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Eckhart Tolle was born Ulrich Leonard Tölle in Lünen, in Germany's Ruhr region, in 1948; the first name he later took is widely reported to be a nod to the medieval mystic Meister Eckhart. In 1977, aged 29 and a postgraduate student at Cambridge after years of what he describes as depression, he went through what he calls an inner transformation, left his studies, and spent much of the next two years sitting on park benches in Russell Square in London, watching the world go by. The Power of Now came out with a small press in 1997, was republished by New World Library in 1999, and reached number one on the New York Times list in 2002. Its follow-up, A New Earth (2005), was Oprah Winfrey's book club pick in 2008, and in January 2025 she chose it again — the first book ever picked twice. What readers come to him for is a single, plainly stated argument: that most suffering comes from identifying with the voice in your head, and that the way out is attention to what is actually here, now. Tolle has never claimed the idea as his own. The writers below are the teachers and texts he has pointed to — Ramana Maharshi, Krishnamurti, Barry Long, Meister Eckhart, the Tao Te Ching, Rumi — and four living or recent teachers who say the same thing in a different voice.
By Lisanne Swart · 10 authors · Spirituality · Presence · Mysticism · Updated October 2026
Quick answer
If you love Eckhart Tolle, go to the teachers he points to himself: Ramana Maharshi, whose question “Who am I?” sits under much of The Power of Now, and Jiddu Krishnamurti, on watching thought. For the man Tolle met and learned from, Barry Long. For the older roots, Meister Eckhart, Lao Tzu and Rumi. And for the closest modern book, Michael A. Singer's The Untethered Soul.
10 authors like Eckhart Tolle
Where to start if you loved Eckhart Tolle
If you want the root of The Power of Now, read Ramana Maharshi.
Who Am I?: a few pages, and the question Tolle keeps returning to.
If you want the same teaching in a modern voice, read Michael A. Singer.
The Untethered Soul: the voice in your head, in plain, practical language.
If surrender is the part you need, read Lao Tzu.
The Tao Te Ching, in two translations side by side.
If you want a method for a single thought, read Byron Katie.
Loving What Is: four questions, ten minutes, one stressful belief.
Frequently asked questions about authors like Eckhart Tolle
Who should I read if I love Eckhart Tolle?
Start with the teachers Tolle himself points to: Ramana Maharshi and Jiddu Krishnamurti, whom he has described as closest to his own teaching, and Barry Long, whom he met. For the older roots, Meister Eckhart, Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching and Rumi. Among modern writers, Michael A. Singer is the closest, with Thich Nhat Hanh, Pema Chödrön and Byron Katie for practice.
What books are like The Power of Now?
Michael A. Singer's The Untethered Soul is the closest modern book. Ramana Maharshi's Who Am I? and Krishnamurti's Freedom from the Known are the older teachings it most resembles. For something practical, Byron Katie's Loving What Is and Thich Nhat Hanh's The Miracle of Mindfulness.
Who influenced Eckhart Tolle?
Tolle has acknowledged a strong connection to Jiddu Krishnamurti and Ramana Maharshi, and has said that listening to and talking with the Australian teacher Barry Long deepened his understanding. He has named the Bhagavad Gita, the Tao Te Ching, the teachings of the Buddha and the New Testament among the first texts in which he recognised his own experience. The Power of Now also cites Meister Eckhart, A Course in Miracles and Rumi's poetry, alongside Zen, Sufism and Advaita Vedanta.
Is Eckhart Tolle named after Meister Eckhart?
He was born Ulrich Tölle and took the name Eckhart later; it is widely reported to be in homage to Meister Eckhart, the 14th-century German mystic, whom he quotes in The Power of Now. Tolle's own explanations of the name have been brief, so treat the connection as likely rather than certain.
What should I read after A New Earth?
A New Earth is about the ego and how it shapes relationships and societies. Pema Chödrön's When Things Fall Apart applies the same ideas to personal crisis, and Byron Katie's Loving What Is gives a method for the reactive thoughts Tolle describes. For the idea at its most uncompromising, Krishnamurti's Freedom from the Known.
Did Eckhart Tolle write a book with Byron Katie?
Yes. Peace in the Present Moment (2010) pairs short passages from both teachers. It is a small book; for Katie's own method, read Loving What Is (2002), written with Stephen Mitchell.
What do critics say about Eckhart Tolle?
Some reviewers have dismissed his books as vague or as mixing pseudo-science with borrowed religious teaching; Time and The Observer both published critical pieces in the 2000s. Some Christian writers have argued that his worldview conflicts with core Christian beliefs. Readers who want the same ideas with more rigour often turn to Krishnamurti or Ramana Maharshi.
Footnotes
- Eckhart Tolle — Wikipedia
- Eckhart Tolle — Wikipedia (2008 revision, influences section)
- Oprah Winfrey opens 2025 with an encore: A New Earth — ABC News / AP
- Ramana Maharshi — Wikipedia
- Barry Long — Wikipedia
- Meister Eckhart — Wikipedia
- Lao-Tzu — World History Encyclopedia
- Jalal al-Din Rumi — Academy of American Poets
List last reviewed 15 October 2026.
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