Swami Rama & Advaita

[Guest guest]

Namaste

 

I would like to request the learned members in the list to outline the

contribution of Swami Rama (of the Himalayas) to the propagation of Advaita

in the West. I stumbled on his works recently and would like to know more

about his teachings and other interesting details. Thanks a million.

 

Om Shanti

Kathi

[Guest guest]

Greetings Kathirasan:

 

Here is a brief outline from browsing through the Internet. Those who

have personal contacts may share more details.

 

Ram chandran

 

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Sri Swami Rama

 

Born in 1925 in northern India, Swami Rama was raised from early

childhood by a great Bengali yogi and saint who lived in the foothills

of the Himalayas. In his youth he practiced the various disciplines of

yoga science and philosophy in the traditional monasteries of the

Himalayas and studied 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. He renounced the dignity

and prestige of this high office in 1952 to return to the Himalayas to

intensify his yogic 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 the West. With the encouragement of his master, Swami Rama

began his task by studying Western philosophy and psychology. He worked

as a medical consultant in London and assisted in parapsychological

research in Moscow. He then returned to India, where he established an

ashram in Rishikesh. He completed his degree in homeopathy at the

medical college 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

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 states. He

participated in experiments that helped to revolutionize scientific

thinking about the relationship between body and mind, amazing

scientists by 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 throughout

the world. He is the author of numerous books on health, meditation, and

the yogic scriptures. Swami Rama left his body in November 1996.

 

More Information available at the Homepage:

http://www.himalayaninstitute.org/index1.html

 

Swami Rama's Books

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LIVING WITH THE HIMALAYAN MASTERS: Spiritual Experiences of Swami Rama

by Swami Rama, Swami Ajaya (Editor)

List Price: $17.95 Sale Price: $14.36

Availability: Usually ships within 24 hours.

Paperback - 487 pages (March 1980)

Himalayan Institute Press; ISBN: 0893890707 ; Dimensions (in inches):

1.33 x 9.01 x 6.04

Amazon.com Sales Rank: 72,266

 

New Age Book Review

"A complete and practical guide to the foundations of the spiritual

journey ... The vividness of the stories is absorbing, allowing them to

be read over and over again."

 

The Illustrated Weekly of India

"A very spirited book ... on a par with that other great classic,

Autobiography of a Yogi ...It is a remarkable work."

 

John White, Editor of What Is Enlightenment?

"An inspirational and instructional work, it is a sheer pleasure to

read ... offers the purest spiritual teachings in entertaining and

dramatic form ... is a classic in modern yogi literature."

 

Franklin Merrell-Wolf, Author of Pathways Through to Space

"I recommend this valuation by a fully competent modern sage, a

representative of Indian

wisdom."

 

Book Description

Ordained a monk at a young age by a great sage of the Himalayas, Swami

Rama was involved

in a learning journey from monasteries to caves, studying and living

with more than a hundred sages in the solitude of the Himalaya Mountains

and the plains of India. Among those with whom he studied were Tagore,

Mahatma Gandhi, Sri Aurobindo, and Ramana Maharshi. In this collection

of stories, Swami Rama relates his experiences with the great teachers

who guided his life.

 

 

Customer Comments

A reader from Singapore , February 16, 1999

One mans search for the reason for living in a body This fantastic

book and its information has in-fact change my entire reading materials

and the approached I made towards medicant, sadhus or sages. The subject

materials has made me an ardent reader of any book in relation to such

people. I have introduce this book to many of my

friends who have also changed their way of selecting book for their

knowledge. It should be rated as one of the best read book.

 

sgsatish from USA , June 25, 1998

Excellent inspirational book one can have in his life. This book

clearly gives true life story of Great student of Yoga and sincere

followers of Yogic Philosophy. It depicts Swami Rama's day to day

learning and life of true Sadhakas. It is inspiration for all of us to

lead our life in more successful way by facing all stumbling blocks

through Meditation and Sadhana. It is impossible to explain the value of

this book through mere words, so far I have presented this valuable book

to whom so ever I respect most in my life. That is the best way I can

show my respect to them.

 

Other related Books

Meditation and Its Practice; Swami Rama

THE ART OF JOYFUL LIVING; Swami Rama, Kay Gendron