LIVING WITH THE HIMALAYAN MASTERS: Spiritual Experiences of Swami Rama

Rating:
Summary: Feast on a book about fasting.
Review: A series of amazing short anecdotes served by the bumbling but blessed yogi. You will really enjoy the account of the valley of flowers where all sense of time vanishes, drowned in the hypnotic scent of rhododenrons. This book does not skirt self consciously around the unbelievable. It lays it all on the table.

This is one of the few books I have read which is willing to discuss the concept of ending life consciously by yogic means. It gives descriptions of the different ways this can be done. Of course it does not give instuctions on how to do it, which would be dangerous, but it does give the idea that control over the process of death is possible, if you are willing to put in the effort and study required. You can read the sections out of order and it still makes sense. This sort of format is good if you are like me and find it hard to put a book down once you start it.

Rating:
Summary: Fun Read
Review: A very good book; an inspiring autobiography of a real spiritual master of our times. It can be considered a light book....There is not deep philosophy inside, suitable for everyone interested in yoga philosophy.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable and Provocative
Review: I didn't want to put this book down. Partly because the experiences from Swami Rama's life are nearly beyond belief almost as if from the Arabian Nights stories. There are sages with extraordinary powers. But what I really like about this book is Swami Rama doesn't put these feats on a pedastal. He says they are remarkable, but he doesn't worship them. To him these beyond-belief feats show how versatile and ingenious humans can be on the spiritual side (instead of just the technological/scientific side). But Rama knows that these pursuits turn into distractions from the noble pursuit of self-knowledge, and knowledge of Reality.

Few people on Earth have accumulated the spiritual wisdom that Rama did, yet instead of making me feel inferior, I felt inspired to put more of an effort to develop inner spirituality. You learn in the book that he wasn't born with the wisdom. He was foolish growing up, and his guru had to cut down his ego numerous times. But he persevered and never kept his eyes (Third Eye, intuition included) off his goal of self-realization.

I was able to translate his extraordinary experiences to my own life, and I felt like the lessons he studied are lessons we all study through out different experiences. I enjoy gaining some understanding into the underlying order of existence. It's not all for naught.

Also, he clarifies how scientific true spirituality is. It isn't some ambiguous undirected meditative prayer. And it isn't metaphorical, but a rigorous system of self-inquiry requiring discipline and dedication. With enough effort there will be real spiritual experiences that can be duplicated and attained consciously. Rama didn't say it's easy, just that anyone with enough dedication can make measurable progress.

Lastly, Rama's points about people's lack of understanding about death is fascinating. Just about everyone has a fear of dying. Most are too young for it to be an immediate fear, but those who are near their deathbed from old age, accident, or disease know the mental anguish of isolation, of being forced from life. From the sages of the Himlayas, he learns how mastery of death is possible. The fact that Swami Rama passed peacefully into death without any fear is testament to his wisdom, and something we can all learn from considering the fire of death is something we all have to pass through.

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly true and open. One of the most honest books...
Review: I have owned this book for a long time but hesitated to read it because of the catching title. This is not quite what it is about...

It is about Rama`s path in spirituality and there is a lot for every person who searches whatever their path may be. Very open, quite critical of false spirituality, totally aware of the possible mistakes on the road and of the traps set up by pride. I love the simple yet beautiful writing. It is not true that all the sages presented in the book are said to be enlightened. Quite the contrary. But there is a certain humility and great love for people that allows Swami Rama to describe their mistakes without scorn or hate. Also interesting insights on all the major religions. VERY ENLIGHTENING.

Rating:
Summary: Short Biographical Sketches, Haunting and Eternal
Review: I just love this book. It consists of a collection of short "essays", autobiographical, and philosophical, about the author's life growing up in the Himilayas.

Much of Swami Rama's life seems biblical in it spiritual "magic"--it displays similar themes and miracles that you find in the New Testament. For instance, his father's guru predicted that he and his wife--although he was over 60, and she over 40--would have a son who would follow the father's master. The parents, childless for years, declare that this would be a miracle, but that if it happens, the child is his. 18 months later, they have a child, the Swami. When is three, the Master returns and initiates him by whispering a mantra in his ear.

When the Swami is still young, his parents die, and the master comes for him, and they travel together. Often, the master sends his disciple off to study with another guru for a period of time, but throughout his training into his adulthood, the master is, so to speak, the point around which the Swami Rama orbits in his spiritual peregrinations.

He describes many miracles. We witness a resurrection, a miraculous feeding of the poor, and other bizarre, often familiar, miracles. India seems like a land of magic.

Is all this b.s.? Who knows. One thing is certain...the Swami Rama is not self-promoting in this book. He doesn't present himself, for instance, as the performer of miracles. But he does witness them, and is on at least on occasion the recipient of one.

In any case, this book is a good read--simple, wise, and entertaining. I can't recommend it enough.

Rating:
Summary: Living with Swami Rama
Review: One of the greatest books about living the life of a yogi, this book provides great inspiration towards spirituality and devotion towards one's own master(Guru bhakti). Reading this book provided a feeling of living with the great Swami Rama throughout his life in Himalayas. It changed my life and thinking and oriented me towards actions needed to reach one's own goal.

Rating:
Summary: Swami Rama's early years
Review: Swami Rama is one of the overlooked great figures of our time. For twenty years I had the privledge of being one of his students. His indepth understanding of the human condition, his selfless service and his profound attainment of states higher consciousness was a wonder to behold. In this autobiography he relates in a humble way his encounters with his early teachers. Since he was raised in a cave monestary from the age of four his life was very different from our modern way of developing as a person. While some of the stories stretch our credability they all actually happened. I realize that many people have difficulty accepting other peoples experience, especially if it outside the range of their own limited life experience and challange our own fixed ideas. Swami Rama definitely challanges us about how the world is, in a very real way, but I find that challange refreshing and inspiring. His core experience, that the goal of human life is spiritual attainment and Self realization pulls us out of our small limited view of the world. It is one of the great spiritual classics. If I was stranded on a desert island with only three books this would be one of them.

Rating:
Summary: Swami Rama's early years
Review: Swami Rama is one of the overlooked great figures of our time. For twenty years I had the privledge of being one of his students. His indepth understanding of the human condition, his selfless service and his profound attainment of states higher consciousness was a wonder to behold. In this autobiography he relates in a humble way his encounters with his early teachers. Since he was raised in a cave monestary from the age of four his life was very different from our modern way of developing as a person. While some of the stories stretch our credability they all actually happened. I realize that many people have difficulty accepting other peoples experience, especially if it outside the range of their own limited life experience and challange our own fixed ideas. Swami Rama definitely challanges us about how the world is, in a very real way, but I find that challange refreshing and inspiring. His core experience, that the goal of human life is spiritual attainment and Self realization pulls us out of our small limited view of the world. It is one of the great spiritual classics. If I was stranded on a desert island with only three books this would be one of them.

Rating:
Summary: An All Time Spiritual Classic
Review: This is a timeless classic by one of the most influential yoga masters of the 20th century. It transports you into the caves of the Himalayas and introduces you to the great adepts who live there. This is the real thing from a man whose whole life was an extraordinary spiritual adventure. One of the best books on spirituality ever!

Rating:
Summary: What spirit is man can be...
Review: This is a wonderful book of stories. Swami Rama is not afraid to show you the pros and the cons of renunciate life. This is a reality check for all those who feel as though they need to escape the rat race and try the razor's edge. There are just as many charlatans on the path as there are sages and still more "Swamis" that have simply missed the boat and end up like a clatter of sideshow performers on venice boardwalk. The message appears to be that the path of renunciation is no better or worse than the path of action in the real world. Awe-inspiring, to be sure...