Friday, July 30, 2021

Living with the Himalayan Masters - Swami Rama (2007)

The book is an autobiography of Swami Rama, who lived with his Guru, a Himalayan seer, all his life. Simple language that will keep you gripping to the book. The book talks about early childhood, realization, experiences as a seeker, and learnings various seers he met in life. One may feel the story similar to The Autobiography of Yogi. However, I will differentiate it a bit as this book is very much like reading a storybook and very little on the actual spiritual processes. Secondly, there are a lot more interactions described. He has talked about meeting the sages of other religions like Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity, and Islam. He has met saintly figures who are associated with the freedom movement of India - Mahatma Gandhi. He has met Sri Aurobindo Ghosh, who had taken to complete spiritual upliftment after his experiences with the armed freedom struggle of India.  Overall, this is a book on learning from experiences.  While the author has been exposed to several forms of spiritual initiations, he has kept himself focused on the teachings of the Adwaita philosophy of Shankaracharya. His liking and bond with his Guru are presented nicely in the book. Though an old book, it is advisable for someone interested to know about Indian mysticism. 

The Chamber - John Grisham (1994)

A good family story but not the best of John Grisham.  I like John Grisham because of the depth in which he covers legal matters in his nove...