Nilgiri Press

A master spiritual teacher invites us on a journey – to the summit of self-discovery. This is a book to lift the spirit of anyone aiming to live a kinder, calmer, more meaningful life, in the midst of all the challenges facing the world today.

Fifteen warm, engaging essays present different aspects of meditation and the spiritual life, showing how we can rearrange our lives, little by little, to fit a higher purpose. Featuring saints and mystics from East and West, and a host of stories and anecdotes, this book reads like a conversation with a wise friend, with deep spiritual insights that you’ll want to come back to again and again.

Easwaran writes, “When you travel within, every day is fresh with discoveries and challenges, inspiration and profound peace. The scenes I paint for you in the following pages are just a fleeting glimpse of the continuing adventure that awaits you as you enter this world.”

The final essay, “Climbing the Blue Mountain,” which gives the book its title, is a moving account of the spiritual quest. Easwaran compares this with a long journey that he makes from the hot, dusty plains of Central India, up through jungle and plantations, to his home in the cool hills of the Blue Mountains, where his mother waits for him – reminding us that on the spiritual path, we too will one day find our true home.

Life-affirming and lyrical writings for inspiration and meditation, from saints and sages of the Christian, Hindu, Sufi, Jewish, Native American, Buddhist, and Taoist traditions.

Eknath Easwaran taught meditation and spiritual living for nearly 40 years and drew deep, ongoing inspiration from the sacred literature of the world's traditions.

Read these 149 passages for daily inspiration, for the insights they give into other spiritual traditions, for the light they throw on how to live, for the sustenance they offer when we feel sad or tired, and for the deep transformation they can bring in Easwaran's spiritual practice of passage meditation.

Rich supporting material includes detailed background notes, suggestions for memorization and for studying the texts, and instruction in using these sacred writings in passage meditation.

These short readings, one for each day of the year, offer deep inspiration for readers who want to develop a more spiritually grounded lifestyle.

In the midst of our busy world we need islands of calm. Each of these daily readings is paired with a quotation from one of the world’s great philosophers, poets, saints, and sages. Easwaran taught spiritual living for forty years, and his commentaries show how the wisdom of the ages can guide us in our own lives.

Augustine and Einstein, Emily Dickinson and Jalaladdin Rumi, Biblical verses, Buddhist sutras, Hasidic proverbs, and Hindu Upanishads can all be found here. As we go through the year with Easwaran, some days will be joyful, some will be hard, but each one can further our journey. One day at a time is enough.

Use your mantram when you’re ill or anxious, tired or restless, and it will guide you and comfort you like a true friend.

The Mantram, or mantra, is a short, powerful, spiritual formula from the world’s great traditions, repeated silently in the mind, anytime, anywhere. Easwaran, the author of Passage Meditation and the best-selling translations The Bhagavad Gita, The Upanishads, and The Dhammapada, taught the use of the mantram for forty years as part of his passage meditation program.

The mantram can help you to steady your mind and free it from anxiety, anger or resentment. Easwaran explains how the mantram works, and gives practical guidelines for using it to focus your thoughts and access deeper resources of strength, patience, and love.

A comprehensive manual for living a spiritual life, based on a verse-by-verse commentary on India’s timeless scripture – from the author of its best-selling translation.

(The ebook The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living 9781586381455 includes all three volumes in this series.)

The Bhagavad Gita is set on the battlefield of an apocalyptic war between good and evil. Faced with a dire moral dilemma, the warrior prince Arjuna turns in anguish to his spiritual guide, Sri Krishna, for answers to the fundamental questions of life.

Easwaran points out that Arjuna’s crisis is acutely modern. The Gita’s battlefield is the struggle for self-mastery that every human being must wage. Arjuna represents each of us, and Sri Krishna is the Lord, instructing us in eighteen chapters of lofty wisdom as we face the social, environmental, and global challenges that threaten our world today.

Easwaran is a spiritual teacher and author of deep insight and warmth. His verse-by-verse commentary interprets the Gita’s teachings for modern readers, explaining the Sanskrit concepts and philosophy and applying them with practicality, wisdom, and humor to every aspect of our work, our relationships, and our lives. With everyday anecdotes, stories, and examples, he shows that the changes we long to see in the world start with the transformation of our own consciousness.

The practical exercises recommended by Easwaran to achieve transformation are part of a spiritual program he developed for his own life. They are accessible to people from all backgrounds and cultures. Urging us to adopt a higher image of the human being, he assures us that peace and unity are within reach.

Each volume of this series covers six chapters of the Gita. Each may be read on its own, but all three volumes together form an in-depth, verse-by-verse explanation of this ancient scripture and its relevance today. Each volume includes instructions in Easwaran's universal eight-point program of passage meditation.

Volume 1: The first six chapters of the Gita explore the concept of the innermost Self and source of wisdom in each of us. Easwaran explains how we can begin to transform ourselves, even as householders engaged in busy lives.

Volume 2: The next six chapters of the Gita go beyond the individual Self to explore the Supreme Reality underlying all creation. Easwaran builds a bridge across the seeming divide between scientific knowledge and spiritual wisdom, and explains how the concept of the unity of life can help us in all our relationships.

Volume 3: The final six chapters put forth an urgent appeal for us to begin to see that all of us are one – to make the connection between the Self within and the Reality underlying all creation. Global in scope, the emphasis is on what we can do to make a difference to heal our environment and establish peace in the world.

Easwaran’s commentary is for all students of the Gita, whatever their background, and for anyone who is trying to find a path to wisdom, love, and kindness in themselves and our troubled world. Written as an authoritative, accessible guide to a much-loved scripture, it is a handbook for finding peace and clarity within.

This second edition incorporates revisions made across all three volumes following the author’s final instructions.

Easwaran’s best-selling translation of the ancient wisdom texts called the Upanishads is reliable, readable, and profound.

In the Upanishads, illumined sages share flashes of insight, the results of their investigation into consciousness itself.

In extraordinary visions, they experience directly a transcendent Reality which is the essence, or Self, of each created being. They teach that each of us, each Self, is eternal, deathless, one with the power that created the universe.

Easwaran’s best-selling translation of selections taken from the principal Upanishads and five others is reliable and accessible. It includes an overview of the cultural and historical setting, with chapter introductions, notes, and a Sanskrit glossary. But it is Easwaran’s understanding of the wisdom of the Upanishads, and their relevance to the modern reader, that makes this edition truly outstanding.

Each sage, each Upanishad, appeals in different ways to the reader’s head and heart. As Easwaran writes, “The Upanishads belong not just to Hinduism. They are India’s most precious legacy to humanity, and in that spirit they are offered here.”

Uncover the core of goodness within.

Love, compassion, meaning, hope, and freedom from fear are not qualities we need to acquire. We simply need to uncover what we already have.

Original goodness is Eknath Easwaran’s phrase for this spark of divinity hidden in every one of us, regardless of our personal liabilities or past mistakes.

Easwaran is one of the twentieth century's great spiritual teachers and an authentic guide to timeless wisdom. His books on meditation, spiritual living, and the classics of world mysticism have been translated into sixteen languages.

Commenting on the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount, Easwaran shows how this spark of divinity can energize our lives – beginning with a simple method of meditation that gradually removes the conditioning that hides our native goodness.

The Bhagavad Gita is the best known of all the Indian scriptures, and Eknath Easwaran’s best-selling translation is reliable, readable, and profound.

Easwaran's 55-page introduction places the Bhagavad Gita in its historical setting, and brings out the universality and timelessness of its teachings. Chapter introductions clarify key concepts, and notes and a glossary explain Sanskrit terms.

Easwaran grew up in the Hindu tradition in India, and learned Sanskrit from a young age. He was a professor of English literature before coming to the West on a Fulbright scholarship. A gifted teacher, he is recognized as an authority on the Indian classics and world mysticism.

The Bhagavad Gita opens, dramatically, on a battlefield, as the warrior Arjuna turns in anguish to his spiritual guide, Sri Krishna, for answers to the fundamental questions of life. Yet, as Easwaran points out, the Gita is not what it seems – it’s not a dialogue between two mythical figures at the dawn of Indian history. “The battlefield is a perfect backdrop, but the Gita’s subject is the war within, the struggle for self-mastery that every human being must wage if he or she is to emerge from life victorious.”

Arjuna’s struggle in the Bhagavad Gita is acutely modern. He has lost his way on the battlefield of life and turns to find the path again by asking direct, uncompromising questions of his spiritual guide, Sri Krishna, the Lord himself. Krishna replies in 700 verses of sublime instruction on living and dying, loving and working, and the nature of the soul.

Easwaran shows the Gita’s relevance to us today as we strive, like Arjuna, to do what is right.

“No one in modern times is more qualified – no, make that ‘as qualified’ – to translate the epochal Classics of Indian Spirituality than Eknath Easwaran. And the reason is clear. It is impossible to get to the heart of those classics unless you live them, and he did live them. My admiration of the man and his works is boundless.” – Huston Smith, author of The World’s Religions

No matter what crises may threaten the world, you can live in harmony with your highest ideals – and help others to do the same. This practical and inspiring book, a classic from a much-loved spiritual teacher, shows how.

You can find harmony with yourself by gaining mastery of your internal environment, a world within of thoughts, desires, and feelings as real as the world outside.

You can build harmony in your relationships with family, colleagues, and your community by learning to love more fully than you had thought possible.

You can establish harmony with the physical environment by living your life to ensure, in every way, a brighter future for all our children.

By making small changes, day by day, you can support the health, happiness, and well-being of everyone around you.

Easwaran is one of the twentieth century's great spiritual teachers and an authentic guide to timeless wisdom. His books on meditation, spiritual living, and the classics of world mysticism have been translated into twenty-six languages.

Drawing on his extensive experience as a teacher of meditation and an authority on the mystical tradition, Easwaran shows what love is, how to love more effectively, and how we can strengthen our capacity to love.

This book includes an essay on Thomas à Kempis and mysticism in the late Middle Ages.

A comprehensive manual for living a spiritual life, based on a verse-by-verse commentary on India’s timeless scripture – from the author of its best-selling translation.

(The ebook The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living 9781586381455 includes all three volumes in this series.)

The Bhagavad Gita is set on the battlefield of an apocalyptic war between good and evil. Faced with a dire moral dilemma, the warrior prince Arjuna turns in anguish to his spiritual guide, Sri Krishna, for answers to the fundamental questions of life.

Easwaran points out that Arjuna’s crisis is acutely modern. The Gita’s battlefield is the struggle for self-mastery that every human being must wage. Arjuna represents each of us, and Sri Krishna is the Lord, instructing us in eighteen chapters of lofty wisdom as we face the social, environmental, and global challenges that threaten our world today.

Easwaran is a spiritual teacher and author of deep insight and warmth. His verse-by-verse commentary interprets the Gita’s teachings for modern readers, explaining the Sanskrit concepts and philosophy and applying them with practicality, wisdom, and humor to every aspect of our work, our relationships, and our lives. With everyday anecdotes, stories, and examples, he shows that the changes we long to see in the world start with the transformation of our own consciousness.

The practical exercises recommended by Easwaran to achieve transformation are part of a spiritual program he developed for his own life. They are accessible to people from all backgrounds and cultures. Urging us to adopt a higher image of the human being, he assures us that peace and unity are within reach.

Each volume of this series covers six chapters of the Gita. Each may be read on its own, but all three volumes together form an in-depth, verse-by-verse explanation of this ancient scripture and its relevance today. Each volume includes instructions in Easwaran's eight-point program of passage meditation.

Volume 1: The first six chapters of the Gita explore the concept of the innermost Self and source of wisdom in each of us. Easwaran explains how we can begin to transform ourselves, even as householders engaged in busy lives.

Volume 2: The next six chapters of the Gita go beyond the individual Self to explore the Supreme Reality underlying all creation. Easwaran builds a bridge across the seeming divide between scientific knowledge and spiritual wisdom, and explains how the concept of the unity of life can help us in all our relationships.

Volume 3: The final six chapters put forth an urgent appeal for us to begin to see that all of us are one – to make the connection between the Self within and the Reality underlying all creation. Global in scope, the emphasis is on what we can do to make a difference to heal our environment and establish peace in the world.

Easwaran’s commentary is for all students of the Gita, whatever their background, and for anyone who is trying to find a path to wisdom, love, and kindness in themselves and our troubled world. Written as an authoritative, accessible guide to a much-loved scripture, it is a handbook for finding peace and clarity within.

This second edition incorporates revisions made across all three volumes following the author’s final instructions.

A comprehensive manual for living a spiritual life, based on a verse-by-verse commentary on India’s timeless scripture – from the author of its best-selling translation.

(The ebook The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living 9781586381455 includes all three volumes in this series.)

The Bhagavad Gita is set on the battlefield of an apocalyptic war between good and evil. Faced with a dire moral dilemma, the warrior prince Arjuna turns in anguish to his spiritual guide, Sri Krishna, for answers to the fundamental questions of life.

Easwaran points out that Arjuna’s crisis is acutely modern. The Gita’s battlefield is the struggle for self-mastery that every human being must wage. Arjuna represents each of us, and Sri Krishna is the Lord, instructing us in eighteen chapters of lofty wisdom as we face the social, environmental, and global challenges that threaten our world today.

Easwaran is a spiritual teacher and author of deep insight and warmth. His verse-by-verse commentary interprets the Gita’s teachings for modern readers, explaining the Sanskrit concepts and philosophy and applying them with practicality, wisdom, and humor to every aspect of our work, our relationships, and our lives. With everyday anecdotes, stories, and examples, he shows that the changes we long to see in the world start with the transformation of our own consciousness.

The practical exercises recommended by Easwaran to achieve transformation are part of a spiritual program he developed for his own life. They are accessible to people from all backgrounds and cultures. Urging us to adopt a higher image of the human being, he assures us that peace and unity are within reach.

Each volume of this series covers six chapters of the Gita. Each may be read on its own, but all three volumes together form an in-depth, verse-by-verse explanation of this ancient scripture and its relevance today. Each volume includes instructions in Easwaran's eight-point program of passage meditation.

Volume 1: The first six chapters of the Gita explore the concept of the innermost Self and source of wisdom in each of us. Easwaran explains how we can begin to transform ourselves, even as householders engaged in busy lives.

Volume 2: The next six chapters of the Gita go beyond the individual Self to explore the Supreme Reality underlying all creation. Easwaran builds a bridge across the seeming divide between scientific knowledge and spiritual wisdom, and explains how the concept of the unity of life can help us in all our relationships.

Volume 3: The final six chapters put forth an urgent appeal for us to begin to see that all of us are one – to make the connection between the Self within and the Reality underlying all creation. Global in scope, the emphasis is on what we can do to make a difference to heal our environment and establish peace in the world.

Easwaran’s commentary is for all students of the Gita, whatever their background, and for anyone who is trying to find a path to wisdom, love, and kindness in themselves and our troubled world. Written as an authoritative, accessible guide to a much-loved scripture, it is a handbook for finding peace and clarity within.

This second edition incorporates revisions made across all three volumes following the author’s final instructions.

Easwaran is one of the twentieth century's great spiritual teachers and an authentic guide to timeless wisdom. In this book Easwaran addresses the lessons death can bring. He sheds light on the perennial questions of time, desire, the nature of the mind, and the realization that the body is only the jacket of the soul, and that in death the body dies, but the person does not.

Nothing in life is more important than death, and nothing more urgent than learning to overcome it – not in an afterlife, but here and now.

Easwaran’s best-selling translation of this classic Buddhist text The Dhammapada is reliable, readable, and profound.

Dhammapada means "the path of dharma," the path of harmony and righteousness that anyone can follow to reach the highest good. The Dhammapada is a collection of verses, gathered probably from direct disciples who wanted to preserve what they had heard from the Buddha himself.

Easwaran's comprehensive introduction to the Dhammapada gives an overview of the Buddha's teachings that is penetrating, and clear – accessible for readers new to Buddhism, but also with fresh insights and practical applications for readers familiar with this text. His translation is based on the original Pali. Chapter introductions, notes and a Sanskrit glossary place individual verses into the context of the broader Buddhist canon.

Easwaran is a master storyteller, and the introduction includes many stories that make moving, memorable reading, bringing young Siddhartha and his heroic spiritual quest vividly to life. This faithful interpretation brings us closer to the compassionate heart of the Buddha.

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Feeling trapped by unwanted thoughts and emotions can seem an inevitable part of life. But Easwaran, who taught meditation for nearly forty years, shows a way to break free.

Just as a fitness routine can create a strong, supple body, spiritual disciplines can shape a secure personality and a resilient, loving mind. Writing as an experienced, friendly coach, Easwaran takes the timeless teachings of the Buddha and other mystics and shows how we can train the mind not just during meditation but throughout the day.

Working with difficult colleagues, choosing what to eat, and listening to a child’s needs are all opportunities to try out different, wiser responses. Easwaran shows how training the mind is a glorious challenge – one that brings joy and purpose to life.

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Through stories, insights, and step-by-step advice, Easwaran shows us how to calm our minds.

When the mind is unhurried, we are patient, kind, and focused, ready to respond to what really matters amidst the clamor of a busy day. The secret is to train our minds to work steadily and with one-pointed attention, however many tasks confront us.

For over forty years, Easwaran taught meditation and the wisdom of slowing down. As we read, we find ourselves in situations where we may get impatient or upset - standing in line, dealing with difficult colleagues, shopping with children with agendas of their own - but as Easwaran relates each event, we see it from the perspective of an unhurried mind. And we see small ways to change how we respond, opening the door to rich, loving relationships, creative and productive work, and a quiet sense of joy that can permeate our lives.

Easwaran shows how we can apply the teachings of four great mystics to daily living.

Easwaran is one of the twentieth century's great spiritual teachers and an authentic guide to timeless wisdom. His books on meditation, spiritual living, and the classics of world mysticism have been translated into sixteen languages.

Is it possible for ordinary people like ourselves to be kind, patient, and loving – always? Easwaran comments on short texts from Saint Paul, Mother Teresa, Saint Augustine, and Saint Francis to show how we can apply the teachings of these great mystics to daily living. Chapter introductions provide insights into these mystics' lives.

Easwaran explains how the practice of meditation can help us find the strength and compassion we need at any time, even when we are tired, frustrated, or filled with doubt.

A practical and inspiring approach to tackling our environmental crisis, from a master spiritual teacher. We can heal our earth by choosing a simpler, more fulfilling lifestyle, as trustees of a compassionate universe.

Eknath Easwaran presents a penetrating analysis of the spiritual roots of our current predicament and offers a realistic and hopeful way forward. Each of us has a role to play in making wise choices, and each of us can genuinely make a difference. Drawing inspiration and insight from Mahatma Gandhi, Saint Francis, and his own experience of living in the East and the West, Easwaran shows the connections between individual thoughts and actions that move beyond consumerism to the unity of life.

Mahatma Gandhi formulated a series of diagnoses of our seemingly perpetual state of crisis, which he called “the seven social sins”: knowledge without character, science without humanity, wealth without work, commerce without morality, politics without principles, pleasure without conscience, and worship without self-sacrifice. Easwaran explores each of these diagnoses in turn and presents an alternative hypothesis of who we are and how we fit into the universe.

This is ecology as a great adventure, filled with the challenges and rewards of inner growth. Easwaran tells us that “once we open our eyes to cooperation, artistry, thrift, and compassion, we begin to see thousands of little things we can do to help restore the environment – and restore dignity and deeper fulfillment to our own lives.”

Eknath Easwaran is renowned as a teacher of meditation and for his translations of the Indian scriptures. His writings express timeless spiritual insights and are illustrated by stories from East and West. His books reflect two cultures: India, where he grew up in a self-supporting agrarian village, and the United States, where he taught and lectured for over thirty years. His early experiences of living in harmony with nature, his firsthand acquaintance with Gandhi’s India, and his long familiarity with an American audience have resulted in this book: a deeply thoughtful examination of our present situation, and a blueprint for living as trustees of a compassionate universe, in a world that we would want our children and grandchildren to inherit.

This is the story of Gandhi’s spiritual evolution – the turning points and choices that made him not just a great political leader but also a timeless icon of nonviolence.

Eknath Easwaran grew up in India and witnessed how Gandhi inspired people of all races, backgrounds, and religions to turn anger into compassion and hatred into love.

How had Gandhi transformed himself from an ineffective young lawyer into the Mahatma, the “great soul” who led 400 million ordinary men and women in their nonviolent struggle for independence? To find out, Easwaran visited Gandhi’s ashram and watched the Mahatma absorbed in meditation on the Bhagavad Gita – the wellspring of Gandhi’s spiritual strength.

Easwaran, a leading authority on the Bhagavad Gita and on spiritual living, explains the principles underlying Gandhi’s nonviolence. He highlights how we can all use Gandhi’s teachings to make our families, workplaces, and communities more peaceful in the world today.

More than 70 photographs illustrate his life, and a detailed chronology provides historical context.

In this companion to his best-selling translation of the Bhagavad Gita, Easwaran explores the essential themes of this much-loved Indian scripture.

Placing the Gita in a modern context, Easwaran shows how this classic text sheds light on the nature of reality, the illusion of separateness, the search for identity, and the meaning of yoga. The key message of the Gita is how to resolve our conflicts and live in harmony with the deep unity of life, through the principles of yoga and the practice of meditation.

Easwaran grew up in the Hindu tradition and learned Sanskrit from an early age. A foremost translator and interpreter of the Gita, he taught classes on it for forty years, while living out the principles of the Gita in the midst of a busy family and community life.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna, the Lord, doesn’t tell the warrior prince Arjuna what to do: he shows Arjuna his choices and then leaves it to Arjuna to decide. Easwaran, too, shows us clearly how these teachings still apply to us – and how, like Arjuna, we must take courage and act wisely if we want our world to thrive.

Find balance, peace, and even wisdom, by learning to steady the mind.

Stress and anxiety affect many of us as we struggle with work pressures, money worries, strained relationships, and the nagging sense that life may be running out of our control. But a truly calm mind can weather any storm.

Eknath Easwaran, a respected teacher of meditation, offers a wealth of insights, real-life stories and practical suggestions to help us try something more successful next time we’re facing our stressors. He explains how to use a mantram (or mantra) to quiet the mind. He describes how to slow down and stay in the present, improve creativity and concentration, shed anxieties and resentments, strengthen our relationships, and stay kind and strong when faced with conflicts, supporting those around us.

Easwaran (1910-1999) left a rich archive with thousands of recorded talks, as well as works in progress to be completed under the direction of his wife and editor, Christine Easwaran, Strength in the Storm is drawn from his essays and other previously unpublished material. Each chapter contains:
• An introduction, presenting Easwaran’s timeless ideas in the light of today's challenges
• Easwaran’s article, which is the main part of each chapter
• A workbook section to help get the most out of each article.

We learn to calm the mind through practice – there’s no magic about it. We can’t control what life throws at us, but we can learn to access the courage, patience, and compassion that we need to ride the waves of life minute-by-minute, day-by-day.

Timeless Wisdom is a collection of universal texts for study, meditation, and inspiration, selected by Eknath Easwaran, the originator of passage meditation.

An authority on world mysticism, and outstanding translator of the Indian classics, Easwaran chose texts that are positive, practical, and inspiring, which express the universal ideals of love, patience, inner strength, and wisdom.

Here are flashes of insight from the Hindu Upanishads, prayers of comfort from the Christian saints, the passionate songs of the Sufis, and deep wisdom from the Jewish, Buddhist, and Taoist traditions.

By reminding us of our essential goodness, they give us hope. Through the legacy of their words, they show us what it means to think in freedom, love fully, and see life as it really is.

This portable, compact anthology includes 95 passages from Easwaran's popular God Makes the Rivers to Flow plus nine new ones.

This little book of wisdom is full of insights and advice from one of the twentieth century's great spiritual teachers.

"Patience is the ornament of the brave," Eknath Easwaran's wise grandmother used to say. Patience is also the mark of love, says Easwaran – with our children, our parents, our partners, our colleagues, and our communities.

Easwaran is one of the twentieth century's great spiritual teachers and an authentic guide to timeless wisdom. In this little book, Easwaran lifts our spirits and gives us courage, with insights and advice, stories, and inspiration from the world's saints and sages.

Just keep trying, Easwaran says, and you'll find there's no end to your patience – no end to the wisdom, love, and compassion in your heart.

This book of short inspirational readings, based on India’s Thousand Names of Vishnu, gives us warm, practical reminders to support us spiritually in our daily lives.

Eknath Easwaran grew up hearing and reciting these names of the Lord as a child, and for him they were a constant reminder that there is a spark of divinity in everyone. Here he has selected some of the names and added a commentary on what each name means in daily living.

These names of the Lord can prompt us to a be a little more considerate, a little more kind, a little more selfless with those around us. This is an uplifting book for readers from any tradition.