Books Recommended by Rama
Rama recommended wonderful books in a variety of categories for his students. His first list (noted as “12”) were the 12 highest books available at the time. Rama’s next list (2nd) explores novels and spiritual adventures and his final formal list (28) was recommended for students who wanted to teach meditation. Rama lectured about a number of these books in his audio talks and others he recommended from time to time.
The RMS Book Club has been reviewing these books since 2010. In addition, Rama and his students wrote several great books that the Club has explored. Finally, from time to time one of Rama’s students will recommend an additional selection for the Club to explore. We hope this list provides you with some great ideas for high books to transform your consciousness.
| Books (Recommended) | Author / Translator | Categories | Book Club Review Date |
| American Buddhist Rebel (formerly Blue Skies Buddha; Rama: Gaze in my Direction) | Lewinson | Rama | 3/26/2016 |
| Art of Dreaming (The) (1994) | Castaneda | Mysticism (Ben L. list); Flowergirl list | 9/24/2022 |
| Art of Loving (The) | Fromm | Mysticism | 8/25/2018 |
| Art of Rama (The) Interviews with Direct Students of Rama | Pritchard | Rama | 1/30/2016 |
| Art of War (The) | Tzu | 2nd; 28; Martial Arts | 2010 |
| Autobiography of a Yogi (1946) | Yogananda | 2nd; 28; Mysticism | 3/31/2012 |
| Bhagavad Gita: Song of God | Prabhavananda / Isherwood | 12; 2nd; 28; Martial Arts | 11/19/2011; 10/25/2014 |
| Book of Five Rings | Musashi | Martial Arts | 5/30/2015 |
| Brothers Karamazov | Dostoevsky | General | 6/2019 |
| Buddha’s Lions (1979) | Abhayadatta / Robinson | Buddhism | 5/7/2011 |
| Buddhism for Sheep | Riddell | Buddhism | 9/2019 |
| Buddhist Bible | Beacon | 28; Buddhism | 12/28/2013; 1/15/2014; 2/22/2014 |
| Buddhist Handbook | Snelling | Buddhism | 1/27/2018 |
| Buddhist Mahayana Texts (1991) | Cowell | Buddhism (Ben L. List) | 11/26/2022 |
| Buddhist Scriptures | Conze | 28; Buddhism | 2/23/2013 |
| Buddhist Texts Through the Ages | Conze | Buddhism | 2/2019 |
| Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies | Collins / Porras | Business; Computer Science | 5/28/2022 |
| Calvin and Hobbes (all versions) | Watterson | Humor | 6/24/2017 (Scientific Progress Only); Not Yet (Other) |
| Catch 22 | Heller | Novel | 3/2019 |
| Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke | Roethke | Poetry | 9/2015 |
| Crest Jewel of Discrimination by Shankara | Prabhavananda / Isherwood | 12; 28; Buddhism | 12/17/2011 |
| Dhammapada, The Sayings of the Buddha | Shambala | 28; Buddhism; Poetry | 10/29/2016 |
| Dune | Herbert | Sci Fi | 4/24/2021 |
| Eternal Companion: Brahmananda His Life & Teachings (1960) | Prabhavananda | Buddhism (Ben L. List) | 3/26/2022 |
| Evolution of Matter & Spirit in the Poetry of Theodore Roethke | Rama – Dr. Frederick Lenz | Rama; Poetry | 7/2019 |
| Fellowship of the Ring (Lord of the Rings Part 1) | Tolkien | 2nd; Sci Fi | 10/28/2017 |
| Four Quartets | Eliot | Poetry | 10/2019 |
| Fundamentals of Mainstream Buddhism | Cheetham | 28; Buddhism | 3/30/2013 |
| Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (The) | “M” | 12; 28; Buddhism | 2010 |
| Graceful Exits How Great Beings Die (1997) | Blackman | Buddhism (Ben L. List) | 1/29/2022 |
| Great Path of Awakening (The) | Kongtrul | 28; Buddhism | 2010 |
| Hackers | Levy | Computer Science | 12/2019 |
| Hamlet | Shakespeare | Classic | 9/25/2021 |
| Hidden Teachings of Tibet | Talbot | Buddhism; Mysticism | 3/2020 |
| Highest Yoga Tantra | Cozort | 28; Buddhism | 9/29/2012 |
| Hobbit (The) | Tolkien | 2nd; Sci Fi | 9/30/2017 |
| Holy Teachings of Vimalakirti (The): A Mahayana Scripture | Thurman | Buddhism | 8/26/2017 |
| Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow (2015) | Harari | Student Recommended | 12/25/2021 |
| How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life | Lakein | Business | 7/27/2013 |
| How to Get out of Debt, Stay out of Debt and Live Prosperously (1988) | Mundis | Rama Recommended to Student | 11/2020 |
| How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali | Prabhavananda / Isherwood | 12; 28; Buddhism | 02/18/2012; 8/30/2014 |
| How to Win Friends and Influence People | Carnegie | 2nd; Business | 10/22/2011; 4/29/2017; 2/2020 |
| I Ching | Wilhelm / Baynes | 12; 28; Buddhism | 2010; 5/31/2014 |
| Illusions | Bach | 2nd; Novel | 5/26/2012 |
| Insights – Tantric Buddhist Reflections on Life | Rama – Dr. Frederick Lenz | Rama; Poetry | 1/1/2020 |
| IT | King | 2nd; Suspense | 6/30/2018 |
| Jonathan Livingston Seagull | Bach | 2nd; Novel | 5/28/2016 |
| Journey in Ladakh | Harvey | 28; Novel | 10/27/2012 |
| Journey to Ixtlan | Castaneda | 12; 2nd; 28; Mysticism | 3/31/2012 |
| Kabir: Ecstatic Poems (2004) | Bly | Student Recommended; IMeditate | 6/30/2012 |
| Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You (The) | Bryant | Mysticism | 7/31/2021 |
| Kingdom of Shivas Irons (The) | Murphy | Buddhism | 3/27/2021 |
| Lady of the Lotus Born, The Life & Enlightenment of Yeshe Tsogyal (2002) | Changchub / Nyingpo | Student Recommended | 1/21/2017 |
| Large Sutra of Perfect Wisdom (The) | Conze | 28; Mysticism | 9/28/2013; 10/26/2013 |
| Last Incarnation (The) | Rama students | Rama | 2/27/2016 |
| Last Temptation of Christ (The) | Kazantzakis | Novel | 12/31/2016 |
| Legend of the Great Stupa (The) (Padmasambhava) (1973) | Dowman | Mysticism | 1/2019 |
| Life and Teachings of Naropa (The) | Guenter | Mysticism | 7/30/2016 |
| Life of Marpa the Translator (The) | Shambala | Buddhism | 8/27/2016 |
| Lifetimes: True Accounts of Reincarnation | Rama – Dr. Frederick Lenz | Rama | 7/30/2022 |
| Little Prince (The) | de Saint-Exupery | Novel | 9/17/2011 |
| Mahabarata | Buck | 28; Buddhism | 2/27/2021 |
| Making Peace with Money (1999) | Mundis | Student Recommended | 5/29/2021 |
| Masks of God (The) | Campbell | Mysticism | 4/25/2015 |
| (Buddhist) Masters of Enchantment: The Lives and Legends of the Mahasiddhas | Dowman | 28; Buddhism | 2/29/2014; 3/29/2014; 12/2020 |
| Meditation: The Bridge is Flowing but the River is Not | Rama – Dr. Frederick Lenz | Rama | 7/28/2018 |
| Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha (The) | Nanamoli | 28; Buddhism | 4/27/2013; 5/25/2013; 6/29/2013 |
| Moby Dick (1851) | Melville | Classic (Ben L. list) | 2/26/2022 |
| Monk who Sold his Ferrari (The) (1996) | Sharma | Student Recommended | 8/2020 |
| Mystic Verses of a Mad Dalai Lama | Mullin | Buddhism | 8/25/2012 |
| Mythical Man-Month (The) | Brooks | Business | 11/2019 |
| Neuromancer | Gibson | Computer Science; Sci-Fi | 5/2019 |
| On the Road | Kerouac | Novel | 5/2020 |
| Once and Future King | White | 2nd; Novel | 4/28/2018 |
| One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest | Kesey | Novel | 8/28/2021 |
| One Minute Manager (NEW) (2006) | Blanchard / Johnson | Student Recommended | 11/25/2017 |
| One Robe, One Bowl | Ryokan | Buddhism | 6/25/2016 |
| Passages | Sheehy | Non-Fiction | 10/27/2018 |
| Power of Silence (The) | Castaneda | 2nd; 28; Mysticism | 08/24/2013; 4/2019 |
| Rama: American Buddha | Rama students | Rama | 4/30/2016; 11/27/21 |
| Ramayana | Buck | 28; Buddhism | 6/2020 |
| Return of the King (Lord of the Rings Part 3) | Tolkien | 2nd; Sci Fi | 12/29/2018 |
| Samurai Selling: The Ancient Art of Service in Sales | Laughlin / Sage | Martial Arts; Business | 10/30/2021 |
| Second Ring of Power | Castaneda | Mysticism | 1/30/2021 |
| Self Reliance | Emerson | Business | 3/31/2018 |
| Siddhartha | Hesse | 2nd; Buddhism; Novel | 12/30/2017 |
| Snow Lion’s Turquoise Mane (1992) | Surya Das | Student Recommended | 2/25/2017 |
| Snowboarding to Nirvana | Rama – Dr. Frederick Lenz | 28; Rama; Buddhism; Humor; Mysticism | 2010; 9/27/2014; 10/2020; 6/26/21 |
| Sorcerer’s Crossing | Abelar | Mysticism | 3/25/2017 |
| Spiritual Teachings of Ramana Maharshi (The) (1972) | Maharshi | Buddhism (Ben L. List) | 4/30/2022 |
| Stand (The) | King | 2nd; Suspense | 6/25/2022 |
| Stranger in a Strange Land | Heinlein | Sci Fi | 6/27/2015 |
| Supreme Yoga; Yoga Vasistha | Venkatesananda | 12; Buddhism | 1/31/2015; 2/28/2015; 2/24/2018 |
| Surfing the Himalayas | Rama – Dr. Frederick Lenz | 28; Rama; Buddhism; Humor; Mysticism | 2010; 7/26/2014; 7/2020; 12/31/2022 |
| Tales of Power | Castaneda | 12; 2nd; 28; Mysticism | 9/24/2016 |
| Talisman | King | 2nd; Suspense | 4/28/2012 |
| Tantric Mysticism of Tibet | Blofeld | Buddhism; Mysticism | 9/2020 |
| Teachings of Don Juan | Castaneda | 2nd; Mysticism | 7/2015 |
| Tempest | Shakespeare | Poetry | 10/29/2022 |
| Thief of Always | Barker | Suspense | 3/28/2015 |
| Thriving on Chaos | Peters | 2nd; Business | 10/2015 |
| Tibet’s Great Yogi Milarepa | Evans-Wentz | 2nd; 28; Buddhism | 12/15/2012 |
| Tibetan Book of Great Liberation (The) | Evans-Wentz | 28; Buddhism | 4/25/2014 |
| Tibetan Book of Living and Dying (The) | Rinpoche | Buddhism | 8/27/2022 |
| Tibetan Book of the Dead (The) | Evans-Wentz | 12; 28; Mysticism | 8/13/2011 |
| Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrine | Evans-Wentz | 2nd; 28; Mysticism | 1/27/2013 |
| Total Relaxation: The Complete Program to Overcome Stress, Tension, Worry and Fatigue | Rama – Dr. Frederick Lenz | Rama | 4/2020 |
| Transforming the Organization | Kelly / Gouillart | Business | 11/30/2013 |
| Two Towers (Lord of the Rings Part 2) | Tolkien | 2nd; Sci Fi | 11/24/2018 |
| Ulysses | Joyce | Novel | 11/29/2014; 12/27/2014 |
| Understanding Media | McLuhan | Business | 8/2015 |
| Upanishads (The) | Prabhavananda / Manchester | 12; Buddhism; Mysticism | 5/27/2017 |
| Walden and Civil Disobedience | Thoreau | 12; 2nd; Novel | 9/29/2018 |
| Wasteland | Eliot | Novel | 11/2015 |
| Way of Life (The) by Lao-Tzu | Brynner | 12; 28; Buddhism; Poetry | 06/28/2014; 11/26/2016 |
| Weaveworld | Barker | Sci Fi | 12/2015 |
| Wheel of Dharma (The) | Rama – Dr. Frederick Lenz | Rama | 8/2019 |
| Wheel of TIme (The): The Shamans Of Mexico – Their Thoughts About Life, Death And The Universe (1998) | Castaneda | Student Recommended | 5/26/2018 |
| Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind | Suzuki | 2nd; Zen | 7/29/2017 |