favorite teachers and one of the most beloved spiritual teachers of the 20th century. He walked with Gandhi in his native India and shows us to be the change while making our life our message. We'll explore how to change the gears of our thinking, detox from mas media and engage in practical idealism.

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Leadership & Purpose

20th Century Classic soul Spirit Spirituality

Conquest of Mind

by Eknath Easwaran

The Conquest of Mind is an amazing book written by an equally amazing man: Eknath Easwaran. We use Easwaran’s translations for the Bhagavad Gita and The Dhammapada and in this book he provides all kinds of great ideas on how we can win “the war within.” In the Note we’ll explore the fact that we don’t want to be heroes in the beginning and then sneak out the back door, the fact that we can ALL change, and the miracles that can be created by hard work.

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Connection & Meditation

20th Century Classic Mind Volume II

The Dhammapada

The Sayings of Buddha

by Eknath Easwaran

A core text of Buddhism, The Dhammapada literally means something along the lines of "the path of truth and righteousness" and is packed with wisdom. In this Note, we'll take a quick look at some central tenets of Buddhism (like the Four Noble Truths, nirvana, and the eightfold path) and soak up some Buddha mojo on how to rock our wisest lives.

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Mindfulness & Optimal Living

Buddhism Mind Old School Classic Spirituality Top 101

The Bhagavad Gita

A Classic of Indian Spirituality

by Krishna, Eknath Easwaran

The classic text of Hinduism is *packed* with wisdom. In the Note, we take a super quick look at the context for the book and then jump into some powerful wisdom—including the importance of meditation, the fact that making mistakes is an inherent part of our growth process and the uber-importance of letting go of our attachment to results.

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Optimal Living & Purpose

Old School Classic soul Spirit Spirituality Top 101

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Little by Little
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The Buddha on How to Optimize

One of my favorite gems from the Buddha is this wisdom: “Little by little one becomes evil, as a water pot is filled with water. Little by little one becomes good, as a water pot is filled with water.” The optimal way to Optimize? Drop by drop by drop. +1. +1. +1. Back ...

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What Do You See When You Look at That Blob of Ink that Is Life?

Today we’re going to talk about ink blobs and emptiness. First: Have you ever heard of Rorschach tests? Basically, psychologists can sneak a peek into their patients’ consciousness by asking them to describe what they see when t...

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Remember: Attend Your Own Lectures

Please extend your pointer finger and shake it as if you’re lecturing someone — saying something like, “You shouldn’t do this, this and this! Do that, that and that!” Thank you. Now, look at your hand and count how many fingers are pointing at the person you’re lectu...

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And You and… _______________

Once upon a time (so the myth goes), a woman went with her little boy to see Gandhi. She and her son had to travel across most of India. It was a really long trip. Then she and her son had to wait in line all day. It was a really long line. Then, alas, she and her son got to see Gandhi.

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Buddha on: Making Arrows Straight
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Carving Wood and Irrigating Water

In our last +1, we talked about Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean. With diligent, patient, and persistent practice, virtuous activity of the soul can be found righ...

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For Whom the Siren Wails
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Don’t Ask … It’s for You

The other day as I was driving to the mountain for my sunrise Trail work, I passed an ambulance in front of a house and saw two paramedics draping a gurney. It was obvious they were getting the gurney ready and that, very shortly, someone would be on that gurney and then in the ambulance. For w...

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Full Effort = Full Victory
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Gandhi, Matt Damon and Will Smith on Winning

We’ve been talking a lot about how champions maximize minutes—giving everything they’ve got into being the best versions of themselves. Thank you, John Wooden, Vince Lombardi, and

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The Optimus Meditation
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Aka the Optimize Virtue Meditation

In our last +1, we had fun with our virtual Optimus Medallion. The first batch of medallions hot off the Optimize mint (hah!) will be shipped to our Coaches soon (and available for all Optimizer pockets shortly thereafter 🤓)....

+1 inspired by Note: Conquest of Mind

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Virtue Mantras
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(Super Helpful!) Tools for the Mind

In our last couple +1s, we talked about the 11 virtues that show up on our shiny new Optimus medallions and make an appearance in our Optimus meditation. Wisdom + Arete + Confidence + Purpose + Self-Awareness + Telos + Energy + Presence + Courage + Love + en*theos. I’ve been playin...

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via Eknath Easwaran (the Indian Joseph Campbell)

In our last +1, we chatted about mantras and took (yet!) another trip down Etymology Lane where we discovered that the word mantra literally (!) means “tool of the mind.” ← How cool is that?! Let’s talk about mantras some more today. We’ll invite o...

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Shaz-Optimus!
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Superwords and Superpowers: “OPTIMUS!!! LET’S DO ARETE!!!”

In our last +1, we talked about how much I enjoyed the documentary on Mister Rogers called Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Who would’ve thunk that our beloved Mister Rogers experienced the same “tortures of the damned” trying to create? Always fascinating and powerful to be reminded ...

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Being the Change
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YOU Want to See in the World

I just finished reading Eknath Easwaran’s brilliant biography on Gandhi called Gandhi the Man. I HIGHLY recommend it if you’d like to learn more about “How one man changed himself to change the world.” Before we get into the Optimizing part of Today’s...

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You and Gandhi
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Making History

In our last +1, we talked about some stat-busting luminaries including Stephen Jay Gould and Scott Adams. Today I want to talk about another guy who refused to believe the “impossible” was actually “impossible.” You might have heard of him. His name was Gandhi. In

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The Battlefield in Our Hearts

The other day I went to see the new Avengers: Endgame movie. Of course, I’m a fan of (super)hero stories and I also love flipping my brain off as I enjoy a well-produced movie with a well-told story. In fact1: As we’ve discussed, movies are my preferred way to get a nice lit...

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Modern Hērō & Purpose

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Empty Feet
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Ink Blobs and Emptiness on the Trail

In our last +1, we hung out with my feet. (Left foot. Left foot. Left foot. Right! … Feet in the morning. Feet at night! 🤓) As you may recall, I shared a story about a nice lady who, after seeing me carrying my shoes on some uneven terrain at the end of my Trail workout, said:

+1 inspired by Note: The Dhammapada

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One More Time: It’s ALL Empty! (Fill It Up Wisely)

In our last couple +1s we’ve been talking about feet. We started off with a little biomechanical goodness on the virtues of going barefoot on occasion and then moved into a discussion on the inherent “emptiness” of meaning after I got two EXACTLY opposite responses to precisely t...

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Lint on a Projector’s Lens
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Got Any on Yours?

In our last couple +1s, we’ve been exploring the fact that everything is “empty” of meaning. One more time: We bring our own consciousness to E V E R Y T H I N G and that influences what we see. Pretty much all the great spiritual teachers talk about this. Today we’re go...

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(And: Happy 150th Birthday, Gandhi!)

Today is, of course, October 2nd, 2019. Let’s hop in a time machine. Destination: 150 years ago: 1869. Coordinates: 21°37′48″N 69°36′0″E. (← That’s the northwest part of India. 🤓) Cars don’t exist yet. Neither do phones. (Let alone a smartphone.)

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Eknath Easwaran

Easwaran taught passage meditation and his eight-point program to audiences around the world.

PhilosophersNotes on Eknath Easwaran's Books All PhilosophersNotes

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Being the Change
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You and Gandhi
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The Gita-Avengers
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Empty Feet
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Empty Feet (Part 2)
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