9 Best Books on Spiritual Awakening & Enlightenment [2023 Update] - Happier Human

10 Best Books on Spiritual Awakening and Enlightenment

The 16 Best Books on Spiritual Enlightenment (2023) – Wild Simple Joy

16 Best Spiritual Books of All Time, According to Experts

The Journey Beyond Yourself

El Viaje Más Allá de Ti Mismo

The Untethered Soul

El Alma Sin Ataduras

9 Books to Spark Spiritual Enlightenment | Live Happy

A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

Una Guía hacia la Iluminación Espiritual

The Power of Now

El Poder del Ahora

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success

Las Siete Leyes Espirituales del Éxito

Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have

Tener la Vida que Quieres estando Presente en la Vida que Tienes

The Book of Awakening

El Libro del Despertar

Haunted by a recurring dream, young shepherd Santiago is advised by a gypsy woman and a mystical elder, who reveals himself as the King of Salem, to journey to the Egyptian pyramids to uncover a hidden treasure. Heeding their counsel, Santiago sells his sheep and travels to Tangier, only to be swindled by a thief. This forces him to work for a kind-hearted crystal merchant, during which time he encourages the merchant to take business risks that result in Santiago amassing a small fortune in just one year.

Feeling wealthy yet unfulfilled, Santiago decides to resume his quest for the treasure at the pyramids. He joins a caravan across the Sahara desert, where he befriends an Englishman studying alchemy. The Englishman is on his way to meet a 200-year-old alchemist residing in the oasis of Al-Fayoum in the Sahara, hopeful to learn the secrets of the trade. Once they reach Al-Fayoum, Santiago falls in love with a local woman named Fatima and manages to save the oasis from an impending attack by interpreting an ominous sign in the desert. Subsequently, he is invited by the advanced alchemist to journey further into the desert, leaving Fatima and the caravan temporarily.

While traveling with the alchemist, who shares profound wisdom about the Soul of the World, they are captured by a tribe of Arab soldiers. To save their lives, the alchemist offers all of Santiago's money to the soldiers and promises them that Santiago, who is allegedly a powerful alchemist, will transform into wind within three days. Panicked and clueless, Santiago spends the next three days in deep contemplation, eventually managing to create a sandstorm with the help of the wind and the sun, fulfilling the alchemist's promise and securing their freedom. Upon reaching the pyramids, Santiago is beaten by two men who, convinced by his tale of a dream indicating treasure, leave him alive. One of the men, while dismissing dreams as worthless, unknowingly gives Santiago a final clue about the treasure's actual location. Santiago returns to Spain, locates a chest of jewels and gold under a sycamore tree in an abandoned church - the same one from his recurring dream - and plans to reunite with Fatima, who waits patiently for him in Al-Fayoum.

The Alchemist

El Alquimista

Respected among his peers and community, Siddhartha, a young Brahmin, lives a near-perfect life with his best friend, Govinda, in ancient India. Despite his fulfilled religious duties and rituals, Siddhartha feels a void within him. He sees his father and elders failing to attain enlightenment and believes that he will not find the answers to his existential questions by following their path. When a group of austere ascetics, the Samanas, arrive in their town, Siddhartha decides to follow their self-denying teachings, believing that it might provide the answers he seeks. Govinda, too, joins Siddhartha in his new path, despite his father's reluctance.

With his Brahmin upbringing giving him the required patience and discipline, Siddhartha easily adapts to the ways of the Samanas. He learns to renounce worldly pleasures and possessions, aiming to achieve enlightenment by completely negating his Self. Govinda appreciates their new lifestyle and the spiritual progress they've made. However, Siddhartha remains discontented, realizing that even the oldest Samanas haven't attained true enlightenment. Hearing about a new enlightened holy man, Gotama, Siddhartha and Govinda decide to leave the Samanas and seek him out, despite the leader's disapproval.

Siddhartha and Govinda join Gotama's followers, learning his teachings on the Eightfold Path and Buddhism. Govinda becomes a devotee, but Siddhartha sees a contradiction in Gotama's teachings, questioning the concept of embracing the unity of all things while surpassing the physical world. Dejected and convinced Buddhism won't answer his questions, Siddhartha leaves Govinda behind to explore the worldly pleasures. In this pursuit, he meets Kamala, a beautiful courtesan, who lures him into the life of a merchant, where he becomes rich but spiritually empty.

His disillusionment with materialism drives him to leave everything behind and find solace near a river. Encountering Govinda who is now a Buddhist monk, and a humble ferryman, Vasudeva, he begins contemplating the unity of life. Kamala's untimely death due to a snakebite leaves Siddhartha as the single father to their son, who despises their simple life and eventually runs away. With Vasudeva's guidance, Siddhartha learns to find solace in the river's wisdom, understanding the cyclical and interconnected nature of life.

Siddhartha's journey ends when Govinda visits the river seeking enlightenment from an unknown wise man, who is Siddhartha himself. Siddhartha tells Govinda that true wisdom cannot be verbally communicated. He urges Govinda to kiss him on his forehead, and in doing so, Govinda experiences the unity of life that Siddhartha has achieved, thus fulfilling their childhood quest for enlightenment.

12 Best Enlightenment Books of All Time

The Untethered Soul

The Journey Beyond Yourself

The Power of Now

A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success

The Book of Awakening

Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have

The Alchemist

Siddhartha

The Seat of the Soul

A New Earth

Awakening to Your Life's Purpose

Becoming Supernatural

How Common People Are Doing the Uncommon

The Art of Happiness

A Handbook for Living

The Road Less Traveled

A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values, and Spiritual Growth

Peace Is Every Step

The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

Sources

What To Read Next

12 Best Enlightenment Books of All Time

The Untethered Soul

The Journey Beyond Yourself

The Power of Now

A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success

The Book of Awakening

Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have

The Alchemist

Siddhartha

The Seat of the Soul

A New Earth

Awakening to Your Life's Purpose

Becoming Supernatural

How Common People Are Doing the Uncommon

The Art of Happiness

A Handbook for Living

The Road Less Traveled

A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values, and Spiritual Growth

Peace Is Every Step

The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

Sources

What To Read Next

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