Product Description

From the time of the Gospels, the Mahabharata, and long before, spiritual teachers have used stories and parables to help pass along their wisdom and understanding to the widest possible audience. Students of the world-renowned Yoga Master, Sri Swami Satchidananda, have now put together a new anthology of 47 of his most popular stories, fables and tales. Both children and adults will appreciate the warmth, humor and simplicity of the Swami's narrative style and the many intricate, delightful color illustrations, rendered in a classic Indian motif. The overall effect is both entertaining and thought provoking. The Swami's higher purpose, of course, is to cultivate those values and attitudes that lead to a happy, fulfilling life, and eventually to that transcendent state of Truth-Knowledge-Joy (in Sanskrit, "Sat-Chid-Ananda") which, it is said, can only be hinted at with words. This is a book for the whole family; indeed, for the whole Human Family.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #96381 in Books
• Published on: 1998-02-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

From Scientific American
[This] collection of stories and parables is of immense value and significance for any reader irrespective of age, religion or faith...The book proves the ancient Sanskrit dictum ... "Nothing is purer or more sacred than knowledge."

Review
This collection of Swamiji's Enlightening Tales was put together for children, including those of us who reside in grown-up bodies. If you are not seeking enlightenment, don't worry--the stories will entertain you, and my guess is that enlightenment will find you anyway. The stories are derived from India's cultural heritage, but each has a lesson which holds true universally whatever your religious or cultural background. -- From the foreword by Carole King

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
If you really want to learn, you will find that the entire nature is a book of knowledge. It can teach you everything you need to know. All the knowledge that you seek is freely available in this universe-ity. You don't have to go to a library; even the tiniest thing can teach you a big lesson. The great teachers understood this; that is why they used examples from ordinary life to convey important truths. This can be seen in the beautiful stories and parables they told their students.

That is how they taught--with very simple examples to bring out great truths. Many of the great saints and sages were just simple people. They seldom quoted from scriptures, because they didn't even read. They lived with nature, and what they, themselves, were learning directly from nature, they brought out in the form of stories. Then, when the people saw the ordinary, natural things in their daily lives, they were reminded of the highest truths.

Another reason that most of the great teachers taught in the form of stories is that people often forget the plain truth, because it's just plain. But they can easily remember a story. And by remembering the story, they can remember the teaching, also.

So the great teachers often presented the higher truths through stories--and the stories are very simple. In fact, the truth itself is very simple. Sometimes, our complicated minds don't want to accept that. They question, "Could it really be that simple?" A complicated mind doesn't want to accept simple things.

That is why the kingdom--real peace and joy--lies among the children. As the great sage Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa would often say, "Forget everything that you have learned. Become like a child again, and you will experience God right now."

These stories are for children of all ages. They contain within them the ancient wisdom and universal teachings of the great sages and saints of India, and are golden keys for true success in life. May you apply them well and experience all health, happiness, peace, and prosperity.

Customer Reviews

Teaching Tales
These delightful short stories turn on lights in the mind. Like Christ's parables, many tales exist in India that illustrate moral lessons in a vivid way. Satchidananda retells many of these in everyday language, making them feel close. He adds a few original tales of his own.

Although I don't think every one of the tales suitable for children, most of them would delight both the parent who reads or tells it and the child who hears it!

SUPER SUPER SUPER!
Excellent book to teach your young ones, will keep them listening and enchanted for a long time!