Eknath Easwaran - Other Influence

Other Influence

A variety of influences of Easwaran's life and work have been documented. Easwaran's students, inspired in part by his teachings about compassion and stewardship for the environment, published a well-known vegetarian cookbook entitled Laurel's Kitchen (1976), later republished in revised form as The New Laurel's Kitchen (1986). The book contained extensive nutritional information from a scientific point of view, and sold more than a million copies.

Outside of the US, Easwaran's life and teachings were profiled, along with those of a variety of other spiritual teachers, in a book published in India entitled Meditation Masters and their Insights.

Easwaran's words have been included in collections of wisdom teachings, such as ones recently published by Chang (2006) and Parachin (2011). Quotations from Easwaran's translations have been used many times by both scholarly and popular writers. Easwaran's other writings have also been quoted by various types of authors, including writers of novels and short stories, popular spirituality, and articles on management theory. Psychiatrist Aaron Beck and his colleagues quoted from Easwaran's commentary on the Katha Upanishad. The NAPRA ReView wrote that "The volume of work and the quality of his discourse suggest a man who has had a profound impact on the spiritual lives of many."

Easwaran has been listed in reference works on spiritual and religious leaders.