HISTORY OF MYSTICISM: The Unchanging Testament

A contemporary American mystic and scholar tells the story of man's recurrent experience of enlightenment throughout the ages, and presents in an historical context the lives and words of over 40 famous mystics from both Eastern and Western religious traditions, including the Upanishadic seers, Kapila, Lao Tze, the Buddha, Socrates and Plato, Philo Judaeus, Jesus, Plotinus, Dionysius the Areopagite, Narada, Patanjali, Shankara, Dattatreya, Milarepa, Ch'an and Zen Buddhists, Al-Hallaj, Ibn Arabi, Iraqi, Rumi, Jnaneshvar, Meister Eckhart, Thomas a Kempis, Nicholas of Cusa, St. John of the Cross, Kabir, Nanak, Dadu, Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Rama Tirtha, and many others.

This book is not only a history and compendium of the rare works of the great mystics, but is an ever-new source of encouragement and inspiration to all students of enlightenment--both novices and seasoned scholars alike. The author, Swami Abhayananda, was born Stan Trout in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1938, was a disciple of Swami Muktananda of Ganeshpuri, and was initiated as a sannyasin of the Sarasvati Order in 1978. He has written a number of books, including "The Supreme Self", "The Wisdom of Vedanta", "Jnaneshvar", "Mysticism And Science", and "The Divine Universe".