Torah: Comparative Studies (Set of 3 Books)

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This Set Consists of 3 Titles:
1) The Torah (The Bible and Kriya Yoga)
2) The Mystical Torah
3) Veda and Torah
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Item Code: HAB831
Author: Paramahamsa Prajnanananda, BARBARA A. HOLDREGE
Publisher: Prajnana Mission, Sri Satguru Publications
Language: English
Edition: 1997, 2006, 2016
ISBN: 9783902038292, 9783990000724, 8170305330
Pages: 1500
Cover: HARDCOVER/PAPERBACK
Weight 1.73 kg
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Book Description
This bundle consists of 3 Titles. To know more about each individual title, click on the images below:

Torah: Comparative Studies
The Torah, The Bible and Kriya Yoga
The Mystical Torah
Veda and Torah
**The Torah (The Bible and Kriya Yoga)**

About the Author
Paramahamsa Prajnanananda is the current spiritual leader of the Kriya Yoga international organizations. These organizations were founded by his master, Paramahamsa Hariharananda, who spread the teachings of Kriya Yoga all over the world. Paramahamsa Hariharananda was Swami Shriyukteshwar and Paramahamsa Yogananda's most outstanding direct disciple, one of the greatest realized Kriya Yoga masters in the lineage of Mahavatar Babaji Maharaj and Shri Lahiri Mahashaya.

Born in Odisha, Paramahamsa Prajnanananda was raised in a profound spiritual environment that inspired his search for Truth. He received his higher education in Cuttack and became a professor of economics there. In 1980, while still a student, he met Paramahamsa Hariharananda, who initiated him into Kriya Yoga, then fifteen years later, into the sacred path of sannyasa. After only three years, at the early age of 39, his master conferred upon him the highest title of Paramahamsa, a designation reserved for monks and saints who have attained the summit of realization.

Enriched by his own direct experience, fathomless wisdom, and deep love for humanity, Paramahamsa Prajnanananda guides and inspires spiritual seekers, a living example of how to fulfill one's infinite potential. In addition to running the main ashrams in Puri. Cuttack, Vienna, and Miami, Prajnananandaji spreads spiritual knowledge and the ancient science of Kriya Yoga by holding seminars and retreats all over the world. Prajnana Mission, founded by Paramahamsa Prajnanananda, provides service to humanity with free medical assistance units and centers, residential schools for the poor, and many other charitable and educational activities.

Author of many books on the science of yoga, practical guidelines to the application of the wisdom of Vedantic philosophy, and insightful metaphorical commentaries on the major holy scriptures and world religions, Paramahamsa Prajnanananda binds and bridges Eastern and Western cultures with a harmonious, fresh, and non-sectarian approach.

Preface
remember my days with my beloved guruji, Paramahamsa Hariharananda. His life was a living scripture. Well-versed in the scriptures of the world religions, he inspired us to study and meditate on the scriptural messages. During my early days in Europe, every evening before the meditation class I would take a few minutes to talk about the Bible and its practical message about meditation. Gurudev would sit silently and listen with his eyes closed. At times he would explain some deeper insights regarding this beautiful scripture of mankind.

In 1995 he told me to write a book about what I had been teaching. He directed me to finish this work in a short time. I accepted his wish as my command. I tried to undertake a comparative study of the Torah and the Bible and many yogic scriptures. We were staying together in Vienna during those days. Every day Gurudev asked about my progress. Whenever there was some difficult text, I consulted him for a practical solution. With his compassionate help, this book was presented to him on the occasion of Guru Purnima, 1996.

Many people sent compliments. Then, for some time this book was out of print. The book has been thoroughly revised and given a new shape. Some new chapters have been added, along with appendices of question and answers. Now through Gurudev's divine grace we can publish this new version during his birth centenary.

We hope this book will help sincere students study the scriptures and meditate deeply. Those who have worked hard to reshape this book will surely receive grace of God and gurus.

Note:

The biblical references in Parts One and Two are from the New International Version (unless noted in the text) and Part Three are specific questions from the King James Version.

Foreword
The essence of all scriptures and teachings of prophets, saints, sages, and realized masters is to discover peace and love through proper understanding, prayer, and meditation.

Religion brings understanding, unity, and universal love. This work is a sincere effort to create universal spiritual understanding and experience the unity of all faiths.

All religions come from one source and lead people to conceive, perceive, and realize truth: as a result, spiritual seekers manifest divine love in their lives, which ultimately leads to complete transformation.

Kriya Yoga is the most ancient technique of metaphysical and transcendental meditation, and is the essence of all religions and the foundation of all spiritual practice. Through regular deep meditation, you can perceive divinity and develop love for God. The scientific technique of Kriya Yoga simultaneously develops body, mind, intellect, and soul-awareness within a relatively short time.

This present work is a synthesis of the spiritual wisdom of many religions, which was realized through deep meditation. Surely, readers will respond with extreme spiritual impetus for meditation and God-realization.

Introduction
What is the Bible? Why should we read the Bible? Those who have read the Bible have rarely understood it. It is very difficult to understand its real meaning.

During my school days in India, a bell was rung before the beginning of an examination. After three hours, when the examination time was over, another bell rang. So the bell was rung twice, in the beginning and at the end. In the beginning of your life one bell rings, and at the end another bell rings, the death knell. In between these two sounds is your life. The Bible is the book, the knowledge, the experience that enables us to complete the examination of our life. At every moment we are appearing for the examination. Every moment is an examination -are we watching the breath or not? Are we giving love to God or not? To complete the examination we must discover how to fulfill our lives, using the divine knowledge in the Bible. The Bible is the book of fulfillment that can bring completeness in life.

The Bible derives from the Greek word biblios, which means "book." So the Bible means "the book," that is, the Holy Book. This book is not only written on paper or papyrus. It is the book of our lives given to us by God. It is a blank book. And God has given us the freedom to write something in the blank book of our lives. We decide what to write, the choice is ours. How many notes have we collected, inscribed in the book of life? Are these notes useful? We will not know until the book is finished. If the book of life is full of love and God consciousness, then it is a Bible. We should strive to make life as holy and divine as possible.

**Contents and Sample Pages**
















**The Mystical Torah**

Foreword
When I was quite young, I came into contact with Gurudev Paramahamsa Hariharanandaji, the irrefutable source of inspiration and transformation in my life. Shri Gurudev was well versed in many scriptures of both the East and the West, including the Torah. In those days, I was a novice, but still very curious about the Torah. Although I had already studied the Old and New Testaments, I did not understand what the Torah was specifically. Therefore, it was through my beloved master that I gained my first understanding of this treasured holy book and its teachings.

The Old and the New Testaments

The Christian Holy Bible is a holy book that consists of two parts, the Old and the New Testaments, and in turn, each testament contains many books. The word "testament" is derived from the original Latin word testamantum, implying a will or covenant. The Old Testament corresponds approximately to the Hebrew Bible, the sacred writings of Judaism, and has thirty-nine books. The New Testament is a recording of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and his earliest followers. Historians and researchers date the Old Testament between 1450 BC and 450 BC, and say that it was largely written in Hebrew but also contained a bit of Aramaic. Authorship is attributed to different individuals, and some of it is said to be of divine origin. The Old Testament influenced and inspired the three major Abrahamic religions that developed in the Middle East Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Moreover, the Old Testament has been one of the main sources of the moral and social ideals held in Middle Eastern and Western countries.

What is the Torah?

The book that Christian people refer to as the Old Testament contains what is known as the Written Torah to the Jewish people. The Written Torah is the part of the Old Testament that includes the five special law books as taught by Moses-Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy which are said to be of divine origin, as well as the many books of the Prophets and Writings, which cite the prophets' lives and teachings. In the narrowest sense, the Torah can be said to include Moses' five books, but in the broadest sense, it also includes the books of the Prophets and Writings as well as the entire Oral Law (Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash), including the works of commentators throughout the ages. Thus, the Torah is the holy text of the Jewish people. For the purpose of this book, we will limit our discussion of the Torah to the law of God as revealed to Moses and recorded in the Pentateuch. The word "Pentateuch" is originally derived from the Greek word pentateukhos, penta meaning "five" and teukhos meaning "the book." Thus, the Pentateuch is literally a book of five volumes - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The word Torah itself is derived from the Hebrew word toraah, which means "instruction, doctrine, and law," or from yaa and raah, meaning "show or instruct." The five Law Books of Moses in the Torah contain the story of creation, the mistakes of the first human couple and the subsequent sufferings, enslavement and redemption of their descendants, as well as many other fascinating episodes. Within them, there are many laws and prescriptions for devout Jews to follow and practice in daily life.

Introduction
Life is a book. Each one of us has been presented with the opportunity to author our own book. You are the author of yours and I am the author of mine. People can see a book's cover from a distance; however, those who get closer can open it and look at its contents. Similarly, only the external part of you can be seen from a distance, but those who live with or near you learn a little more about what you are writing in your book, meaning your conduct, nature, behavior, and character. From this closer perspective, things might not always seem as nice as they once did and that is when trouble can begin. Likewise, faraway mountains are very beautiful and attractive but when we are standing right on top of them, we nevertheless find they have very rough surfaces and are not as beautiful as they first appeared. When I was a little boy, I could see the tiny contour of some remote hills from the village where I was born and raised. They often changed color, appearing really blue during monsoon after the rain and gray in the summer. Eventually, when I was a little older, I was able to see them from a closer proximity. Then, at the age of fifteen, I went to the Himalayas for the first time. I was quite surprised and filled with wonder about what I saw because they were also completely different from how they appeared at a distance and from what I had imagined.

Every day, in each and every moment, you are writing the book of your life. Just imagine how much you have written since childhood. It is important not to forget that what you write is not only for you to read; others also read it. You have surely heard the expression, "My life is an open book." That means that you cannot hide anything or keep secrets from anyone. When you write something, it is a record that is not just for you; it is for others, too.

Since I was a child, I have always kept a notebook with me to jot down inspiring things- good thoughts, messages from the scriptures, and teachings of the masters. One day many years ago when I was teaching in the college, I left my bag in the staff room while I went to teach a class. I was not concerned about leaving my personal belongings there, as everybody knew me and I had nothing to hide. However, while I was gone, some colleagues who were also very good friends of mine decided to look in the bag to see what it contained. Inside, they found my notebook in which 1 had written an interesting quote, first in Sanskrit and then translated poetically in the Odia language. After class, I returned to the staff room and discovered them quiet and looking very serious. When 1 asked what had happened, they replied, "You claim to be a spiritual person, but you are writing love songs! We read your notebook." Little did they know that what I had written was not a love song but rather a quotation from a great poet, a saint and very famous king. The poet's name was Bhratruhari. He lived a long time ago in Ujjain, India. In order to become a holy man and yogi, he ceded his throne and kingdom to his younger brother, Vikramaditya, During his life as a poet and saint, Bhratruhari wrote three beautiful books: Nitishatakam, on morality; Shringarashatakam, on love; and Vairagyashatakam, on detachment. The introduction to these three books includes the story of his life in a poetic form of Sanskrit, in which he states, "The one I love and am thinking of is not thinking of me but of another, and the one my beloved thinks of is thinking of another. Strange is this world." This is the quote I had written in my notebook.

The reason I relay this incident is to remind you that whatever you write is a record, even if you write it in "invisible ink." It is not a record that will be preserved through the ages, but neither are you writing it just for your own enjoyment. Instead, many other people will read it, and will do so in your own lifetime. Additionally, whether what we write is pleasant or unpleasant depends on one's perception. For example, imagine you are sitting with me and we are looking at each other. We are not just observing each other's physical appearance, but rather something more and much beyond that. In essence, we are reading and also becoming a topic in each other's books of life.

**Contents and Sample Pages**










**Veda and Torah**

From the Back of the Book

In this book Barbara Holdrege has set a high standard for comparative work and has made an important contribution to both Hindu and Jewish studies. She has looked at Veda the Torah not simply as scripture, but as systems of meaning, symbol systems, each with its own affiliated meanings, each with its symbolic context, and each with its history of interpretation. By addressing the whole complex in which Veda and Torah have been transmitted and by seeing their uses and interpretation in the traditions that they enliven, Holdrege has problematized and expanded the usage of the tern scripture and has enriched the possibilities for significant comparative study.

Diana L. Eck, Harvard University

I found Holdrege's knowledge and treatment of the Hebrew material exemplary. There can be no doubt that she has made a fascinating contribution in her analysis of the Hebrew texts in themselves, in her conceptual treatment of the notion of text in Judaism, and in her instructive comparison of the Jewish and Hindu attitudes concerning this topic. In this latter domain I see her book as pioneering. Especially remarkable is the fact that in her treatment of Jewish religion she resorts to a large spectrum of Jewish corpora, beginning with Midrashic texts and ending with kabbalah.

Moshe Idel, Hebrew University.

This book is a remarkable piece of scholarship. The way in which the author employs traditional, text based methods of enlarge scholarly understanding of what texts are is revolutionary. The author demonstrates that scriptures are not just texts, one kind of religious medium alongside others, but constituent parts of religious and cultural life in ways that have been previously unappreciated and that will clearly be of interest to anthropologists and semioticians, as well as to historians and comparativists of religion.

Thomas B. Coburn, St. Lawrence University

Holdrege has produced a unique piece of work one that is equally learned and scholarly in two completely different religious traditions. This is a remarkable achievements in and of itself and offers the possibility for a comparative study that is vastly more informed than what has passed for comparative religion in the past. Holdrege addresses some of the most important question in the study of religion in this work: what are the sources of authority and legitimation in any given religious tradition? How are those sources- the canons of religious traditions- represented and how are they appropriated and reappropriated in the process of legitimating religious change? Her answers to these questions are informed, interesting and significant contributions to the field of religious studies as a whole.

Brian K. Smith, University of California, Riverside

**Contents and SamplePages**















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