Books for enlightenment

Sadly, you cannot read your way to enlightenment, but you can at least read books written by enlightened beings, and also read books that challenge the consensus view of reality. After you break free of the grip of the ego-mind you may also find that reading regular books becomes a little silly, like watching TV soap operas.

Carlos Castaneda

Carlos Castaneda was a UCLA anthropology student who began to study medicinal herbs used by the Yaqui peoples of Mexico. He met a shaman called Don Juan who took him in as an apprentice and proceeded to induct him as a shaman. These amazing books, which could be read for entertainment or as a teaching, tell stories of encounters with strange beings and strange places, of astonishing abilities like bi-location, aura seeing, energy work, lucid dreaming and personal power.

Conversations with God

Neale Donald Walsch is a regular guy who started writing questions to God on a legal pad, and then God started answering his questions. The result of all this, is a remarkable series of books on life, the universe and everything. Read them and you will never think the same way again.

Course in Miracles

A one year course in enlightenment that you can do in the comfort of your own home. This work is entirely channelled, and will seriously change your view of reality. A Course in Miracles was created by two medical academics called Helen Schucman and William Thetford, Professors of Medical Psychology at Columbia University. They were anything but spiritual when they began this work.
There is a fundamental difference between the real and the unreal; between knowledge and perception. Knowledge is truth, under one law, the law of love a.k.a. God. Truth is immutable, ever-lasting, and unambiguous. It can be unrecognized, but it cannot be changed. It applies universally. It is beyond learning because it is beyond time, thought and process. It has no opposite; no beginning and no end. It alone is.
The world of perception, on the other hand, is the world of time, of change; it is the world of consensus reality. It is based on interpretation and beliefs, not on facts. It is the realm of birth and death, founded on the belief in limitation, loss, separation, and death.
Lesson 1 reads "Nothing I see means anything". Their website is here

Urantia

If you yearn to know 'how' about the universe, this book will amaze you. Incredibly detailed account of the universe, the world and all the beings who inhabit the seen and unseen universes.

Bhagavad Gita

The classic Hindu holy book tells a multi-level story of warring families, where Krishna tells Arjuna about God and truth. At another level, the book tells how the sense-impressions of the world can be deceptive. I believe that the best translation of the original Sanscrit was produced by Paramhansa Yogananda. You can obtain it here

Yoga sutras of Patanjali

This ancient Sanscrit text is a roadmap for enlightenment, but it needs a good deal of translation and interpretation to be accessible to our western minds. It describes 4 major types of consciousness - ordinary waking consciousness; dreaming; dreamless sleep; and the 4th state.

MSI books

MSI - Maharishi Sadashiva Ishaya was an American monk who founded an organisation that teaches Ascension. The Ishayas trace their lineage back to the apostle John, and their teaching incorporates elements of Christian and Hindu wisdom. Their courses are well worth attending, and their techniques are simple and powerful, based around appreciation, gratitude, love and compassion. MSI wrote three books that can be read as adventure novels, but in truth are spiritual instruction manuals. MSI also translated - and explained - Patanjali's Yoga Sutras which is a definitive roadmap to enlightenment.

Autobiography of a yogi - Paramhansa Yogananda

A classic book for the spiritual seeker. The organisation he founded is the Self Realisation Fellowship, and they publish the book. Get it here

Deepak Chopra

Poonjaji

H.W.L. Poonja comes from a long line of enlightnend sages in the advaita tradition; his guru was Sri Ramana Marharshi. His books are fun and enlightening. His central approach is enquiry, through asking "Who am I" in meditation. These books are a must-read for the 'serious' seeker of enlightenment. Serious in quotes, because seriousness is an attribute of ego, and enlightenment is ego-less.
Wake Up and Roar: Satsang With H. W. L. Poonja, Vol. 2 (Wake Up & Roar)
The Truth Is

Krishnamurti

Krishnamurti was a 20th century enlightnend being, who lectured and wrote books about meditation, conditioning and the human condition. Given his state of enlightenment, much of his work points at enlighenened wisdom, which is not subject to the analysis of the conscious mind. Once you are past the limitations of the reductionist thought processes, he offers the wisdom of one who knows.

Eckhart Tolle

Now here's an interesting dude !! I heard that at one of his recent lectures, he sat in silence for 20 minutes. That's quite a teaching for our stimulation-addicted minds !! These books are quite amazing, you can read a single line and spend the rest of the day contemplating it. He explains 'Now'. He explains pain and his notion of the 'Pain Body', he expounds a vision for a future enlightened civilisation.