About us

advaitaMedia is a publishing house of gems of wisdom literature, dedicated to releasing works that reflect the eternal wisdom that transcends time, culture and religion, the ‘Philosophia perennis’. The core concept of a-dvaita (Sanskrit: non-duality) is also expressed through synonyms such as the eternal One, the indivisible Being in the SELF, the divine principle, the unio mystica.

From the very beginning, it has been our heartfelt desire to publish the works of spiritual master OM C. Parkin and to both preserve ancient wisdom as well as provide living wisdom teachers and spiritual masters and teachers with the opportunity to reach, through their publications, a readership of serious seekers of self-knowledge from all spiritual traditions.

With few exceptions, our growing publishing program is entirely dedicated to wisdom texts that represent the essential spiritual teachings of Western and Eastern traditions.
The publication of new and ancient, timeless wisdom teachings in lovingly edited first or new editions and careful translations is not guided by marketability in the current mainstream. As a publisher not primarily driven by economic considerations, we repeatedly take on publishing risks.

Our thematic focuses are: mysticism, the Fourth Way, Advaita, eternal philosophy, integral yoga, study materials on spiritual seeking and the inner path, the relationship between teacher and student, and the teachings of the Enneagram.

The publishing house advaitaMedia operates under the umbrella of the non-profit OM Foundation for Inner Science, whose vision is to preserve the eternal teachings of wisdom and make them accessible to spiritual seekers. The study of Eternal Philosophy as a holistic path of experience is at the heart of this mission.

Katrin Fuchs and Anja Senechal
Publishing Management

Your own self is your highest teacher (Sadguru). The external teacher (Guru) is merely a milestone. Only your inner teacher will lead you to the goal, for He is the goal.

Publishing History

Founding and Origins of the Publishing House

At the beginning of this small publishing house dedicated to profound spiritual literature stood the spoken word: the Advaita teachings passed down by OM through oral tradition. Following his awakening in 1990, OM began giving darshans in the early 1990s. His darshans attracted an ever-growing number of people in search of truth, who came from all corners of Germany and neighboring countries. Not everyone could be present in person at every darshan, so the need arose for audio recordings, transcripts, and other written materials that could also serve to further disseminate the teachings.

advaitaJournal Ramesh Balsekar Frage "Wer bin ich" muss vom Herzen kommen

Development of Publications and Media

In addition to audio tapes and transcriptions, several shorter writings were produced, and above all the advaitaJournal, a comprehensive journal that focused on current articles by and interviews with living Advaita teachers, as well as important traditional Advaita texts with contemporary commentary, and which was published by a working group consisting primarily of students.

Founding of advaitaMedia Publishing House

In 1998, Alf Lüchow-Verlag published OM’s first book, *The Birth of the Lion*. Further books were in the planning stages, and it became clear that establishing a dedicated publishing house would be beneficial for disseminating OM’s teachings; however, this house was also intended to publish other particularly precious gems of wisdom literature that had not yet been published or were no longer available. Under OM’s leadership, advaitaMedia Publishing was founded in May 2000, just a few months after the turn of the millennium.

Collaboration and Publishing Growth

This was done without ignoring the fact that a small publishing house with such a specialized catalog and such high standards would appeal only to a small, select readership, and that its viability in the modern media landscape was by no means assured. A partnership with the renowned Joachim Kamphausen Verlag presented itself, where he operated under the advaitaMedia label within J. Kamphausen Verlag until, after a few years, advaitaMedia was able to stand on its own two feet.

Buch von P. D. Ouspensky Anleitung zur Entfaltung des Potentials nach G. I. Gurdjieff

Publication and Distribution of Major Works

In the meantime, several major works had been published by advaitaMedia, including, first and foremost, a new edition of “Nan Yar?” “Who Am I?” by Ramana Maharshi, the great Indian sage and Advaita teacher; a new edition of Ouspensky/Gurdjieff’s “The Fourth Way”; a new edition and foreign-language translations of “The Birth of the Lion”; other books by OM: “Eye to Eye with Yourself,” “Thunder and Temple Silence – Teachings from a Modern Zen Teacher for Every Day of the Year,” and more recently, OM’s major treatise on the spiritual path: “The Intelligence of Awakening,” followed by “Spiritual Mastery” and several shorter works, as well as translations from Russian: Sumiran, “Dialogues in Being”; from American English: Adyashanti, “The Essential”; and from French: Arnaud Desjardins, “Ever-Present Peace.” An online shop called “The Spiritual Bookstore” was set up to distribute the books, and at the Saunstorf Monastery, a small brick-and-mortar bookstore sells books from advaitaMedia and other spiritual publishers.

Ongoing Challenges and Support

At external events such as darshans or lectures by OM, book tables are set up on site. Over the course of its more than 25 years of existence, advaitaMedia has thus grown into a thoroughly successful publishing house. Unfortunately—as was to be expected—this success does not extend to the economic and material realm, since sales figures remain relatively low due to the focus on pure wisdom teachings, which appeal to only a small circle of people, and the decision to avoid esoteric popular literature, which attracts a much larger audience. There is the option to sponsor the production costs of a specific book or to contribute to the creation of a paid position through a donation, which could even be made on a regular basis.

The eternal word becomes audible only in stillness.

Book Sponsorship

For a publishing house that specializes in gems of wisdom literature, financing the production of new books is a challenge. We can only bring new titles to market if we receive support from many people, and we are grateful that, thanks to the financial contributions of those who value wisdom literature, our titles can appear in bookstores. In this way, our exclusive titles, published in small print runs, find a truly interested readership.

Titles such as “Alchemy of Transformation” by the American spiritual teacher Lee Lozowick, who has passed on the teachings of the Baul tradition—or Mariana Caplan’s “Open Your Eyes!”, which was named the best spiritual book of the year in the United States in 2010—were able to appear on the German market thanks to a book sponsorship.

Are spiritual gems of wisdom close to your heart as well? Then become a book sponsor! Call me at 038424-229736 or email me at katrin.fuchs@advaitamedia.com—we’ll figure out how you can support one of our new projects.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,
Katrin Fuchs

Comments from our book sponsors

When I heard about the project to publish a follow-up volume to “Donnerschlag und Tempelstille” (Thunderclap and Temple Silence) a few years ago, I knew immediately that I wanted to be part of it. The first volume of aphorisms had accompanied me during meditation for years, so I was very taken with the idea of a sequel.
First, quotes were sought for the new book, then it was a matter of finding a book sponsor. I participated in both.
Aphorisms were drawn from the major themes of the inner path for the twelve months: inner fall, solitude in community, emptying, dispossession of knowledge, devotion, to name but a few. The individual aphorisms thus not only form a focus for each day. They form a map. They are an invitation, a guide to approaching the eternal and the deepest step by step.
The first thing that struck me when reading the aphorisms was the impression of freshness. A simplicity and catchiness that first surprised me and then touched me more and more deeply.
I thank OM for this gift, for this invitation to innerness. And I thank the many companions who, through tireless detail work over the years, made this work possible.

When a sponsor was sought for the third edition of the textbook “Intelligence of Awakening” by my beloved teacher OM C Parkin, I had a spontaneous impulse to take on this task. It was a clear decision of the heart. The universal wisdom texts contained in the book have accompanied me steadily on my inner path since its first publication in 2010. In general, the study of wisdom literature is an important part of the spiritual journey for me, and in my view, this work in particular provides the deepest understanding of spiritual awakening in Western culture: it imparts universal knowledge and is thus one of the most valuable sources of guidance on the journey within. I have read the book countless times since its first publication in 2010, and each time it leads me to a deeper understanding of the fundamental questions of life and human nature. The profound and precise insights help me significantly in understanding connections and supporting my inner exploration. It was therefore a matter close to my heart to promote the continuation of the transmission of this universal knowledge in the hope that it may reach many more people in the future who are seeking wisdom and guidance.

Being a book sponsor at advaita media Verlag is the task of being a midwife for precious words into precious books. These books need to be produced, printed and bound on tactile paper using the old art of letterpress printing. But in a world in which many unnecessary words are lost and much is said, such books do not sell so well that they could be produced to cover costs. That's why we need people who value giving these words the power to get out into the world.

Nourishing this process and accompanying it up close is simply wonderful. I receive information on the current status from the publisher, I am part of what is happening. Contributing in this way to ensuring that teaching knowledge and thus liberating knowledge remains available to people interested in it is a matter close to my heart that nourishes me.

It is a special pleasure to be able to sponsor a book by my beloved teacher OM. His words have accompanied me for a long time, both written and spoken. His works combine and deepen various other essential texts. OM is a virtuoso in his formulations, creative in his expression and a master of words. It is a pleasure to help bring such a work into the world.

Words of wisdom are not meant for the mind. They come from silence, they are silent themselves, and they are meant for silence.

Contribute

Dear lovers of wisdom literature,

Producing selected books of this quality is only possible by joining forces!

If you would like to help bring a treasure of eternal philosophy to publication—to take that final step up the mountain—we look forward to your participation. Working together to follow our heart’s calling—to bring further treasures of wisdom literature into the world—that is our mission. Does this resonate with you?

Here are some practical ways to make this a reality:

Make a small or larger donation to the account of advaitaMedia GmbH or via PayPal—every amount is welcome
Sponsor a book—cover part or all of the funding for a book project
Write reviews and post them on online platforms (e.g., Amazon, Thalia)
Contribute to PR activities (e.g., contacting bookstores, proposing, developing, and implementing creative new ideas that promote networking and sales)
Share the Online-Shop (for example, by including a link in your email signature)

Our publishing house operates under the umbrella of the non-profit OM Foundation Inner Science. The foundation’s mission is to promote spiritual education, as embodied by our publishing house. We would be grateful if you could support us financially through small or larger donations.

You can find more information and an online donation form here on the foundation’s website.

The donation account details are:

OM-Stiftung Innere Wissenschaft
Sparkasse HASPA
DE39 2005 0550 1501 8442 19
BIC HASPDEHHXXX

Subject: Donation

We are happy to answer any questions or suggestions.

Your team at advaitaMedia