Israel: it's a combination of the Hebrew word yisra (to prevail) with ayl (the divine). The 12 tribes that arose from the harsh soil of the Middle East have persevered, for millennia, aga …

Its disciples invented modern mathematics and built the Taj Mahal; though its holy book, the Qur'an, differs from both the Bible and the Torah, its followers worship the same Supreme Being as the Chris …

It's Shiva, leading the cosmic dance. It's Ganesha, the elephant-headed god with a broken tusk, removing obstacles. It's blue-skinned Vishnu, the all-pervading essence. It's mother-goddess Shakti, the  …

Whether you've read Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha in college or heard Alan Watts' lectures on Zen or seen a blissful, full-bellied statue of the Enlightened One in a museum or a shrine, you real …