About us

advaitaMedia is a publisher of gems of wisdom literature, dedicated to publishing media 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 in synonyms such as the eternal One, the indivisible Being in the SELF, the divine principle, and the unio mystica.

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

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

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 for great wisdom literature was the spoken word, the Advaita teachings passed down by OM in oral tradition. After his awakening in 1990, OM began giving darshan in the early 1990s. His darshans attracted more and more people in search of truth, who came from various parts of Germany and neighboring countries. Not everyone was able to attend all the darshans in person, so there was a need for audio recordings, transcriptions, and other written material that could also serve to spread the teachings.

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

Founding and origins of the publishing house

In addition to audio tapes and transcripts, several smaller publications were produced, most notably the advaitaJournal, a comprehensive magazine focusing on current articles by and interviews with living Advaita teachers, as well as important traditional Advaita texts with contemporary commentary. It was published by a working group consisting mainly of students.

Founding of advaitaMedia Publishing

In 1998, Alf Lüchow Verlag published OM's first book, “Die Geburt des Löwen” (The Birth of the Lion). Further books were in the planning stages, and it became clear that in order to spread OM's teachings, it would be useful to have a publishing house of its own, which would also publish other particularly valuable gems of wisdom literature that had not yet been published or were no longer in print. Under OM's leadership, advaitaMedia-Verlag was founded in May 2000, a few months after the turn of the millennium.

Cooperation and publishing growth

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

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

Publication of important works and distribution

In the meantime, several important works had been published by advaitaMedia, such as 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,” and other books by OM: “Eye to Eye with Yourself,” “Thunderclap and Temple Silence—Teachings of a Modern Zen Teacher for Every Day of the Year,” and more recently, OM's great teaching work on the spiritual path: “Intelligence of Awakening,” followed by “Spiritual Mastery” and several smaller works, as well as translations from Russian: Sumiran, “Dialogues in Being,” from American: Adyashanti, “The Essential,” and from French: Arnaud Desjardins: “Ever-Present Peace.” An online shop called “Die spirituelle Buchhandlung” (The Spiritual Bookstore) was set up to distribute the books, and a small brick-and-mortar bookstore in the Saunstorf monastery sells books from advaitaMedia and other spiritual publishers.

Ongoing challenges and support

At external events such as darshans or lectures by OM, there are book tables on site. In the slightly more than 20 years of its existence, advaitaMedia has grown into a thoroughly successful publishing house. Unfortunately, as was to be expected, this success does not extend to the economic and material level, as sales figures are relatively low due to the focus on pure wisdom teachings, which are only accessible to a small circle of people, and the rejection of esoteric popular literature, which attracts a much larger number of people. There is the possibility of sponsoring the production costs of a particular book or contributing to the creation of a paid job through a donation, which could even be on a regular basis.

The eternal word becomes audible only in stillness.

Buchpatenschaft

For a publishing house specializing in gems of wisdom literature, financing the production of new books is a challenge. We can only publish new titles if we receive support from many people, and we are grateful that the financial contributions of those who appreciate wisdom literature enable our titles to appear in bookstores. This allows our exclusive titles, which are published in small print runs, to find a truly interested readership.

Titles such as “The Alchemy of Transformation” by American spiritual teacher Lee Lozowick, who passed on the teachings of the Baul tradition, and Mariana Caplan’s “Eyes Wide Open!”, 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 pearls of wisdom also close to your heart? Then become a book sponsor! Call me at 038424-229736 or write to me at katrin.fuchs@advaitamedia.com—we will find 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.

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 contribute to helping this treasure of eternal philosophy take its final step toward publication, we look forward to your participation. Our goal is to work together to fulfill our heartfelt desire to bring further treasures of wisdom literature to light. Does this appeal to you?

Here are some practical ways to put this into practice:

Small or large donations to the advaitaMedia GmbH account or via Paypal – every amount is welcome
Book sponsorship – take over part or all of the financing of a book project
Write reviews and post them on internet portals (e.g. Amazon, Thalia)
Collaboration in PR activities (e.g. contacting bookstores, contributing, developing and implementing creative new ideas that promote networking and sales)
Passing on the online shop (for example, with a link in the email signature)

We are happy to answer any questions or suggestions.

Your team at advaitaMedia

Account details:
advaitaMedia GmbH
IBAN: DE21 1304 0000 0355 0662 00
BIC: COBADEFFXXX
Commerzbank

Transfer via PayPal:
order@advaitamedia.com