SVADHYAYA – Self-study through Reading Books

A regular practice of reading books that expand your understanding of how life works, is recommended
by several traditions. This practice called SVADHYAYA complements and enhances the impact of your
meditation practice on your daily life. The term ‘Svadhyaya’ means ‘one’s own reading’ or ‘self-study’.

There are millions of books, written by thousands of masters, that spread across the spectrum of self-
development – right from neuroscience, meditation, mindfulness to enlightenment, spiritual progress
and soul science. Books, with their wisdom, often tend to open up new vistas of thinking. Different
topics and kinds of books appeal to different people depending on the state of their thinking and living.
A list of some books that provide clarity into our thoughts, beliefs and attitudes and some books that
show a path forward on you journey to happiness – are listed in the next page. Please take time to read
these when possible over the next few weeks/months or during your travels. Some of these will address
recurring thoughts and smoothen your meditation. Some of these will provide moments of ‘aha’ – ‘Oh I
didn’t know that earlier’. And some will overwhelm you with joy and peace as your long-standing
confusions fall away due to new wisdom.

A LIST OF RECOMMENDED BOOKS

Educational, Easy to read books:

1. A NEW EARTH by Eckhart Tolle

2. YOU ARE THE PLACEBO by Dr.Joe Dispenza
3. SUCCESS THROUGH STILLNESS by Russell Simmons
4. THE ART AND SCIENCE OF MEDITATION by Dr Newton Kondaveti
5. I AM THE MIND by Deep Trivedi
6. BREATH BY BREATH by Larry Rosenberg
7. YOU CAN HEAL YOUR LIFE by Louise L Hay
8. CLARITY by Jamie Smart
9. IF YOU’RE SO SMART, WHY AREN’T YOU HAPPY? by Raj Raghunathan
10. THE JOY OF LIVING by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
11. CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD (Book 1, 2, 3) by Neale Donald Walsch
12. THRIVE by Arianna Huffington
13. YOUR BRAIN AT WORK by David Rock
14. POWER OF YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND by Dr Joseph Murphy
15. WHEREVER YOU GO, THERE YOU ARE by Jon Kabat-Zinn
16. THE MIRACLE OF MINDFULNESS by Thich Nhat Hanh
17. YOGA AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS by Sam Chase
18. WORK: HOW TO FIND JOY AND MEANING IN EACH HOUR OF THE DAY by Thich Nhat Hanh
19. PATANJALI YOGA SUTRA by Swami Vivekananda
Story-based / biography, self-improvement and motivational books:

1. THINK LIKE A MONK by Jay Shetty

2. THE ALCHEMIST by Paulo Coelho
3. JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL by Richard Bach
4. THE MONK WHO SOLD HIS FERRARI by Robin Sharma
5. THE CELESTINE PROPHECY by James Redfield
6. THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED by M Scott Peck
7. YOGA AND THE QUEST FOR THE TRUE SELF by Stephen Cope
8. THE LIFETIMES WHEN JESUS AND BUDDHA KNEW EACH OTHER by Gary R Renard
9. SIDDHARTHA by Hermann Hesse
10. LIVING WITH HIMALAYAN MASTERS by Swami Rama
11. THE SURRENDER EXPERIMENT by Michale A Singer

Advanced, Insight-filled, awakening books:

1. MY GITA by Devdutt Pattanaik

2. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI by Paramahamsa Yogananda
3. THE BIOLOGY OF BELIEF by Bruce Lipton
4. BECOMING SUPERNATURAL by Dr Joe Dispenza
5. A SOUL’S JOURNEY by Peter Richelieu
6. CORE OF YOGASUTRAS by BKS Iyengar
7. THE SECRET POWER OF PYRAMIDS by Bill Schul & Ed Pettit
8. THE MIND ILLUMINATED by Culadasa & Mathew Immercut
9. YOUR SOUL’S GIFT by Robert Schwartz
10. WHAT THE BUDDHA TAUGHT by Walpola Sri Rahula
11. SELF AWARE UNIVERSE by Amit Goswami
12. THE SCIENCE OF ENLIGHTENMENT by Shinzen Young
13. EFFORTLESS LIVING by Jason Gregory
14. FLOW: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HAPPINESS by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
15. THINKING AND DESTINY by Harold W Percival
16. THE SECRET OF THE YOGA SUTRA by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait