Our Publications
Benares Seen from Within
A Pilgrimage to Kashi (Colour comic book)
A Pilgrimage to Kashi (Colour comic book) (HB)
Selected Writings of M.M. Gopinath Kaviraj
Gopinath Kaviraj (1887-1976) does not need presentation in the world of modern Indian philosophy and thought. He was for many years librarian in the Sanskrit College, Varanasi. He later became Principal of the Sanskrit College until 1937, when he voluntarily retired to devote himself to research and sadhana. He was conferred the titles of Mahamahopadhyaya in 1934 and of Padmavibhusana in 1964.
108 Discourses of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath (1941-1953) (Hindi and English)
We are fortunate in that many of Swami Brahmananda's 'Upadesha' (discourses or sermons) were transcribed, and published in the ashram newsletter of 'Shri Shankaracharya Upadesha'. Now these most important words of Shankaracharya Swami Brahmanand Saraswati are being made available in this special edition, both in their original Hindi and in English, with translation done by Paul Mason.
Swami R. Vaidyanathan (Remaji): A Man with a Message to Humanity
History and Time An Indian Perspective
The Goddess and The Slave The Fakir, the Mother and Maldevelopment
Drawing upon the rich inter-connected levels of meaning within the Fakir culture, especially with respect to the living, breathing paradigmatic Mother--as Nature, as the Goddess to be worshipped and as the mother whose service is her identity--The Goddess and the Slave demonstrates the crisis faced by the unique Baul-Fakir sadhana, by the non-urban Bengali, and by Indian society itself through the major changes brought by modernization and globalization.
Rudrani Fakir, as an anthropologist and as a practitioner, uses the Fakir sadhana as a critical tool of understanding, presenting this objective study through her highly engaged subjective perspectrive. The first part of this book outlines the Fakir society and esoteric sadhana. The second part delves into the decline and decay of the reality of the Goddess, the changing status of women and of the true nature of wealth, and draws together the threads of the old knowledge paradigms--esoteric and modern, spoken and wordless, powerless and empowered.
ध्रुपद पञ्चाशिका
पंडित ऋत्विक सान्याल हिंदुस्तानी शास्त्रीय संगीत (ध्रुपद ) के सुविख्यात ध्रुपद गायक हैं। वे विगत ३५ वर्षों से अनवरत देश-विदेश में ध्रुपद के पुनर्जागरण , प्रचार एवं प्रसार में सक्रिय हैं।
इस संस्करण में स्वयंकृत रचनायुक्त ५१ ध्रुपद हैं, जिनमे अनेक पद भी स्वरचित हैं। अखण्ड आकार , कण , आंदोलन , बलाघात , मींड , गामक आदि को दर्शाते हुए रचनाओं को प्रस्तुत किया गया है , क्योंकि इन सभी का प्रयोग ध्रुपद की डगर-परंपरा में अतिशय ध्यानपूर्वक किया जाता है।
इस किताब की अहम् खासियत यह है की इसमें पंडित सान्याल ने केवल सुर-ताल-पद की नई बंदिशें ही नहीं दी हैं, बल्कि एक ऐसी नै स्वरलिपि (नोटेशन) भी ईजाद की है जो हमारी गायकी में स्वर के 'उच्चार' की खासियतों, खास अंदाज़ों, स्वरों की अनगिनत छटाओं को भी बहुत-कुछ उजागर कर सके. अभी तक जितने प्रकार की स्वरलिपियाँ बनीं और प्रयोग में लाई जा रही हैं, उनमें स्वर लगाने की बारीकियों को दिखाने लायक इतने संकेत-चिन्ह मौजूद नहीं हैं. उस कमी को महसूस करके पंडित सान्याल ने जो यह नई व बहुत बेहतरीन स्वरलिपि की उपज की है. यह स्वरलिपि अपने आप में संगीत जगत को एक बड़ी अहम् देन साबित होगा.
India from Within A Guide to India’s History, Religion, Arts, Culture and Society
Indian society is manifold and extremely complex. The richness of the Indian subcontinent defies and exceeds all facile explanations or generalizations, and cannot be adequately interpreted through western concepts.
This book tries to clear a path towards an understanding of this immense country, home to a civilization that has endured without interruption for millennia. In this small encyclopaedia of India, the author explains the roots and foundations of Indian civilization, covering almost every aspect of Indian culture; its broad topics include History, Religion, Society, Arts, The State, and travel. Offering an illuminating selection of information concerning many aspects of India, this is surely among the most complete cultural guides about this country and its varied cultures.
Holy Kashi to Vibrant Varanasi
Kashi/Banaras/Varanasi is a world of its own, a veritable mini India, unique in almost all respects. Its contradictions can be seen in its blend of spirituality and darkness, sanctity and filth, purity and deceipt, culture and grossness.
Luminous Kashi to Vibrant Varanasi presents, as no other book has done before, all these aspects of this paradoxical and fascinating city, and gives an amazing quantity of information on the city, its history, culture and people; its temples and tirthas, mathas and institutions; its scholars, some of them the best in the country; its festivals and lilas; its literature, music, painting and culture; its silk trade and crafts; and its typical inhabitants: sadhus, pandits, pandas, babus, rais, thugs and gundas. More than all, the book finds out, with the help of mythology and metaphysics, the essence of Kashi-its luminosity and its vibrancy! It finally says: walk not in the dark alleys, plunge not in the shallows, but more into the luminosity, and dive deep into the oceans of knowledge. The Kashi you find depends on how far you walk, how deep you dive!
