Biographies and Awakening Accounts



         "The fact is, the awakening process, once begun, develops its own momentum without effort on
         your part, and the truth naturally yearns to awaken itself through you."


               - Stephen Bodian


         "The life of the believer is like a torrent making its way out of the high mountains down into the canyons
         and chasms of life, passing through many experiences until finally coming to the spiritual experience of
         death. From there, the torrent experiences resurrection and a life lived in concert with the will of God while
         still going through many stages of refinement. At last the torrent finds its way into the vast, unlimited sea.
         Even here the torrent does not totally come to be one with the vast ocean until it has once more passed
         through final dealings by the Lord."


               - Madame Guyon


         "There are men of enlightenment who cannot throw down a bridge from where they are to where they once
         were, so that others too can cross over. They do not know or cannot describe in detail the way which others
         must follow to reach the goal. Such men are not the teaching masters, and should not be mistaken for them...
         The man of enlightenment who has never been a learner, who suddenly gained his state by the overwhelming
         good karma of previous lives, is less able to teach others than the one who slowly and laboriously worked his
         way into the state - who remembers the trials, pitfalls, and difficulties he had to overcome."


               - Paul Brunton


"The Death of a Dream and a Gift of Truth"
A Personal Experience with Sant Kirpal Singh. By Peter Holleran
Kirpal Singh - Beloved Master
****Revised and expanded 4-24-08****
One of a kind Sant Sat-Guru. Brief life sketch
and extensive personal accounts by devotees.
By Peter Holleran.
Those Amazing Christians ***NEW
A potpourri of interesting, colorful characters. St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Philip Neri, St. Seraphim of Sarov, Theophane the Recluse, Father John of Kronstadt, St. Padre Pio, Teresa Neumann. By Peter Holleran.
St. Augustine to Gandhi: The Sexual Dilemma ***NEW
The battle with the flesh, as exemplified by St. Augustine and Mohandas K. Gandhi, and thoughts on the role of psychotherapy in spiritual practice.
By Peter Holleran.
Kabir - poet saint ***NEW
The great Kabir, guru of shabd yoga or the celestial sound current. By Peter Holleran..
Lord Chaitanya - Krishna devotee ***NEW
Founder of the Krishna chanting movement. By Peter Holleran.
George Gurdjieff - the Fourth Way ***NEW
Mysterious trickster, George Gurdjieff taught a hard school of self-understanding. By Peter Holleran.
Swami Brahmananda - Bhakta Supreme ***NEW
Spiritual son of Sri Ramakrishna, Brahmanda most embodied the devotional ideal. By Peter Holleran.
Meher Baba - "Don't worry, be happy." ***NEW
Acclaimed as the Avatar of the Age. By Peter Holleran.
Upasani Baba - SadGuru ***NEW
Disciple of Narayan Maharaj and Sai Baba of Shirdi, and one of the five 'perfect' masters preparing the way for Meher Baba. By Peter Holleran.
Swami Sivananda
One of the most famous yoga masters of the twentieth century, said to have written written over two hundred books.
Paramhansa Yogananda and Kriya Yoga
****Revised and expanded 7-06-08****

Inspirer of thousands. Includes link to complete
on-line version of Autobiography of a Yogi.
By Peter Holleran.
Timothy Conway
Engaged spirituality versus mystical spirituality.
Eckhart Tolle: From Depression to Awakening
"The Power of Now"
Richard Sylvester - "there is no one"
Account of his two-part realization.
the story of Charlie Hayes
"WHAT was THAT?!"
Sri Ranjit Maharaj
Co-disciple of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897-1991) speaks of his experience with their master Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj (1888-1936).
Dancing with God
By Ed Muzika, a student of Robert Adams.
Robert Adams - "The Good for Nothing Man"
Last American disciple of Ramana Maharshi.
Radical Gradualism: A Journal of Awakening
By Phil Servidio.
Enlightenment of a Non-Conclusionist
By Melvyn Wartella.
Byron Katie
Account of her awakening; website link for "The Work".
Journey Through the Light and Back
Incredible, cosmic NDE story by Mellen-Thomas Benedict.
The Divine Reality: Transcendent and Immanent
By Dick Richardson. Smashing account.
Suzanne Segal
Collision with the Infinite.
Ram (James Schwartz)
Mystical odyssey and vedantic realization.
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
"I Am That"
Papaji - "Nothing Ever Happened"
"The unchanging, formless Self alone exists."
Franklin Merrell-Wolff
"Consciousness-Without-An-Object"
Richard Rose
Originator of the TAT foundation and The Albigen System.
Adyashanti - "Emptiness Dancing"
Contemporary non-dual teacher and founder of Open Gate Sangha
Ramana Maharshi - Jnani of the Century
Fountainhead of modern non-dualism.
Paul Brunton - East-West Philosopher
Architect for a twentieth-century metaphysics. By Peter Holleran.
Atmananda (Krishna Menon) - Householder Karana Guru
"You come to realize that you are yourself the goal of samadhi."
By Peter Holleran.
Sri Aurobindo and the Integral Yoga:
***Revised and expanded 6-3-08***

"The Ultimate Construction Project"
By Peter Holleran.
Ramakrishna Paramahansa - God-Intoxicated Saint
”Find God, that is the only purpose in life.”
By Peter Holleran.
Swami Vivekananda - Vedantic Pioneer
Tireless exponent for a rational religion.
By Peter Holleran.
H.P. Blavatsy and Rudolph Steiner - Man's Secret Past.
"All You Wanted to Know About Esoteric Evolution But Were Afraid to Ask." An examination of Theosophical and Anthroposophical accounts of man's development through the ages. By Peter Holleran.
The Two Krishnamurti's
Paradox and contradiction in two modern iconoclasts.
By Peter Holleran.
Mary Baker Eddy and the Neo-Vedantic Origins of Christian Science:
Its influence on New-Age thinking, and fundamental misunderstanding.
(Sounds boring, but believe me, it's not!). By Peter Holleran.
Bankei Yotaku - Unborn Zen
Awakening to prajna-truth versus final enlightenment.
By Peter Holleran.