Where Souls Dream God: Westerner's Perceptions of Spiritual India

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WHERE SOULS DREAM GOD IS A UNIQUE GLIMPSE INTO THE ANCIENT CULTURE OF INDIA, AS SEEN BY WESTERNERS WHO HAVE ADOPTED THAT CULTURE AS THEIR OWN. ANYONE WHO IS FASCINATED BY THE MAGIC AND THE MYSTERY OF THAT HOLY LAND WILL FIND THIS BOOK INTOXICATING. IF YOU HAVE EVER THOUGHT ABOUT GOING THERE, AFTER READING WHERE SOULS DREAM GOD. YOU MAY JUST HAVE TO PUT YOUR LIFE ON HOLD AND LEAVE TOMORROW

Sundaram La Pierre's great interest is Sanatana Dharma, the “Eternal Religion," kept for all the world by the Himalayan sages and great masters of India. He enjoys photographing and writing about its endlessly unfolding expressions of spirituality.

Sundaram and his wife, Hilary, live in Encinitas, California, where they coordinate a weekly Kirtan Circle which is open to all who enjoy Indian devotional chanting.

Kirtan has become a genre of music in its own right in the West. They host many of the traveling kirtan artists who are bringing this soul-uplifting and transforming music to the world. It is their conviction that the true purpose of music is to uplift the consciousness, leading to actual communion with God.

In May of 2005, Sundaram began publishing Himalayan Heritage Magazine to bring a greater awareness of the vast and sublime teachings of Sanatana Dharma and its tradition of saints. Published six times a year, each issue contains an "India Dreaming" section featuring stories from or about spiritual India, a "Saints and Sages" feature, highlighting the life of one of India's great masters, and many other stories of interest to all on the path of Hindu Devotional Mysticism.

India is a land of Saints. It always has been, and by God's grace, will always be. One great Master told me, "Every generation will have its Saints. God will never leave Himself without a witness in India!" Yet these great Beings generally live away from the disturbing sight of the world and pursue their God-intoxicated lives in the solitude of caves, jungles or hidden retreats. Though American by birth, I have lived in India for many years. I have sought out the Saints, Yogis, and Masters in my travels, spanning the height and breadth of this divine subcontinent. I've encountered Saints in their caves high in the Himalayan peaks, and in secluded ashrams in the dense jungles of the Plains. I have received their blessings and listened to their esoteric teachings while huddling around a small dhuni fire or sweating in the tropical heat of the jungles. And by the great and undeserved grace of the Mother, I have had the blessing of knowing, traveling with and receiving Initiation from the divine Sri Anandamayi Ma, one of the greatest spiritual luminaries of India. Hence when my dear friend, Sundaram, asked me to write a short introduction to his wonderful book, I readily agreed.

I first met Sundaram and his wife, Hilary, when they visited our Mata Anandamayi Ashram in Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh, in Central India, several years ago. We at once felt a deep affinity between the three of us. Since then we have kept in contact with mutual visits between California and India, and through correspondence. The selfless work they do in promoting the true ideals of Sanatana Dharma in the West through their Himalayan Heritage Magazine, and their work with devotional music and kirtan, is of great importance in today's western society. It has been my privilege to contribute several articles to their magazine, and to sing kirtan in their temple, the Jyoti Mandir, during my visits to Encinitas.

One can pursue the spiritual life in any environment. Indeed, we must begin walking from where we are right now. It is not necessary to put on a loincloth and endure the hardships of living in India. Yet for those who practice Yoga and study Eastern thought and philosophy, a visit to India is to find the authentic source and spring of those ancient teaching that have become diluted or "over-adopted" for presentation in the West. A few westerners with strong Indian samkaras (deep impressions from previous births) have benefited from residence in India for the purpose of pursuing an intense and one-pointed spiritual endeavor.

On a superficial level, India is currently in a state of unbalance and unrest. With the intrusion of much western influence and the rapid blossoming of technology, there is a much-needed growth in material prosperity and an updated 'practical side' of life. Yet India's deep, ancient and eternal culture is rising up to counterbalance this current trend. It will certainly predominate. If a visitor can penetrate the quiet heart of India - in the ashrams and temples, the small villages and towns, they will find ancient India intact and thriving.

It has been said that all truly great spiritual masters of the world are universalists. They have risen above religious and cultural limitations to embrace all of humanity. They belong to everyone. They bear the message of universal brotherhood and sisterhood, asking us to break down all man-made boundaries between children of the one God.

In his quintessential poem, My India, Paramahansa Yogananda writes: I love Thee, O my India! And thy love I shall give to every brother nation that lives. God made the earth; Man made confining countries and their fancy-frozen boundaries. But with newfound boundless love I behold the borderland of my India expanding into the world...

The title of this book is in direct reference to Paramahansaji's poem; in fact, to the final words that the great master spoke in this life. He had often told his disciple that he wanted to die, "...with my boots on, speaking of God and India." And so it was that on March 7th 1952, at a banquet in honor of the visiting ambassador from India at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, the great master, who would become known to his disciples as a Premavatar (Incarnation of Divine Love), spoke these words from his thrilling poem My India. "Where Ganges, woods, Himalayan caves, and men dream God I am hallowed; my body touched that sod." Lifting his eyes, his body slumped to the floor in mabasamadbi.

These are the words of the Master. It is true that a few people have objected to the use of the pronoun "men," in this and other writings, and I honor their point of view. Yet no one could honor women more than the great masters of the world who are merged in the One Mother-Father God. It is valuable to observe that Paramahansaji left his organization in the capable hands of his advanced women disciples, especially Sri Daya Mata, who has guided Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India for more than fifty years.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa's work was continued by his wife and consort, the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi. Sri Aurobindo Ghosh was succeeded by Mother Meera; Swami Muktananda Paramahansa by Gurumayi Chidvilasananda; and Dhyanyogi Madhusudandas by Shri Anandi Ma. Some have said that this is the age of the Mother. In recent years there has come a wave of divine souls from India led by the "Divine Mothers": Amritanandamayi Devi (Ammachi), Vijayeswari Devi (Karunamayi Ma), and Sri Maa of Kamakhaya. It is the motherly qualities of compassion, forgiveness, acceptance and love that are so desperately needed in our world today.