From the back of the Book
"I will tell you I grew up and how I was trained, about the great sages with whom I lived and what they taught me, not through lecture and books but through experiences," writes Sri Swami Rama in the opening pages of this timeless saga. These stories record his personal quest for truth and enlightenment. Inspiring, illuminating, entertaining, mystifying, and frequently droll and humorous, they bring you face-to-face with great Himalayan Masters, including: · Mataji of Assam, a ninety-six-year-old lady sage who never slept. · Gudari Baba, who taught Swami Rama the value of direct experience. · Yogi Sri Aurobindo, who teaches that every human being has the potential for healing. · Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Nation.
"One of the great spiritual classics of all time. An insider's view of hidden adepts who live outside time and space as we know it, yogis and yoginis who can't possibly exist - but do!" -Linda Johnsen, author of The Living Goddess: Reclaiming the Tradition of the Mother of the Universe
"Buy this book for yourself. Each page is filled with joy and cheer. What I like best is that Swami Rama's message does not require us to transform ourselves, it teaches that we are already perfect." -Judith Benn Hurley, author of The Good Herb, Savoring the Day, and Healing Secrets of the Seasons
Sri Swami Rama, the founder of the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, was raised in the Himalayan cave monasteries and ordained a monk in early childhood. He studies Western psychology, philosophy, and medicine in Europe and taught in Japan before coming to the United State in 1969. Here he founded the Himalayan Institute to create a bridge between the ancient teachings of the East and the modern scientific approaches of the West.
About the Author
Born in 1925 in northern India, Swami Rama was raised from early childhood by a great yogi and saint of Bengal who lived in the Himalayas. In his youth he practiced the various disciplines of yoga science and philosophy in the traditional monasteries of the Himalayas and studied closely with many spiritual adepts, including Mahatma Gandhi, Sri Aurobindo, and Rabindranath Tagore. He also traveled to Tibet to study with his grandmaster.
He received his higher education at Bangalore, Prayaga, Varanasi, and Oxford University, England. At the age of twenty-four he became Shankaracharya of Karvirpitham in south India, the highest spiritual position in India. During this term he had a tremendous impact on the spiritual customs of that time: he dispensed with useless formalities and rituals, made it possible for all segments of society to worship in the temple, and encouraged the instruction of women in meditation. He renounced the dignity and prestige of his high office in 1952 to return to the Himalayas to intensify his meditation practices.
After completing an intense meditative practice in the cave monasteries, he emerged with the determination to serve humanity, particularly to bring the teachings of the East to West. With the encouragement of his master, Swami Rama began his task by studying Western philosophy and psychology, and teaching Eastern philosophy at Western universities. He worked as a medical consultant in London and assisted in Para psychological research in Moscow. He then returned to India, where he established an ashram in Rishikesh. He completed his degree in homeopathy at the medical collage in Darbhanga in 1960. He came to the United States in 1969, bringing his knowledge and wisdom to the West. His teachings combine Eastern spirituality with modern Western therapies.
Swami Rama was a freethinker, guided by his direct experience and inner wisdom, and he encouraged his student to be guided in the same way. He often told them, "I am a messenger, delivering the wisdom of the Himalayan sages of my tradition. My job is to introduce you to the teacher within."
Swami Rama came to America upon the invitation of Dr. Elmer Green of the Menninger Foundation of Topeka, Kansas, as a consultant in a research project investigating the voluntary control of involuntary sates. He participated in experiments that helped to revolutionize scientific thinking about the relationship between body and mind, amazing scientists by his demonstrating, under laboratory conditions, precise conscious control of autonomic physical responses and mental functioning, feats previously thought to be impossible.
Swami Rama founded the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, the Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust in India, and many centers though out the world. He is the author of numerous books on health, meditation, and the yogic scriptures. Swami Rama left his body in November 1996.
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