About this series Essential Vedanta In the Heart of the Desert Pray Without Ceasing Not of This World The Golden Chain

slide 4 of 6 Why and how should one pray? Pray Without Ceasing is an attempt at answering this question in the most essential and direct way. The treasury of spiritual texts that have been collected in this volume is focused on the way of the invocation of divine Names, or sacred formulae. Its main objective is to suggest how this universal way, beyond the diversity of its modalities throughout the great religions, is both a quintessence of religious virtues and ritual practices, and a spiritual path that responds to the particular needs and conditions of our time. The anthology is divided into three parts. The first part includes excerpts from major classics of spirituality that introduce the foundations of the way of the invocation in various traditions. With these texts the reader is provided with an entry into some of the most celebrated sacred sources that have quenched the spiritual thirst of generations of faithful. A second part consists of doctrinal essays by contemporary scholars who have been expositors of the principles of the way of the invocation. It is hoped that this series of texts will help elucidate, in a contemporary conceptual idiom, all that may have remained obscure, elliptical or implicit in foundational classics. In conclusion, the final section of this volume is focused on contemporary testimonies by spiritual and literary figures from various traditions who have taught, advocated or simply illustrated the path of the invocation. "Pray Without Ceasing is a wonderful introduction to the experience of prayer; it also comprises an initiation into the world of prayer itself. Whether the reader is seeking silent inspiration or pursuing academic aspirations, this book is a powerful reminder that 'praying is like breathing' (Gregory Nazianzus) and that 'the Spirit blows where it wills' (John 3.8)." —Father John Chryssavgis, author of In the Heart of the Desert