5 AWESOME Self-Help BOOKS for Personal and Spiritual Growth
Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light.
–Vera Nazarian
Spirituality and Philosophy
We are spiritual beings having a human experience. — Gauranga Das
Spirituality and philosophy are profound, but often abstract, and hence difficult for the common man to understand and follow. Hence, books that use anecdotes and stories to transform these abstract concepts into advice and exercises, are easier to understand and apply to improve our lives. Below is a list of 5 such books.
1. Life’s Amazing Secrets: How to Find Balance and Purpose in Your Life
“Life’s Amazing Secrets” is written by one of the most popular spiritual personalities on Youtube—Gaur Gopal Das. In this book, Gaur Gopal Das uses two characters Harry Iyer and Laita Iyer, and their problems to walk the readers through the four wheels of life on which it is balanced: personal life; our relationships; work life; and our social contribution. In short, this self-help book explains how to live life and find balance in life in a very simple and conversational fashion using examples and anecdotes.
Some of my favorite lines from the book are:
“Love is when we have every reason to break up but we do not.”
“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.”
“Stop and reflect on your life regularly. Pressing the pause button to practice gratitude is the way to make it a constant in your life.”
2. Tales and Parables of Sri Ramakrishna
Sri Ramakrishna, also known as Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, was an Indian mystic, yogi, and spiritual leader, who lived in the 19th century and was Swami Vivekananda’s guru.
The book — “Tales and Parables of Sri Ramakrishna” is a collection of 205 tales and parables devised on the model of Vedic scriptures, Puranic stories, as well as ordinary domestic and social life, and some events from Sri Ramakrishna’s life itself. Through them, he taught the learned and lay the deep truths of life that need to be imbibed and implemented. All the stories are written in a humorous vein in simple English so that it is easy to read them. However, some stories have a deep meaning behind them and bear witness to his consummate wit and keenness of observation. The book groups the tales and the parables under the themes and values they express to facilitate the readers to contemplate their import. A favorite line from the book:
“By constantly acting a thing, one actually becomes that.”
3. The Art of Resilience:40 Stories to Uplift the Mind and Transform the Heart
Written by IIT engineer turned monk, leadership consultant, corporate coach, inspirational speaker, and spiritual leader — Gauranga Das, “The Art of Resilience” talks about different qualities of a human being through 40 short motivational stories. The stories bring out the essence of Vedantic spiritual wisdom in an easily understandable and relatable way for the modern generation. The stories are entertaining, inspiring, and full of wisdom that helps us apply the lesson in our own lives and provide tips for self-improvement.
Some of my favorite lines from the book are:
“Service is gratitude put into actions”
“Service to others helps us rise above our own self-gratification and petty selfishness”
“The cause of negative emotions is something inside us, not outside us.”
4. Think Like a Monk: The Secret of How to Harness the Power of Positivity and Be Happy Now
Written by Jay Shetty, a former monk, social media superstar, and host of the number one podcast ‘On Purpose’, “Think Like a Monk” contains practical exercises on how to have a monk-like mindset without becoming a monk. In this book, he shares the timeless wisdom he learned as a practicing monk into simple practical steps anyone can take every day to overcome negative thoughts and habits, and live a less anxious, more meaningful life.
Some of my favorite lines from the book are:
“Cancers of the Mind: Comparing, Complaining, Criticizing.”
“The more we define ourselves in relation to the people around us, the more lost we are.”
“When we accept the temporary nature of everything in our lives, we can feel gratitude for the good fortune of getting to borrow them for a time.”
5. Celebrating Silence: Excerpts from Five Years of Weekly Knowledge 1995–2000
Written by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, an Indian spiritual leader and Founder of Art of Living, “Celebrating Silence” contains the weekly discourses that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had held at various places between 1995 to 2000, organized by themes such as anger, faith, desires, expectations, love, lust, greed, respect, and many more. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar brings to life ancient wisdom in the scriptures and life lessons from every area in life, simply put in the form of snippets, making it easily relatable and applicable to our daily lives.
Some of my favorite lines from the book are:
“In always wanting to be comfortable, you become lazy.
In always wanting perfection, you become angry.
In always wanting to be rich, you become greedy.”“If someone blames you directly, do not believe it. Just know that they are taking away your bad karma and let it”
Concluding Thoughts
I would love to learn about the books that light up your life. So please leave a comment on this post letting me know or connect on LinkedIn.
My stories on life lessons, self-help, wisdom, and spirituality can be found under the list heading —
Life, Motivation, Wisdom, Spirituality
Thanks so much for reading! Take care!
Biography: Rupa Mahanti is a consultant, data enthusiast, researcher, writer, spiritualist, and author of several books, mostly on data. One of her books — Thoughts: A Collection of Inspirational Quotes, contains some fundamental truths of life in the form of more than 100 quotes. Every reader will find something in the book that he or she can resonate with, and apply the same to their own life.
