Living with the Himalayan Masters !

Living with the Himalayan Masters !

I want to share an amazing book , Living with the Himalayan Masters by Swami Rama .

Here is a book that is no ordinary book ! Again , as I have been sharing some of my old books , this was also read again and again for the past 30 years !

In fact , I will not call it reading ! It is more of listening ! The great sage is sharing his life journey that is so wonderful , unique , moving and profound . 

As , Swami Rama relates his life story , we realise that we are indeed sitting at the feet of a most unique person , if I can call him that ! 

From the very birth of this unique character , which is as unique as it can be , Swami Rama is really a Spiritual Being who came to Earth to share his spiritual wisdom for humanity . He has such an amazing and compelling story to share that it looks like a fairy tale or even fiction ! 

I read it so many times and then had to make a choice . My choice was , either I believe the story completely or just throw the book away as trash ! That is it !

If it is true , then I have to shift my views about everything ! It is a paradigm shift !

Fortunately for me , I choose to really believe it !

You have to read to see what I am saying .

This amazing Swami shares how he went meeting other sages in the Himalayas who are teaching him and showing what Yoga and the hidden secrets of the real science of the mind , consciousness is all about . It is just out of this world !

The teachings and demonstrations shown are mind boggling ! Nature is performing as though it is always conscious ! Yogis doing their alchemy out of nothing . Stones, rocks turning into food !

Dead bodies arising and living bodies dying !

Matter just disappearing into energy and then coming back to matter !

Swami Rama,'s journey to USA to share the wonders of mind control and how to understand the mystery of Biofeedback ! He worked with top scientist in USA in mind stuff and went on to start an amazing institute in Honesdale , Pennsylvania , USA .

The Himalayan International Institute of Yoga ,Science and Philosophy .

Do I need to say more !

Just go read if spirituality , Science and Yoga means something to you .

I simply love this wonderful sage .

Take care. Love.

Till we meet again .

Amar.

When God Becomes A Drug !

When God Becomes A Drug !

When God becomes a drug is written by Father Leo Booth . It is a book about breaking the chains of religious addiction and abuse .

Religious addiction , like alcohol addiction is a disease that can be treated .Just as in the Alcholics Ananymous program using the 12 step program , we can also use a similar 12 steps program to undo the dysfunctional behavior . With such a program people with this addiction can be helped into having a healthy relationship with God !

When we start using God in a compulsive and bulling way , we have become addicted to a certain form , ritual and rigidity that  can do more harm than good .

The word and belief about God can have multiple ways of interpretation and understanding . We may belong to a certain religion or to a sub category of the larger religion . Than , as individuals we will have our own personal awareness or understanding of these concepts . They are very abstract and can often lead to confusion and misunderstanding or creating a very personal way of understanding of God which be very  difficult and demanding .
Coming to ordinary day to day living in the context of religion and this God business : We have so very often punished our lovely , beautiful and innocent children  over issues of not being there for some ritual or prayer . We forget to pray , we forgot some other religious practice , maybe it was fasting , maybe sitting very quietly in a church , temple or any other religious place ! Maybe the over zealous father had sat very strict and rigid rules around religion , maybe you ate something that was not supposed to be eaten and the maybe list can go on and on !
Religious abuse is a hidden disease , it is often difficult to see from the outside . When you grow up in an alcoholic home , the abuse by the drunken father is seen easily . Mum's rage and anger tantrums are easily seen . The home is labelled dysfunctional .
In contrast , people growing in homes that appear to be stable , material comforts hid the emotional neglect that has been going on . Children become very confused when they are punished on religious issues and especially about God ! They keep feeling for the rest of their lives that they are not good and that scars are really painful for a very long time .

Many religious centres in all faiths are well known for abusing and punishing children in their care !
Basically , religion and God has been used over hundreds of years to control , distort , manipulate and abuse people .
This book is really high lighting a very serious problem that we humans are and have been practicing in the name of religion and God !
My point is to awaken you to this major human issue of abuse in the very name of God !!
I will stop here and take care .
Till we meet again .
Amar.

A Search In Secret India

A Search In Secret India .

My dear friends , I am sharing books that I read some 40 years ago ! These books made a great impact on my growth and development in my very important formative years . I was always searching or seeking to understand the purpose or meaning of Life ! I just happened to be like that from my childhood ! As early as my teen years I was always wondering what am I doing here in this life !

Than in 1973 , an event happened that brought my desire or seeking even more urgently into my life .

My young father , a medical doctor , passed away at the tender age of 49 years !

With his passing away , my urgency to understand the meaning or purpose of life took top priority !

So , books around that time of my life were books of a serious and deeper nature .I thought sharing a little of my background information will be helpful .

Now , coming to today's book review : A Search in Secret India was written sometime in 1940 !!

The author , Dr. Paul Brunton was an English man who went to India in search of the mysteries .

Dr Paul Brunton was a very earnest seeker . He travelled all around India in search of Sages , Swamis and saints . He was not too impressed to just seek the normal sadhus , of whom there were too many !

His extensive travelling in British India as an Englishman had its pros and cons .

The book is about his traveling and seeking this sages and sitting with them or at their feet to learn and understand what did they discover in their inner journey .

He is probably well known for his meeting the great Indian Sage Ramana Maharishi in South India .

As an earnest seeker he not only saw these mystics and sages , but took the effort to understand and do his own inner work.

I can tell you that his books at that time in my life were God sent !!

I read all his books with such hunger that I am always grateful to the Universe Force that guided me to such wonderful people . 

Dr Paul Brunton wrote some of the most interesting books during his days .

I will just share some of the titles and you will see what I meant .

This is a list of some of his books :

1. A Search in Secret India .

2.The secret Path.

3.A secret in Secret Egypt .

4. A Message from Arunachala .

5. A Hermit in the Himalayas .

6. The Quest of the Overself.

7.The Inner Reality .

8. The Hidden Teachings Beyond Yoga.

9. The Spiritual Crisis of Man .

Now you can see why I was so happy and excited to get to know Dr Paul Brunton and his books .

His great contribution to us was his extensive travelling and living among yogis ,mystics and holy men of that times . His understanding and then being able to share his knowledge to us all over the world .

Dr Paul Brunton has written so much that it is a treasure house of studies of Comparative Religion , Mysticism and Philosophy .

I will always place him among my most treasured  people .

As I always express , that my joy is to point and share some of the wonderful gems on Spiritual knowledge with you.

I feel that is enough for today . 

Take care .

Amar.

The Outsider

The Outsider 

Today , I am going to share another book that I have been reading since 1974 ! The Outsider is written by Colin Wilson . He wrote it as an inquiry into the nature of the sickness of humankind in the mid-twentieth century . 

I am sharing because the sickness of humankind is getting worse , as I see it today !

The Outsider is a person who seems to be in this world and yet does not feel he/she really belongs here ! The Outsider , from the very depths of his nature feels he is not at home and is always wondering at all the value systems , social systems and social institutions of the world .

The book first came out in 1956 ! 

If I share the contents of this wonderful book , you will understand how an outsider views the world .

Chapter 1 is called , The country of the blind . Here a vague description is given of the outsider. The outsider is seen as a social problem . The hero of the book remains unnamed . He is the anonymous man who comes from the country . Finds a job in a bank. He takes a room in a family hotel . Left alone in his room , he meditates . He has no genius , no mission to fulfil , no remarkable feelings to bestow . ' I have nothing and I deserve nothing .  Yet , in spite of it , I desire some sort of recompense.' The main character goes on commenting that , ' Religion... he doesn't care for ! ' As to philosophic discussions , they seem to me altogether meaningless. Nothing to be tested , nothing to be verified. Truth-what do they mean by it ! ' To the outsider , death seems important .  ' Death ,that is the most important of all ideas . ' Than coming back to his living problems ; ' I must make money ' Then he sees light coming from a small hole from the next room . He stands and looks through the spy-hole. ' I look , I see.....The next room offers itself to me in its nakedness. '

Chapter 2 . World without values .

There are 9 chapters and the outsider is constantly trying to make sense of the world in which he lives.

Chapter 3. The romantic outsider .

Chapter 4. The attempt to gain control

Chapter 5. The pain threshold .

Chapter 6. The question of Identity .

Chapter 7. The greater synthesis...

Chapter 8. The outsider as visionary. 

And finally Chapter 9 . Breaking the circuit .

Throughout the book , the outsider is feeling very lost in the world of ordinary people. He feels that their day to day living is a form of death ! The petty , trivial , everydayness means empty and meaningless and there is a deep cry within to seek out what is real !

It was a very great and timely book in my life . I was going through a very similar phase of my growing . My constant question like the outsider was always what does it mean ? What does it matter!

As I am sharing this rather old book , I wonder if it is still in print .

Colin Wilson was one of my favourite authors in the 1970's .

I will stop here . Hope you found something interesting in my very brief blog.

Till we meet again .Take care .

Amar.

When Everything Changes Change Everything !

When Everything Changes Change Everything !

Here is another great book that I like to share with you . When Everything Changes Change Everything is written by Neale Donald Walsch . 

Neale Donald Walsch is the famous and bestseller author of Conversations With God series .

His first book came out in 1995 ! Conversations With God -Book One.

This book came out in 2009 and I bought the book in 2011 .

Normally any books about matters of the spirit , spiritual , Oneness or such tittles don't miss my eyes, as I always like to read how other are experiencing the One ! I also enjoy seeing how they express their experience . It's a good way to know the many ways to the same One experience !

The books , Conversations With God were lying in my favourite book shop for some time . I always passed it for some strange reason . I may have become judgemental , or assumed or just the time was not right yet !

Anyway , coming to this book about everything changes so change everything , it just caught my eye! Any books on matters of change real get my attention ! I just love to see how others are studying the greatest phenomena as far as I am concern . Change is just too important and I love and am passionate about change ! Okay , okay ! Let me come to this great wonderful book.

I was walking in this book shop and I saw this book lying there . Very casually I picked this book and started to turn the pages to browse .

Donald just got my attention at the first page . He started his book like this : ' Please Sit Down . No , really. Please . Sit down . there's a better than even chance you're reading these first few words standing up ( in a bookshop someplace , or maybe in someone's home ), scanning these lines to see if you want to read any further.

If you are , please sit down. You're not going to want to read the first few paragraphs and then just walk away. you're going to want more time with what's written here . So "steal " as many moments as you can with this book before deciding whether to buy it -because I want you to know what you're getting yourself into . ' Wow !!! Imagine reading these lines standing in a book shop ! I was so taken by Donald's style and pattern of writing that I actually had tears in my eyes !! 

As you read further you will realise why I had tears reading this wonderful book !

Here was an author who had gone to the bottom of whatever we call life . He was suddenly made homeless for no fault of his ! Faith , circumstanstances or destiny , I don't want to get into that !

Here was an author who is giving me something from his very personal life story . 

I can tell you that I not only bought his this book I am sharing with , but all his books after that !!

Well , not on the same day !

Donald , went on to share in the first few pages that will make you stand up and wonder what to do !

( I like calling this author Donald , as I consider him my close and spiritual friend whom I love very much !! ).

Can you imagine what he wrote in the next few pages ! He says that this a conversation that we must investigate how life works at the mental and spiritual level , out of which will emerge a surprising revelation about ways in which we can change our experience of change itself--which means , of course , our experience of life !!

I need go no further to tell you that this book actually took my breath away !

Let me stop here as I don't know what else to say to tell you that this book is a Must reading in your list of great books !

I have only shared the first page with you !! 

Just go and get his books and this very special book !

Have to end here as I am getting slightly emotional today !!

Till we meet again . Take care . Love.

Amar.

Anita Moorjani in Sedona .

Dying To Be Me ! Anita Moorjani's Story of her Near Death to True Healing !

Dying To Be Me !

 Anita Moorjani's Story of her Near Death to true Healing !

This is a truly  amazing and inspirational story of this wonderful woman , Anita Moorjani .

I will share with you this remarkable book which can have Only 2 outcomes !

Either you too can really accept her story and belief it or you can just read it as some ones  fiction or something of that nature ! If you accept the first option , than you are going to have to have a real paradigm shift in your thinking and life itself !!

If the second , than it does not matter much !

If you accept her story , it is going to change your whole world view !

Her story of her struggle with Cancer is really remarkable and fascinating ! Maybe , I should not make like an impersonal insensitive way of relating her hardships and struggles . I have the utmost respect and love for this brave and wonderful woman .

The journey of her life during cancer and how she saw her body just slipping away until she was practically just bones and wounds all over her body is well described by her in the book. I will tell you that  at the tail end she just went towards coma and all her vital organs were shutting down or going . As her vital organs were failing her , she went through a most extraordinary near-death experience where she realised that she was more than her body ! She was in her non physical self and had an amazing experience with spirits of her near and dear ones who communicated with her . They explained all her conditions and why she had all this stuff and struggles ! Her stressful life and her past issues were all creating her cancer !

She was also able to go further and made to realise that all of life is really good and blissful ! We have blocked that grace and blessing from coming to us by our negative concepts and conditions !

She had a choice to come back ! She made the choice and returned ! 

She also became aware that all her body started to heal immediately after her discussion to accept total love and well being for her body/mind and spirit !

As the medical world or doctors stood there watching , her body was healing right in front of their eyes ! They just could not believe it . In fact , they did many more test to try to understand what was happening !

To every ones surprise and astonishment , she just recovered so fast and so completely ! She just defied all understanding and knowledge of medical science and our understanding of how life is !

Listen to her talk and you are going to be amazed by her story . 

Heaven is not a place ! It is a State !! Yes, that is the message from Anita !

I am going to link some videos if I can . I also want you all to go listen to her talk on YouTube .

That's it ! As simple as that ! We accept it or reject it !

We reject it , it is okay ,as life goes on as it as , so no problem !

On the other hand , we accept her story , than we have to arrange our thinking about life and everything !! Now , that is a big ask ! 

That is a choice you have to make !!

Good luck .

Take care and love .

Till we meet again . Thanks for reading .

Amar

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