Eknath Easwaran (December 17, 1910 – October 26, 1999) was an Indian-born spiritual teacher, author and translator and interpreter of Indian religious texts such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads.

In 1968 he was invited by a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, to teach on a Religious Studies course entitled The Theory and Practice of Meditation – the first in the country offering credits.

[16] Dhammapada Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads Gandhi the Man Nonviolent Soldier of Islam Essence of the Upanishads Essence of the Dhammapada Essence of the Bhagavad Gita Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living Original Goodness Love Never Faileth Seeing with the Eyes of Love Passage Meditation Mantram Handbook Conquest of Mind Strength in the Storm, others God Makes the Rivers to Flow Timeless Wisdom Words to Live By Easwaran's written works may be grouped into several major categories—primarily books, but also articles in newspapers and other periodicals.

"[20] In Buddhism: A Concise Introduction[21] Smith and his coauthor Philip Novak wrote that "Our favorite translation is Eknath Easwaran's The Dhammapada.

The book views the key message of the Gita as how to resolve our conflicts and live in harmony with the deep unity of life, through the practice of meditation and spiritual disciplines.

[citation needed] His book Strength in the Storm[25] is an introduction to The Mantram, containing many stories and practical examples to help the reader learn how to harness the inner resources for dealing with challenges in daily living.

Other (older) books describe various aspects of leading a spiritual life: Climbing the Blue Mountain, Compassionate Universe, and Undiscovered Country.

[citation needed] God Makes the Rivers to Flow[29] is an anthology of writings from the sacred literature of the world, selected by Easwaran as useful for meditation.

[citation needed] In Volume 1 (the first six chapters of the Gita) Easwaran explains how readers can begin to transform themselves, even as householders engaged in busy lives.

In Volume 2 (the next six chapters) Easwaran addresses the seeming divide between scientific knowledge and spiritual wisdom, and explains how the concept of the unity of life can help people in all their relationships.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Easwaran published a variety of commentaries on public events in prominent periodicals, especially The Christian Science Monitor,[37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] and also in The New York Times,[47][48] elsewhere in the US,[49] and internationally.

[47] He also wrote numerous commentaries that appeared in the Little Lamp (1961–1995), and in Blue Mountain (1990–present), quarterly journals published by the meditation center that he founded.

[51][52] Before coming to the US in 1959, Easwaran contributed short stories and other writings to literary anthologies,[53] and to magazines such as The Illustrated Weekly of India.

Several of Easwaran's written works, including Essence of the Upanishads, Passage Meditation, The Bhagavad Gita, The Dhammapada and Gandhi the Man, have been published as audio books, as voice-recorded by the British actor Paul Bazely,[64] and also the philosopher Jacob Needleman.

[67] Students of Easwaran, inspired in part by his teachings about compassion and stewardship for the environment, published the highly influential vegetarian cookbook, Laurel's Kitchen (1976), which had a strong impact on the natural foods movement within the American counterculture.

[74] Outside of the US, Easwaran's life and teachings were profiled, along with those of a variety of other spiritual teachers, in a book published in India entitled Meditation Masters and their Insights.

[78][79][80] Easwaran's other writings have also been quoted by various types of authors, including writers of novels and short stories,[81] popular spirituality,[82] and articles on management theory.

[84] The NAPRA ReView wrote that "The volume of [Easwaran's] work and the quality of his discourse suggest a man who has had a profound impact on the spiritual lives of many.

[86]: 272, 281 New Hampshire State Representative Latha Mangipudi reported having given then-Senator Barack Obama a copy of Easwaran's book Gandhi the Man in December 2006.

[5][89][90] In his survey of commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita, Nadkarni described Easwaran as "respected worldwide as one of the most profound writers and orators on religion and spirituality".

Languages in which his books are currently in print include Bahasa Indonesian, Bulgarian, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovenian, Spanish, and Telugu.