Showing results by narrator "Ben Kingsley" in All Categories

When Autobiography of a Yogi first appeared in 1946, it was acclaimed as a landmark work in its field. The New York Times hailed it as "a rare account". Newsweek pronounced it "fascinating". The San Francisco Chronicle declared, "Yogananda presents a convincing case for yoga, and those who 'came to scoff' may remain 'to pray." Today it is still one of the most widely read and respected books ever published on the wisdom of the East.

World-renowned thinker and scholar Thich Nhat Hanh, considered by many to be a "Living Buddah," explores the spiritual crossroads where the traditions of Christianity and Buddhism meet. Living Buddha, Living Christ reawakens our understanding of both religions and the connections between them.

The compelling, beautiful narrative of Code Name God is one man's rags-to-riches story and, more profoundly, the vision of a world-class physicist seeking to integrate the findings of science, religion, and spiritual quest.

Confucius (551-479 BCE) taught a moral wisdom that would become a predominant social force in China from the second century BCE until the mid-20th century. Confucianism does not teach a central doctrine that a God or gods should be worshipped, but it does embrace a system of ritual and emphasizes humanistic virtues and values. Daoism is both a philosophy and a religion, seeking a life and a mind in harmony with nature.

The first volume in the best-selling Letters of Note series was a collection of hundreds of the world's most entertaining, inspiring, and unusual letters, based on the seismically popular website of the same name. In this volume, Shaun Usher turns to the theme of war. Letters of Note: War brings together some of the most remarkable letters that encapsulate human experience of war, from unimaginable feats of courage and compassion, to unthinkable episodes of violence and horror. Includes letters by Kurt Vonnegut, Alexander Hamilton, Martha Gellhorn, and many more. 

In the century's darkest time, one man became the most unlikely of heroes. German-Catholic industrialist and Nazi Party member Oskar Schindler used his wealth and influence to save the lives of more than 1,300 Jews who would have otherwise died in the concentration camp at Plaszow. Here is the story on which Steven Spielberg based his powerful motion picture. If you like this, try Ursula Hegi's Stones from a River.

At a shadowy company (Karoli Robotics Corporation) owned by a Sillicon Valley billionaire, a scientist named Jim creates an AI that can fool the Turing test at the same time as his colleague, Daniel, successfully synthesizes DNA in a test tube. Daniel's attempts to reanimate dead chimps using his discovery have been unsuccessful, but when his friend Laura Bocelli is killed by being trapped inside a lab freezer, Daniel is presented with the perfect specimen. However, Laura is irreparably brain dead. 

The religious ideas and practices of African peoples have much in common with each other, and with related religions in the Caribbean and the Americas. African Islam and African Christianity have developed separately since their earliest time in Ethiopia, Egypt, and the Sudan.

The time traveler steps into his machine to embark upon an astonishing journey beyond the frontiers of time, space, and the human imagination. When he emerges, he finds himself in the year 802,700, observing a utopian age in which creatures coexist in peace and harmony. He plans to study this society and return to his own time to implement its secrets - until he discovers that his machine, his only means of transport back to his own life, has been stolen!

North, Central, and South American Indians have a rich religious heritage, though much has been lost since these peoples were conquered by Europeans. Characteristic features of Native American religion included the master of the animals, a protective spirit of a species or of all animals. Shamans, ecstatic medicine men, used supernatural powers to cure the ill. Totemism was a mysterious religious bond between the human clan and their animal guardians.

Judaism is more than a religion; it is a civilization, including a people, a language, unique laws, a system of ethics, customs, a homeland, and a theology. Jews worship one God and obey a wide-ranging and vigorous moral law centered around the Torah, God's teaching or instruction. Jewish sacred literature preserves the ancient oral tradition through the Hebrew Bible and other writings.

"I give you assurances," cried the Tiger to the Brahmin. "I shan't eat you if you let me out of the cage." But when the Brahmin makes the mistake of taking the Tiger at his word, he discovers that the dishonest beast intended to eat him all along. In the end, it is the wily jackal who comes to the Brahmin's aid and teaches him a lesson he had never found in his holy books. This clever, absorbing adaptation, written by Brian Gleeson, is read by Ben Kingsley.

This classic tale of Tarzan, the young English boy in the deepest African jungle, is one of imagination, adventure, and ultimate action. Raised by apes, he learns to speak to the animals, swing through the jungle, and survive happily as one of their own. Only when he meets a group of British tourists on safari does his world change completely. His first encounter with humans, and Jane especially, turns his known life upside down. This Edgar Rice Burroughs classic tale beckons listeners to escape their own world and visit a savage and untamed wilderness.

The traditional religion known as Shinto was present in Japan from prehistoric times, long before Buddhism and other traditions arrived from the Asian continent. Shrine Shinto, centered around local shrines and seasonal festivals, has greatly influenced Japanese culture. Sect Shinto is characterized by more highly organized institutions, which attract many members; folk Shinto consists of beliefs and practices apart from these institutions, especially in the home.

Hinduism is a very broad term for the religious practices and doctrines of the Indian people. This tradition is believed to have begun in about 1800 BCE with religious poems known as the Vedas. Hinduism is best known in the west through the doctrines of Advaita, the belief that there is only one ultimate reality. Advaitans, however, worshipped a range of icons that represented the separate manifestations of the ultimate Brahman.

In More of the 776 Stupidest Things Ever Said, Ross and Kathryn Petras continue their connoisseur's compendium of awkward utterances, slips of the tongue, doubletalk, and just plain stupid statements from politicians, celebrities, sports figures, social leaders and average joes.

Buddhism began with Gotama the Buddha in the sixth century BCE and has developed two chief forms: Theravada (or Hinayana) is found especially in Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand; Mahayana is found in Japan, China, Korea, and Indochina. Zen, a more recent form of Buddhism, is found throughout the world. Some believe Buddhism is not properly understood as a religion, though this presentation describes its religious qualities.

The religious practices and understandings of small indigenous societies are recognized by many to be in no way inferior to other religious beliefs. Many such cultures still exist; their prescientific, even prehistoric social and intellectual pattern includes shamans, sacrifices, totems, animism, taboos, and certain rituals and myths that reflect their unique and increasingly rare way of life.

Set amid the vibrant colors and sounds of the savage African jungle, Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic work has taken generations on a glorious, adventurous, and romantic journey. Raised in the wild by the great ape Kala, Tarzan the ape-man must learn to talk with the animals, swing through the trees, and fight the great predators to survive in the jungle. When white men invade his paradise, Tarzan's life is forever changed, for it is then that he meets Jane, the first white woman he has ever seen.

In the 100 years since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created the immortal Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick, Watson, no other mystery writer has come close to eclipsing him as the standard bearer of detectives. Holmes is at the height of his powers here in many of his most famous cases, first published in Strand magazine in 1891-1892. This collection of short stories is read by the celebrated actor Ben Kingsley.