Curious Christian

Reflections on culture, nature, and spirituality from a Christian perspective

Best Sellers in Hinduism

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Matt Stone

2011-08-31

Every now and then I find it helpful to take a wider look at the spiritual currents moving through our culture, beyond my direct experience of it. In that respect I sometimes find it informative to look at what’s selling in bookstore like Amazon. So tonight I thought I’d take a look at the best sellers in Hinduism. Here they are:

The Bhagavad-Gita by Barbara Stoler Miller
The Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaran
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Sri S. Satchidananda
The Subtle Body by Cyndi Dale
Bhagavad Gita by Stephen Mitchell
Darsan by Diana L. Eck
Remember, Be Here Now by Ram Dass
Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
The Four Desires by Rod Stryker
Eastern Body, Western Mind by Anodea Judith

Looking very “traditional” don’t you think? Get’s me wondering how much Kindle sales are distorting the normal picture, with people stocking up on cheap classics.

Tags Books, Hindu

3 responses to “Best Sellers in Hinduism”

Steve Hayes

2011-09-07

Perhaps more significant, though, is where are the people who are buying them. I doubt that they are in India.

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Matt Stone

2011-09-09

Oh I agree. I doubt too many Indians are on Kindles just yet.
Also, from my experience migrant Hindus are far more interested in folk rituals than philosophical discourse, so this reads as Hinduism 101 for westerner consumers.

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Rick Ritchie

2011-09-20

The Darsan book by Diana L. Eck is about folk rituals.
How the statues of the gods are ritually made to see. How people wish to be seen by them.
I found the book quite interesting when I had to read it for a readings course in Hinduism. But it does stand out from the rest of the list in terms of subject matter.
I also enjoyed reading their epics: the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. They are great storytellers. (One story from the Mahabharata, where a prince would not leave his dog to enter heaven, was made into a Twilight Zone episode, though put in quasi-Christian dress with someone posing as St. Peter meeting the man and his dog.) Reading in other religions can often seem like a chore to me, but these works were a delight.

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