Classical Sources

Learn from classical figures and other (relatively more recent) teachers and sages from across the world’s traditions-- alphabetical order.

Over twenty are here, through the Multiplex and further linked through Stillness Speaks. The Multiplex has added selected website options along with pointers and links to their classic works and FREE DOWNLOADS.

Looking for photos of persons? These can be rare, or nonexistent, but some, or paintings, will appear when you press on the links

Abhinavagupta, classical figure in Kashmiri Shivanism, key doorway in nondualism.

Abhishiktananda (Fr. Henri Le Saux), important crossover figure seeding the Christian/Advaitic lineage leading to Fr. Bede Griffiths, Bro. Wayne Teasdale etc.

See or download previously unpublished piece on Le Saux and the Christian/Advaitic "straddle" by Bro. Wayne HERE

Atmananda Krishna Menon, teacher and author of key treatises, like the 'great reminder' the Atma Darshan

Babaji (Babaji Nagaraj, of Kriya Yoga), might be called "The Gift that Keeps on Giving". Historically, born on Nov. 30, 203 AD, in Tamil Nadu India, Babaji vowed to keep his human form and stay on the planet till all of humanity had transformed. There is very little information on the historical Babaji and his teachings; numerous teachers and groups have claimed to represent him.

General information: Given these circumstances, it's best to Google (or used other Search site) for "Babaji Nagaraj" and navigate this mystery from there, making your own evaluations as you do. A traditional rendering of Babaji Nagaraj is recorded in our Photo Archive along with a depiction of his work continuing.

Baba Virsa Singh (H. H. Baba Virsa Singh of Gobind Sadan), Punjabi Sage.

Black Elk, Oglala medicine man known for the classic dictations Black Elk Speaks, The Sacred Pipe and Spiritual Legacy of the American Indian, among others

Books currently available by searching any booksite. Free DOWNLOADS have been available at www.learnoutloud.com

DOWNLOAD summaries of the Buddha’s teachings and hear related audios by The Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi at: www.buddhanet.net/audio-lectures.htm

General and with wide-ranging links to general Buddhist websites and DOWNLOAD sources: www.buddhanet.net/10_best.htm

Chinmayananda, classical Indian leader, independence movement patriot, visionary and sage

the Dalai Lama (H. H. [currently the 14th] Dalai Lama), of the Tibetan Buddhist Dalai Lama Lineage

the Drukpa (H. H. [currently the 12th] Qyalwang Drukpa), of the Tibetan Buddhist Drukpa Lineage

understand the Drukpa lineage and download materials from him at: www.drukpa.org;

Huang Po (Huangbo, etc., variously transliterated), early classical figure in Zen Buddism

For Huang Po and other major classical Zen figures see index and DOWNLOADS therein at:

General Information: at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/Huangbo_Xiyun (to our knowledge not the same person as the contemporary baseball player of same name-- you read this far!)

Jesus (Jesus of Nazareth), messianic figure of Christianity; prophetic figure in Islam. There are any number of new, exciting and profoundly insightful books on Jesus in the context of the world’s spiritual heritages.

Modern perspectives on Jesus: at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religioius_perspectives_on_Jesus

Historical Jesus, status of scholarship; at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_Jesus

From Namaste: Your Forgotten Self: Mirrored in Jesus the Christ by Robert David Ord: http://www.namastepublishing.com/ord_yfs.asp

General Information: at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus

Krishnamurti (Jiddu), teacher, philosopher, educator, "anti-guru"

On Krishnamurti (J.) and Krishnamurti (U.G.): www.squidoo.com/krishnamurti

DOWNLOAD from and about J. Krishnamurti (including David Bohm): http://www.jkrishnamurti.org

General Information: at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiddu_Krishnamurti

Krishnamurti (U.G.), teacher 'uniquely himself', challenging pioneer and "anti-guru",

DOWNLOAD entire works free: http://www.well.com/user/jct/ Stillness Speaks: http://www.stillnessspeaks.com/u_g_krishnamurti

VIDEO re: biography: http://ug-k.blogspot.com/ (U. G. Krishnamurti: A Life). Others at YouTube.

General Information: at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U._G._Krishnamurti

Lao Tzu, author of the Tao Te Ching, father of Taoism

DOWNLOAD Tao Te Ching, here (James Legge translation): http://classics.mit.edu/Browse/browse-Lao.html At Stillness Speaks: http://www.stillnessspeaks.com/lao_tzu,

General Information: at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laozi

Ma Anandamayee, 19th Century Indian sage, self-realized, self taught

DOWNLOAD anecdotes, excerpts: http://www.anandamayi.org At Stillness Speaks: http://www.stillnessspeaks.com/ma_anandamayee

General Information: at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Anandamayi_Ma

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (Mahesh Prasad Varma), founder of Transcendental Meditation

DOWNLOAD various materials re: organizations www.maharishi.org; www.tm.org; civic and educational institutions: http://www.vediccity.net/ ; http://www.mum.edu/; http://www.maharishischooliowa.org/

General Information: at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharishi_Mahesh_Yogi

Nisargadatta Maharaj, India's other (along with Ramana Maharshi) great classical Advaitic sage in relatively recent time

from Nisargadatta this "lineage" was said to move to Ramesh Balsekar, and to westerners he taught like Wayne Liquorman, Tim Conway and others

DOWNLOAD his classic I Am That: www.prahlad.org/gallery/nisargadatta_maharaj.htm At Stillness Speaks: article and links http://www.stillnessspeaks.com/nisargadatta_maharaj

Read Tim Conway on authentic and non-authentic teachers (written in wake of controversies within the lineage): www.globalserve.net/~sarlo/Yconway2.htm

General Information: at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisagadatta_Maharaj

Papaji (aka Sri H.W. L. Poonja or Poonjaji), perhaps the most well-known direct disciple of Ramana Maharshi, along with Robert Adams (see Contemporary Teachers as well).

At one time or another teacher of so many contemporary westerners who have brought various versions of Advaita west, Gangaji, Eli Jaxon-Bear, Isaac Shapiro, Andrew Cohen, Catherine Ingram, Neelam, Dasarath, Mooji, to name only a few. The precise connection of these western teachers to him is controversial, as can be seen with some research, but the group is diverse and also full of persons to whom many attribute much. So perhaps the hairs should not be split so finely.

Ramakrishna (Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa) 19th Century Indian/Bengali mystic, renaissance and interspiritual figure

Rumi, renowned Sufi Master and Poet, http://www.stillnessspeaks.com/rumi (see there, upper right, VIDEO of Rumi Poems, with Music and Images).

Sri Aurobindo and The Mother (Mirra Alfassa). Spiritual and cultural pioneers of India

Yogananda (Paramahansa Yogananda), acknowledged by so many as a historical reservoir; best known publically for Autobiography of a Yogi.

General Information: at Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramahansa_Yogananda

Please know from the "get go" that we make no judgments here. All spiritual teachers are controversial to some degree, but behavioral or ethical controversies, deserved or undeserved, create particular difficulty. We group the following figures here simply because the controversies are relatively recent and have to do with the perennial question about the relationship of higher consciousness and normative behavior, not to mention the relationship of the Message and Messenger.

Integral theory helps us understand this to a degree, noting that right now in the evolution of consciousness some persons may have a "highly developed consciousness line [trait]" but at the same time other less developed lines [emotional, psycho-sexual etc.]. Also, Tim Conway (see his piece's linked at the Multiplex on "levels" of authentic teachers) seems to summarize well that behavioral problems often stem from teachers ascribing themselves to a higher level of realization than they actually represent. We make no judgments but provide links the reader can follow for their own evaluation, pro and con.

In these cases, even though these teachers spawned serious controversy or even ill repute, the extent of their influence (particularly before such controversial events or because of valued written works) still impact the interspiritual scene. There are other examples 'out there' but we have included only some of the most prominent.

In treating these controversies one can go from the extremes of websites like www.thesharkguys.com to more conventional attempts to understand the pathologies that can unfortunately sometimes accompany the spiritual path, especially when the teaching position is coupled with power over followers.

and remember the words of Lao Tzu:
"Having what is called insight, a good man, before he can help a bad man, finds in himself the matter with the bad man"

the late Adi Dah (many other names). Author of the respected Dawn Horse Testament, engulfed by behavioral and ethical controversies, prominent devotee departures and the like, but still revered by many as a source for major modern understandings of the higher Consciousness landscape. Download materials from his organization at www.adidam.org; a far-ranging piece about the controversy, among many others, is at www.strippingthegurus.com/stgsamplechapters/da.asp

the late Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh). From philosopher to revered guru, to controversies of runaway wealth and ashram-related criminal activity. Yet revered as a root teacher by many making prominent contributions today

the late Ramesh Balsekar, controverial behavior toward earthlife's end stands in contrast to important written and other contributions by this close associate of Nisargadatta (see also Tim Conway's cautionary piece, below and under Contemporary Teachers).

Sun Myung Moon (Rev. Moon), Korean religious figure. Mentioned here not because the years of controversy are questionable but because relatively few realize that at least Part I of his treatise Divine Principle contains quite sophisticated insights regarding nondualism, Christian biblical exegesis, and Christian versus Marxist ontology. A few scholars have followed these threads but the sociological controversy has overwhelmed it. Another enigma of Message and Messenger.

Andrew Cohen, undoubtedly important for contributions to the emerging evolutionary consciousness and founding of "What is Enlightenment?" magazine. Also dogged by controversies involving intra-community behaviour and dynamics. It is certainly possible that he is completely misunderstood by his critics. We make no judgment here but include important links for your own evalution. See also What is Enlightenment Magazine at the Multiplex "World Groups" page.

Sai Baba, again a prominent figure, esp, in the western "straddle" with eastern teachers but also dogged by behavioral and legal controversy. We make no judgment here but include important links for your own evaluation.