Whispers from Eternity [Hardcover]

Paramahansa Yogananda (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1986

An exact reprint of Swami Yogananda's original 1929 First Edition. This book blazes a new trail of thought about prayer. Now all devotees may read this great Preceptor's own incomparable words exactly as he expressed these Whispers from God, and find his blessings in the vibratory power of them.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is one of my all-time favorite books. Paramhansa Yogananda, who wrote the classic Autobiography of a Yogi, shares his inspiring poem-prayers as well as giving us advice about how to pray. Instead of begging, he says, we need to demand and explains why this is so. By following his advice, we can reach new heights in our understanding of God-Spirit as well as in our relationship to divinity.

There are prayers for everything from greeting the dawn and starting our day to prayers for wisdom, prosperity, balance, health, and relationships. This edition has been edited by one of Yogananda's disciples, Nayaswami Kriyananda, so that the words flow a bit better while still remaining true to the content of the original 1949 edition.

If you've been looking for a prayer book or one that might inspire you to higher thoughts, feelings, and actions, this is the one for you. It was written for people of all religions and beliefs and is dedicated to the "soul-temples of Christians, Moslems, Buddhists, Hebrews, Hindus, and others...." This is a book for everyone, including you.

–Krysta Gibson, New Spirit Journal; September, 2011

 

 

 

 

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Hailed as "the father of Yoga in the West", Paramahansa Yogananda - author of the spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi - is regarded as one of the great spiritual figures of our time. Born in India on January 5, 1893, he devoted his life to helping people of all races and creeds to realize and express more fully in their lives the true beauty, nobility, and divinity of the human spirit. After graduating from Calcutta University in 1915, Yogananda took formal vows as a monk of India's venerable monastic Swami Order. Two years later, he began his life's work with the founding of a how-to-live school since grown to twenty-one educational institutions throughout India where traditional academic subjects were offered together with yoga training and instruction in spiritual ideals. In 1920, he was invited to serve as India's delegate to an International Congress of Religious Liberals in Boston. His address to the Congress and subsequent lectures on the East Coast were enthusiastically received, and in 1924 he embarked on a cross-continental speaking tour. Over the next three decades, Paramahansa Yogananda contributed in far-reaching ways to a greater awareness and appreciation in the West of the spiritual wisdom of the East. In Los Angeles, he established an international headquarters for Self-Realization Fellowship, the nonsectarian religious society he had founded in 1920. Through his writings, extensive lecture tours, and the creation of Self-Realization Fellowship temples and meditation centers, he introduced hundreds of thousands of truth-seekers to the ancient science and philosophy of Yoga and its universally applicable methods of meditation. Today, the spiritual and humanitarian work begun by Paramahansa Yogananda continues under the direction of Sri Daya Mata, one of his earliest and closest disciples and president of Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India since 1955. In addition to publishing his writings, lectures and informal talks (including a comprehensive series of Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons for home study), the society also oversees temples, retreats, and centers around the world. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Self-Realization Fellowship Publishers (January 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0876121032
• ISBN-13: 978-0876121030
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,784,223 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hailed as "the father of Yoga in the West," Paramahansa Yogananda - author of the bestselling classic "Autobiography of a Yogi" - is regarded as one of the great spiritual figures of our time. Born in northern India on January 5, 1893, he devoted his life to helping people of all races and creeds to realize and express more fully in their lives the true beauty, nobility, and divinity of the human spirit. After graduating from Calcutta University in 1915, Yogananda took formal vows as a monk of India's venerable monastic Swami Order. Two years later, he began his life's work with the founding of a how-to-live school since grown to twenty-one educational institutions throughout India where traditional academic subjects were offered together with yoga training and instruction in spiritual ideals. In 1920, he was invited to serve as India's delegate to an International Congress of Religious Liberals in Boston. His address to the Congress and subsequent lectures on the East Coast were enthusiastically received, and in 1924 he embarked on a cross-continental speaking tour. Over the next three decades, Paramahansa Yogananda contributed in far-reaching ways to a greater awareness and appreciation in the West of the spiritual wisdom of the East. In Los Angeles, he established an international headquarters for Self-Realization Fellowship, the nonsectarian religious society he had founded in 1920. Through his writings, extensive lecture tours, and the creation of Self-Realization Fellowship temples and meditation centers, he introduced hundreds of thousands of truth-seekers to the ancient science and philosophy of Yoga and its universally applicable methods of meditation. Today, the spiritual and humanitarian work begun by Paramahansa Yogananda continues under the direction of Sri Daya Mata, one of his earliest and closest disciples and president of Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India since 1955. In addition to publishing his writings, lectures and informal talks (including a comprehensive series of Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons for home study), the society also oversees temples, retreats, and centers around the world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How a master prays from the heart, November 27, 2002

By 

richardpinneau.com (Colorado) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Whispers from Eternity: First Version (Hardcover)

Note that there are two editions of Yogananda's Whispers from Eternity in print from Self-Realization Fellowship. As of this writing, Amazon stocks only the red hardback (no dust jacket) "First Version" from 1929 ( ISBN 0876121024 ), but given a date of 1998 in the Amazon listing. Yogananda revised and enlarged his original 1929 volume in 1939, and this second version has been released in several editions (9th in 1986) by Self-Realization Fellowship (ISBN 0876121032), attractively illustrated with monochrome and color inspirational photographs. The second version (those words do not appear prominently in it or on it) is gorgeous, but you may have to acquire it directly from the publisher, and it does omit some remarkable, highly spontaneous works contained in the First Version.

The publisher explains that the reprinting of the First Version since 1981 (with the later date: 1998 in Amazon's listing: ISBN 0876121024 ), was released because sentiment for the earlier version persisted among some of his most devoted followers. "This volume is a photographic reproduction of the (1929) work with omission only of four readings used in Self-Realization Fellowship ceremonies..." Although the modernized later version makes a better gift to a newcomer to Yogananda, long-time students will really appreciate the intimate feel of many of the early wordings. In particular, the First Version includes his "Prayer at Dawn", "Prayer at Noon" ( in the wordings you can still hear in recordings of the yoga master's own voice), "Prayer-Demand Before Taking Food", etc.

The First Version's introduction also has an interesting explanation of why Yogananda's title (Paramahansa) sometimes appeared as Paramhansa in early work (a function of Bengali pronunciation's tendency to drop the middle 'a' sound) and why the full word param-ahansa (supreme swan) is the clearer communication of the Sanskrit title.

In either version, the prayers, loving demands, chants, and poems are touching reflections of the great master's intimate connection with the Divine -- his Mother-Father-Friend-Beloved, as he would humbly address Spirit. No cold, carefully reasoned theology here -- just pure and simple love.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A PRAYER GUIDE FOR ALL FAITHS !, May 11, 1998

By 

Fred Parente (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whispers from Eternity (Hardcover)

WHISPERS FROM ETERNITY is a prayer guide and inspiration for the followers of all religions.

As the author invites us with his dedication: "Unto All the soul temples of Christians, Moslems, Buddhists, Hebrews, Hindus, and others. Wherein the Cosmic Heart is throbbing equally always............. And unto All the multi-colored lamps of various true teachings, In which shines the same one white flame of God...... And unto All churches, mosques, viharas, tabernacles, and temples of the world---Wherein our own One Father dwells impartially in the fullness of His glory"...

There are many excellent, deeply moving and awakening prayers for almost every need and occaision. A section of childrens prayers is very useful also. The author has spiritalized these prayers and one should concentrate upon each one until they become as personal as a spontaneous expression from the heart, and he encourages the use of ones own spontaneous prayer as well.

Also available from the same publisher is the original "First Version" of this book with a front section - instructions on how to pray.

"O Lord of Compassion teach me to shed tears of love for all beings, May I behold them as my very own--different expressions of my Self." --------Paramahansa Yogananda.......

The author's life was an outstanding demonstration of the power of prayer and meditation, and teaches us how, with the contact of the God within all, prayer becomes a most effective tool for the enhancement and fulfillment of our lives. And the channel of great blessings to those we love.

Also look for:.......Autobiography of a Yogi.............the Divine Romance.......Man's Eternal Quest.......In The Sanctuary of the Soul......Enter the Quiet Heart......How You Can Talk With God.......Journey to Self-Realization.......Finding the Joy Within You........

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Prayer Book Unlike Any Other, October 14, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Whispers from Eternity: First Version (Hardcover)

This a book of answered prayers that expounds the very mysteries of how a pray becomes successful. Anyone who has been captured by Autobiography of Yogi must make this part of their library.