Satsang Teachers P - Z

H. W. L. Poonja - Affectionately known as Papaji, he died in 1997 but authorized many disciples to carry on his teaching. There are books, a biography, tapes, photos and much more. There are also details of the authorised disciples. ** site unavailable Jan. '09 **
"You are ripe for Enlightenment when you want nothing else. In order to be born as a baby you have to spend nine months getting bigger and bigger. For Enlightenment you have to get smaller and smaller until you disappear completely."

Another good link with extensive biography and pictures of Sri Poonja together with quotation and video of the week and numerous satsang extracts.

The Avadhuta Foundation was established in 1993 to further the teachings of Sri H.W.L. Poonja and to make available the archives of his talks in India. DVDs, videotapes and CDs may be purchased and there is information about his books.

There are several books of dialogues/poetry and biography. Particularly recommended is 'The Truth Is'. 10 sample pages may be viewed at this Amazon link.

Alternatively, here is the link to Amazon UK.

Pratima - another disciple of Sri Poonja, born and brought up in England, with a degree in philosophy and comparative religion. Gives satsang mostly in Bali, Australia and Europe. This address is of an interview. No website - contact at pratima@divingparadise.com
"Enlightenment cannot be achieved. It is not something that one can work towards and attain. It is not about changing anything or about getting anything new, it is simply that concepts and doubts are removed. Finally you can allow yourself to be exactly who you are."

Michael Prayag was also influenced by Sri Poonja, amongst his 35 years of searching. Based in Toronto, he offers his teaching without fee, in honor of his own Vedic teachers. Occasional retreats are also arranged.
" So, the progression through our multitudinous lifetimes can be seen as Gradual Enlightenment. Slowly, but slowly we move towards realization of Self-knowledge. Immediate Enlightenment is only available to one who has already made that lengthy journey and stands at the very edge of Self-knowledge. ."

Premananda - Writings, short stories, interview and poetry of Premananda, who studied with Sri Poonja for 5 years, and has written a book about him (see below). He was also with Osho for many years, though he has been influenced more by Ramana Maharshi. The website also has edited talks (Real Player) and schedule of satsangs.
" The Self is very subtle. The Self is stillness, peacefulness, never changing, eternal. The mind arises from the Self. The world arises from the Self. The people arise from the Self. When the world is there, the awareness of the Self is not there. When the awareness of the Self is there, the world is not there. The mind is simply thoughts. These thoughts arise from the Self. "

Premananda's book on Papaji - 'Papaji Amazing Grace' may be purchased from Amazon.com or Amazon UK.

Brian Qara - Disciple of Gangaji, in the lineage of Ramana Maharshi and influenced by Osho. Satsang schedule, meeting excerpts, audio clips, writings, and letters of awakening.
"Beyond any conceptualization of mind you find that you are love itself. You are what you have been searching for in all other things. You are joy. You are happiness. And no "thing" but NOW is needed for fulfillment. And since now is always here, who you are is always fulfilled. In fact you realize the self that you are has always been free. You awaken from the dream of suffering, of maintaining, of resistance and rest as infinite PEACE."

Philip Renard - influenced by a number of teachers but principally in the lineage of Nisargadatta Maharaj and Alexander Smit. He teaches in the Netherlands (Bilthoven) but his site has a parallel stream in English, where there are a number of articles, including a series on Ramana, Nisargadatta and Atmananda.

"We are already looking from that which we are looking for; we really need not go anywhere. Many authors describe thinking and feeling as enemies but really these faculties express the celebration of Us. All my thinking is ‘heading’ in My direction, in order to arrive at a dissolution in the peace that I am, and this heading in My direction is not an assault. The wrong supposition that thoughts or feelings still have to be removed first, results in fact from the identification with someone who suffers – a someone who is disturbed by these thoughts and feelings."

Karl Renz - recommended by Alan Jacobs (Chair of Ramana Maharshi Foundation UK - see essays). The site is in German/English/French and contains details of his satsang schedules, together with an interview, autobiographical details, paintings and photos.
"The Self is never enlightened or unenlightened. It is always prior to all ideas of enlightenment or non-enlightenment, no matter what you say about it. All this is conceptual."

Samarpan - named by Osho but realised with Gangaji, gives English-spoken satsangs principally in Germany and Austria. This site contains details of these and of his book (German only at present). Tapes, videos and DVDs may be purchased of the satsangs and of the music which accompanies them. Site no longer active Nov 2007.
"Everything which comes and goes - our bodies, our beliefs, our emotions, truly this whole Universe - is not dependable. All of these things do not exist independently of the Truth. They are not separate from Truth, but Truth does not depend on anything."

William Samuel - not strictly speaking a teacher of Advaita, he taught non-duality in the United States until his death in 1996. This site contains details of and extracts from his various books and dialogues, which may be purchased along with tapes and CDs. Modern sages such as Francis Lucille and Burt Harding regarded him highly.
"'Now' is the only 'time' one is ever concerned with."

Timothy Schoorel - a disciple of Osho, later influenced by Alexander Smit, he gives satsangs principally in the Netherlands. The website contains the complete electronic transcript of his book 'The 7 Principles of Freedom'.
"In silence you become aware of your conscious nature. Your thoughts have gone, but your consciousness remains. Clouds have gone, but the sky remains. As clouds disappear, suddenly the immovable blue sky becomes obvious. As thoughts disappear, suddenly your immovable consciousness becomes obvious. The blue sky was always there, but you were just seeing the clouds. Consciousness was always there, but you were just seeing thoughts."

Isaac Shapiro - another student of Sri Poonja, this visually attractive site contains biographical information, pictures, interview, letters, poems, audio clips, book extracts and links. There is a schedule of satsangs and retreats throughout Australia and Europe.
"The only moment that you can ever be happy is this instant. That's it. You cannot know Truth in the past or in the future."

His book, of satsang dialogues, 'It Happens By Itself' is available from Amazon.

Stuart Schwartz - a disciple of Robert Adams, gives satsang in New York and Boston as well as personal sessions. The site contains details of these, an interview, notes and endorsements. CDs of satsangs may be purchased.
"Attachment is the assumption that the happiness and satisfaction that you feel in yourself are caused from something outside of yourself."

Eckhart Tolle - not strictly Advaita but his book (below) is often referenced. His site contains details of tours and other events and of his books, audio and video tapes (as well as having some beautiful graphics of rippling water!).
"If you find it hard to enter the Now directly, start by observing the habitual tendency of your mind to want to escape from the Now. You will observe that the future is usually imagined as either better or worse than the present. If the imagined future is better, it gives you hope or pleasurable anticipation. If it is worse, it creates anxiety. Both are illusory."

His most well known book, 'The Power of Now' is recommended by Haydon Bradshaw, one of the most critical of my own book's reviewers. 11 sample pages may be viewed at this Amazon link. This is possibly the best practical book on Advaita available, though some of the theoretical explanations are not in line with traditional Advaita.

Alternatively, here is the link to Amazon UK.

Joan Tollifson - Teacher and writer in traditions of Advaita and Zen. Information about her two books, details of meetings in Chicago, links to other sites and recommended books.
"This is simply what is, as it is. There is no "you" to attain or "get" this. There is only this. The "you" who seems to be separate is imaginary. What solution is needed to an imaginary problem?"

Read an essay from Joan: 'The Simplicity of What Is'.

John Wheeler - Talks on non-duality in the tradition of Nisargadatta Maharaj and Bob Adamson. Based at Santa Cruz, California. Many articles and short discourses available.
"You are presence-awareness, in which all appearances and possibilities, all thinking, feeling and perceiving occur. Ever-present and radiantly clear, it is never obscured by time, circumstances or thoughts. You are not the limited person you have taken yourself to be. Seeing this, suffering, anxiety and confusion effortlessly drop away, revealing your own innate happiness and freedom. Understanding who you are is immediate and always available — here and now."

Stephen Wingate - Hosts talks on nonduality in the tradition of Nisargadatta Maharaj, "Sailor" Bob Adamson, and John Wheeler. Website provides essays, poems, and dialogues. Correspondence and dialogues are invited.
" To know, feel, and experience that "Consciousness is all there is, and I am That" is to be free.  When you know yourself as pure Consciousness and not the limited person you believed yourself to be, you are Living in Peace: The Natural State."

Pamela Wilson - teaching in the tradition of Ramana Maharshi. The site has biographical information, schedule of satsangs and weekend retreats and tapes of satsangs may be purchased. A book of satsang extracts should be published in 2005.
"What mind? Can you find it? It's like what they say about the Mafia. You know, they call it 'organised crime'. Everybody says 'Well, it's not that organised!'. So we see this grand title to a bundle of thoughts; we call it mind. We make it an object, and then we think it's a big deal, because there's a universal agreement that we all have them."