page_title: God Makes the Rivers to Flow
section_title: Topics covered
hierarchical_section_title: God Makes the Rivers to Flow / Topics covered
caption_attribution_description: English: This is merely a side-cropped version of Wiki-commons [[File:Guruvayoor Kesavan Statue]], which is described as "Statue of Guruvayur Keshavan at Guruvayur"
context_page_description: God Makes the Rivers to Flow is an anthology of spiritual texts for use in meditation, assembled by Eknath Easwaran. Condensed versions have been published under the titles Timeless Wisdom and Sacred Literature of the World. First published as a book in the US in 1982, progressively enlarged or revised versions of God Makes the Rivers to Flow were also issued in the US in 1991, 2003, and 2009. English editions have been published in India, and a French edition has been published. The book has been reviewed in newspapers, magazines, professional journals, and websites,
  and utilized in research studies and education.
context_section_description: All US editions of God Makes the Rivers to Flow and its derivatives contain an introduction, plus numerous 1- to 3- or more page selections of spiritual texts from many traditions. Examples of spiritual texts are shown in the table at right.
   
  Easwaran's Introduction uses a sculptural metaphor to explain how passages can be used beneficially in meditation. He tells the story of an ancient Indian sculptor who was renowned for vivid representations of elephants. His secret, the sculptor explained, was that after quarrying a giant rock,
  “for a long time, I do nothing but observe... and study it from every angle. I focus all my concentration on this task... At first, I see nothing but a huge and shapeless rock... Then slowly, very slowly, I... feel a presentiment... an outline, scarcely discernible, shows itself to me... An elephant is stirring in there!... I now know the one thing I must do:... I must chip away every last bit of stone that is not elephant. What then remains will be, must be, elephant.”
  Similarly, Easwaran says, meditation helps us to reveal "our higher self... [a] spark of divinity [that] is to be found in the heart of each human being.... [by] resolutely chip[ping] away whatever is not divine in ourselves." This process is neither easy or quick, and "can't be done in a week or by the weak." But "whatever our tradition, we are inheritors of straightforward spiritual practices [that] vary a bit from culture to culture... but essentially... are the same." Meditation is the most potent practice, enabling us to "see the lineaments of our true self":
  In meditation, the inspirational passage is the chisel, our concentration is the hammer.... When we use our will to drive the thin edge of the passage deep into consciousness, we get the purchase to pry loose tenacious habits and negative attitudes. The passage, whether it is from the Bhagavad Gita or The Imitation of Christ or the Dhammapada of the Buddha, has been tempered in the flames of mystical experience...
  According to Easwaran, "the great principle upon which meditation rests is that we become what we meditate on." This, he says, is consistent with our experience that even in everyday life, we are shaped by what occupies our thoughts – for example, if we spend most of our time "studying the market, checking the money rates, evaluating our portfolios, we are going to become money-people." Thus, in selecting meditation passages, Easwaran has "aimed for the highest the human being is capable of, the most noble and elevating truths that have ever been expressed on this planet." Indeed,
  The test of suitable meditation passages is simply this: Does the passage bear the imprint of deep, personal spiritual experience? Is it the statement of one who went beyond the narrow confines of past conditioning into the unfathomable recesses of the mind, there to begin the great work of transformation?.... whatever lacks this validation by personal experience, however poetic or imaginative... is not suited for use in meditation.
  He also states that passages should be "life affirming," and encourages building a varied repertoire of passages that can "guard against overfamiliarity.... [and] match a passage to your particular need at the time."
  The 2nd and 3rd editions contain several supplementary sections:
  A description of 8-point program of passage meditation recommended by Easwaran, involving silently and slowly focusing the mind on memorized or previously known passages (6 pages)
  A post-script on the "Message of the Scriptures," describing the goal of meditation as a "deathless state of Self-realization.... the message of every major scripture [and] the testimony of mystics everywhere, East or West."  (3 pages)
  The author's statement of what he believes separates the book from other sacred literature collections: that it functions as an instrument for transforming one's life. He states he can "testify from my own experience [that the passages] have the power to remake personality in the image of one's highest ideals." ("Preface," 1 page)
  Indices by source, title, and first 
caption: Statue of devout elephant[28]
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