Swami Rama - Living with the Himalayan Masters

Living with the Himalayan Masters

ALSO BY SWAMI RAMA

BOOKS:

The Art of Joyful Living

Love Whispers

Meditation and Its Practice

The Royal Path: Practical Lessons on Yoga

Happiness Is Your Creation

Love and Family Life

A Practical Guide to Holistic Health

Path of Fire and Light, Vols. I and II

Spirituality: Transformation Within & Without

The Valmiki Ramayana Retold in Verse, Vols. I and II

Book of Wisdom: Ishopanishad

Celestial Song/Gobind Geet

Choosing a Path

Freedom from the Bondage of Karma

Perennial Psychology of the Bhagavad Gita

Wisdom of the Ancient Sages: Mundaka Upanishad

Japji: Meditation in Sikhism

Nitnem: Spiritual Practices of Sikhism

Philosophy/Faith of Sikhism

Sikh GurusLives and Teachings

CO-AUTHORED BY SWAMI RAMA:

Joints and Glands Exercises

Meditation and Christianity

Science of Breath

Yoga and Psychotherapy

AUDIO & VIDEO:

Guided Meditation for Beginners

A Guide to Intermediate Meditation

A First Step Toward Advanced Meditation

Guided Meditation for Initiates

Inner Peace in a Troubled World

Stressless Living

Spiritual Origins of Health

Finding Meaning in Life

How to Tread the Path of Superconscious Meditation

Swami Rama

Himalayan Institute Press
952 Bethany Turnpike
Honesdale, PA 18431 USA

www.HimalayanInstitute.org

1978, 1999 by The Himalayan International Institute of Yoga
Science and Philosophy of the USA

Eighteenth Printing, 2007

All rights reserved. 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

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 80-82974

ISBN-13: 978-0-89389-156-5
ISBN-10: 0-89389-156-8

Sri Swami Rama of the Himalayas

By Pandit Rajmani Tigunait

Sri Swami Rama took me under his wing in 1976, and from that time on every minute of the twenty years I lived with him was a time of learning. Now that he is no longer in his physical body, I look back and realize how skillfully he filled my every breath with the living presence of the masters who were such an integral part of his own life. In continuous waves he nourished my mind and heart with the perennial knowledge and love of the lineage of the sages. Today, with awe and gratitude, I ask myself: After having him as my master, is there anything yet to be achieved?

One of the most blessed and richest periods of my life was in 1985, when at Swamijis behest I began to translate Living with the Himalayan Masters into Hindi, my native language. Every evening, when I showed him that days translation, Swamiji told me the untold part of the story, and I soon realized he was using the translation as an excuse for me to glimpse the inner life of the sages he had written about, and to absorb their teachings. Every episode brought a revelation, which I was able to assimilate only through the grace of Sri Swamiji and the masters who speak through this book. Living with the Himalayan Masters is the embodiment of Swamijis life, his spiritual journey, and his experiences with the masters of different traditions. He addresses the issues that all of us confront at least once in our lifetime, and shares his experiences in such a simple and loving manner that they become a part of us.

At the mundane level, this book shows us who we are and what steps we must take to be happy and successful. It inspires us to work hard and have faith in our own self-effort. At the spiritual level, it introduces us to our own mystical and esoteric self as we encounter the adepts hidden in the caves and monasteries of the Himalayas and other remote parts of India, Tibet, Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan.

Spiritual books, especially those of an autobiographical nature, often give the impression that the experiences and spiritual achievements of the masters are beyond our reach. Swamiji, however, puts miracles and mysticism in an entirely different light. Reading it, we feel that he is one of us. He is a young boy, full of mischief. He is a teenager, full of curiosity and adventurous zeal. He is a seeker, with certain strengths and weaknesses. Just like us, he sometimes fails to distinguish the fakes from genuine masters, mistaking magic for spiritual achievement. At one time, for example, attracted by the magical power and glamorous life of sorcerers and low-grade tantrics, he even considers abandoning his master for another teacher. His human traits are so familiar to us that in reading about them his journey becomes our journey.

The stories in this book infuse our hearts with overwhelming gratitude for the sages who selflessly share their boundless love and yet remain unrecognized by the multitude. Swamiji is one of them. While he lived among us he lectured, wrote books, and established large charitable organizations, but very few of us perceived his spiritual stature. In the last phase of his life those who were near to him and had eyes to see came to know that Swamiji was master of every esoteric practice he mentions in this book, but they never knew how and when he practiced them.

Swamiji discouraged a belief in miracles, yet every moment of his life was filled with miracles. No one who came near him ever went away empty-handed. His gifts were of different shapes, sizes, and weightsupon touching his feet, a businessman might be blessed with prosperity, a sick man with health, and a student with knowledge. Some understood what they had received; others did not. Now I look back and wonder at how beautifully he unveiled the spiritual mysteries while skillfully hiding his identity as one of the greatest sages from the Himalayan peaks.

Swami Rama was fully established in his own self-nature. A playful child, a carefree adolescent, a gentle sage, a tactful adult spontaneously manifested in him. For him past and future did not existhe always lived in the present, and the circumstance of the moment called forth whatever persona would help and guide those who were with him. Transformative energy emanated from him. If he stayed for a time in a rocky, barren land, a beautiful rock garden would emerge; if he stopped to speak to a woman suffering from chronic depression, her face would light up and the years would drop away.

To Swamiji, nothing was useless; everything had purpose and meaning. He once put rocks and pebbles around an odd-looking septic vent pipe and artfully placed a few stumps around it; the resulting sculpture looked like a holy man sitting in meditation, and visitors kept a respectful distance. He was very fond of cactus. He had a huge collection in India and a smaller one in the States. One day I asked him, Swamiji, why do you love cactus so much? He said, I am in the habit of tending those who are full of thorns and are discarded by everybody. It gives me great joy when I see them blossom.