Swami Rama - Love Whispers

Himalayan Institute
952 Bethany Turnpike
Honesdale, PA 18431

HimalayanInstitute.org

1982 by Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy of the U.S.A.

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No part of this book in any manner, in whole or in part, in English or in any other language, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without prior written permission of the copyright owner.

Printed in the United States of America

Cover Design by Michele Wetherbee
Calligraphy by Nicky Ovitt
Photograph Takashi Mizushima/Photonica

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

ISBN 0-89389-178-9

To Her

Love Whispers is the only work besides Living with the Himalayan Masters in which Swamiji does not hide his true identity. The joyous relationship between him and the Divine Mother finds its full expression in these pages because Swamiji had no intention of publishing a book when he penned these lines. For a long time its content remained hidden in the deepest chamber of his heart and between the covers of his personal diaries.

In the early eighties I was fortunate enough to read some of the letters Swamiji had written between 1956 and 1975 to Dr. S. N. Agnihotri, a beloved friend and disciple. And in those letters I saw in Swamiji a sage inebriated with the love divine, a sage who presented himself in the West as a scientist, a yogi, a researcher, a humanitarian, and an executive of a multinational organization, the Himalayan International Institute. I was also lucky enough to be taking his dictation when he answered a letter from an astrologer in New Delhi. This astrologer, who was closely related to Swamijis biological family, had written to warn Swamiji of a calamity which, due to the placement of planets and stars, soon would befall him. I still have a copy of Swamijis answer. It said in essence that once the Divine Mother had given him Her unconditional love and protection and had placed him under the safety of Her lotus feet, why should he make any effort to protect himself from the movements of these planets and stars? As he was dictating this reply I saw in his eyes a light that did not seem to be of this world.

Such occasions were, however, very rare. Most of the time Swamiji seemed practical and down-to-earth. He seldom shared his mystical experiences with anyone. In every book he wrote and every class he taught he made sure that people heard his main message: Be practical. Dont be emotional. Be nice to yourself. Take care of your duties. Live in the world and yet remain above it. Achieve the higher purpose of life here and now. I had been living in his company for several years before this book was published, and I was growing a bit tired of hearing him teach the same thing.

One Sunday morning Swamiji was scheduled to lecture as usual when, driven by samskaras or by Divine Will, I found myself in an unusually mischievous mood. Right before his lecture I walked into his quarters and found him putting his shawl around himself in preparation for walking down to the lecture hall. Without much thought I jokingly said, Swamiji, I have just achieved a great siddhi [spiritual power]. When he asked what it was I answered, Now I can read anyones mind and I can predict the immediate future. I can tell exactly what you are going to say in your lecture.

Swamiji smiled and said, OK, tell me.

I said, You will walk to the stage in your regal style, go to the podium, and while looking at the audience, you will bow your head and say [and here I began to imitate his speaking style], I pray to the Divinity in you. How are you today? Are you comfortable? Do you like the food here at the Institute? If you have any problem, please tell Kevin or Dr. Clarke. Then very gracefully you will walk to the blackboard and while looking at the audience you will say, A human being is not body alone, not mind alone. A human being is a breathing being too.... Here is body and here is mind. Then you will draw two circles on the board and say, Between these two there is something called breath while you connect the circles with arrows...

As I was about to complete the last sentence, Swamiji grinned and roared, Badmash [rascal]! Are you making fun of your guru?

I replied, No, Swamiji. But all these years this is the only thing Im hearing. Is this all that yoga and spirituality are about? Isnt there something more to it?

Then what is yoga? he said, You tell me.

I said, Whats the use of catching hold of the nose, breathing left and right and concentrating on the breath if just by thinking of the beautiful toes of the Divine Mother one can become absorbed in Her and find oneself in the consummate state that renders the joy of samadhi tasteless?

With that I noticed Swamijis eyes closing and his head swaying in a gentle circle. He sank down on a nearby chair. It seemed as if he entered a world that an ordinary mind cannot reach, and there he stayed for the next five minutes. When at last he opened his eyes he said gently, Promise that from today you will not remind me of Her. For if you do so I will not be able to function, and my master has given me a task that I must accomplish before this body falls apart.

That experience touched me so deeply that I began to wonder who Swamiji really was. He would talk about the Divine Mother from time to time after that. He called Her the Lord of Life, but he never said enough to really convey the profundity of his relationship with Her.

Excited by my growing knowledge and understanding of Swamiji, I thought several times of writing about his mystical experiences, but I had to drop the idea when I remembered that he told me in 1976 that I could not write about him until 21 years had passed. Thanks to my dear friend Arpita, however, who had the skills to persuade him to let her edit some of his diaries and letters, today we have this slender volume, Love Whispers . It gives us a glimpse of Swamijis personal vision of the love and beauty which, as his own experience showed him, are intrinsic to all that exists.

Before Love Whispers was published there was no way to comprehend the level of consciousness and the wisdom that this mystic sage of the Himalayas embodied. But now the experiences associated with exalted states of consciousness, which he always safeguarded in his diaries, are accessible to the fortunate readers of this book. After reading the text we can surmise for ourselves that Swamiji was simultaneously the citizen of two worlds: the mundane world of the senses, and the spiritual world of pure revelation. As he himself writes: