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Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Book Reviewed: The Journey Within: A Modern Guide to the Ancient Wisdom of Bhakti Yoga, by Radhanath Swami

Learning the path of bhakti yoga from Radhanath Swami

“The Journey within” is a call to adventure; it asks you travel beyond all adversities to find the true love for the immutable and immortal lord through the path of bhakti and devotion. He instructs the reader to pursue the heart’s deepest calling to discover the beauty of true self and appreciate life’s miracles at every moment of this mortal life. The swami quotes Bhagavadgita and Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana) quite extensively to illustrate the devotion and love for the lord. His points are always focused, thoughtful, consoling and satisfying to the reader.

Radhanath Swami’s spiritual journey began at a young age; he was spiritually drawn into the writings and teachings of spiritual masters of India. He made a difficult decision to travel to India when he was a young college student, and spent years at many holy places. Meditating, experiencing and spiritual learning were the order of the day. He had the blessings and encouraging words of many saints, sadhus and holy men in India. He found the message of the ISKCON founder Srila Prabhupada most compelling and very appealing. Since then, the swami has never looked back and made his life a mission to spread the wisdom of the Supreme Lord using the teachings of Bhagavadgita, Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana) and the Dvaita-Vedanta. He discusses his life experiences as a practitioner of bhakti yoga, and opens the mind and heart of the readers to the Immortal, the Immutable, the Omniscient, the Omnipotent, the Omnipresent, the Unfathomable and Immeasurable Supreme Being. Swamiji reveals that love, prema, bhakti and total dedication to serving the lord will help reveal the inner soul after removing the veil of the carnal mind. His vision of bhakti yoga incubates, grows, and takes the reader into great heights. His teachings show that the soul is always free and perfect, but human beings are lost in the wilderness of physical reality. The world has enough distractions to keep us all under its bondage. Thus the wheel of suffering continues to move, with us being its fuel. But we have to escape this cycle of spiritual blindness and suffering in order to realize the perfection of our soul in the Spirit.

A brief summary of the book is as follows: While visiting a multibillionaire’s home, swami counsels his guest about achieving peace and happiness in his life, despite the fact that he was a billionaire. The swami tells the story of the banana-seller named Sridhar, whose simple life-expectation stuns even Lord Caitanya. The gist of the story is that you can find happiness in life despite the fact that you are living with very basic necessities.

In the chapter on “What is bhakti, the path of love?” Swamiji describes the tragic death of Mother Hladini Devi who sacrificed her own life during the tumultuous period in the West African nation of Liberia. She was serving the lord touching the hearts of Africans with love. When the assassins entered their dwelling, she chose to protect the devotees of Krishna. Her last words while speaking to death squads were, “How dare you kill the devotees of Krishna? Better you kill me than kill them!” Hladini was the first to be shot. She lay down her physical existence to protect others. That was the best satisfaction she had at the last few minutes of her mortal life. She embraced her ideals and lived a life of compassion. She felt intimately connected. Everyone who knew her was sad and perhaps angry with the injustice done, but Mother Hladini was at peace and remained closest to the Supreme Lord.

In the chapter on “Tarabai’s gift,” a group of villagers take eight hour bus trip to swamiji’s ashram in Mumbai, to present him with a gift; which makes swami feel humble for their sincerity and devotion. The swami observes that for those who serve the lord will have that sincerity to another person. In another chapter, “What is true wealth” he meets an old lady named Dorothy at a Florida airport and consoles her when she has lost her family and asks her find true love in life and she will come to peace with life. Swami’s words are beautifully expressed in this chapter.

In the chapter, “Dharma of Bhakti,’ one of the longest in the book, the Maharaj describes the five components of bhakti yoga practice; the living in scared space; developing spiritual relationships and forming a spiritual community; chanting the holy names of the Supreme Lord; listening and reading the sacred scriptures; and worshipping the lord with pure bhakti, veneration, and faith in the wisdom of the lord.

The subject matter is broadly discussed to generate universal interest in bhakti, prema, dharma, faith, and the awareness of Supreme consciousness without mentioning the name of Lord Krishna. He quotes from Bhagavadgita throughout the book, stressing the path of bhakti is critical in finding inner happiness and to be at peace with the Supreme Reality.

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