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The Blissful Life and Wisdom of Swami Amar Jyoti
Truth Consciousness/Sacred Mountain Ashram 2004 ISBN #0-933572-78-6 Some books take us down memory lane - way into the distant past, where pleasant memories lay. Immortal Light is certainly one of those books for me. One look at the peaceful. joyous face of Swami Amar Joyti on the cover, and I was transported back in time to my mid-twenties, where I was living on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. I was active duty army, and attended college full time. What little time I had to myself, to do things for myself, was closely guarded. When I had the opportunity to attend a lecture by a visiting Swami (whose name I have forgotten), I was quite curious. I knew this was where I needed to be for that moment, and gladly joined my friends in an experience that was new to all of us. We entered a large room, with a dais at one end. There were no chairs - we all proceeded to sit down on the floor. My group was lucky - we managed to sit fairly close to the front, and off to one side. We had a wonderful close up view of the dais and the speaker. Everyone there had a very reverential attitude - from the audience to those who were managing the lecture. When the Swami came onto the dais he was simply dressed, but his presence filled the room. He was filled with peace, joy and understanding - and we all gave up who we were for the time that he was in the room. I cannot remember what he spoke about, but I do remember that we all left the room with a feeling of having been healed. And that feeling held for a very long time. Everyone should have this experience at least once in their lifetime. When I was given the opportunity to review Immortal Light, I thought this was a great gift - that I would be allowed to "see" into the life of an empowered individual, to follow his path (through his own words), and to hopefully recognize why this had been brought to me - to find the seeds of wisdom that were mine to store away for another day. The gift was even greater than anticipated! From the book:
PRABHUSHRI SWAMIJI Sita Stuhlmiller has done an excellent job of presenting the Master's own words, of allowing his life and times to recreate themselves. Immortal Light is both biography and autobiography, written in the Master's own words, which he admits are edited at his discretion (he tells you what he wants you to know - his belief is that all of the "facts" are not necessary - that they take up too much time and add no thing). They are taken from His writings, from recorded Satsangs, and from gatherings with devotees in America over a period of four decades. The one thing that I found annoying about this book - and it was found only in very small sections - was the intention use of the small "i" when referring to ones self (I). It is done to let go of the ego, and reflects words written by devotees of Swami Amar Jyoti. The story begins with the childhood of Swami Jyoti -who was born into a Hindu family in pre-independence India, the middle son amongst twelve siblings. His parents were both illiterate, but they were hard working people. His father was a businessman, and both of his parents were well respected in the community. I was held spell-bound when the talk was of the home - the literal, physical home, which housed not only Swami Jyoti's immediate family, but his uncle's and their families. What the home represented, and how they lived, respectful of each other, certainly is representative of another time and another place. Swami Jyoti as a young person was accomplished in both sports and academics - and yet they were not important to him. Even religion was not important to him as he was growing up, except in the sense of respecting his culture and his family's background. He was a follower of Mahatma Gandhiji, but his thoughts turned to religion when he received a book from his cousin, written by an itinerant holy man by the name of Swami Rama Tirtha. To follow his path, Swami Jyoti dropped out of college and spent twelve years wandering - looking for spiritual experiences. The "things" of the world meant nothing to him. Swami Jyoti is an exceptional story teller, and the stories he tells of his wanderings - of working with refugees in Bengal, of spending time in ashram's in the Himalaya's, of living in caves high up in the mountains, meditating and opening to his own spirituality. The essence of Swami Jyoti's beliefs lie in the duality of the Divine - of the male and female presence as one Self. He worshiped frequently int he form of Maa - the Divine Mother. Upon opening up to his spiritual nature, he no longer wished to remain in his physical body. However, he was instructed by the Divine Mother to leave the mountain and bring the message to the people that potentially everyone is Divine. Over the years Swami Jyoti was reunited with his family, established ashrams (spiritual centers) in India, the United States and traveled around the world teaching. In his own words: "On the path of love and devotion, God and His creatures are the Totality. The way of reaching is what differs. We choose our path according to our tendencies and our temperaments. I do not consider one way inferior to the others. It is simply what suits you, and what you feel comfortable with. Also the impact and quality of the age partly determines the paths - in which times we live, in which country we live, what kind of associations we have, our home and the family in which we live ... " Swami Jyoti's message is a fairly simple one - that all paths lead to the One God, and that we are all potentially children of light. This is a man that acted a a bridge between the East and the West - not of his own accord, but because it was asked of him. His knowledge was not of one religion, or even the comparative knowledge of many religions. His knowledge was of the depth that he could reach all people, of all creeds. Immortal Light is graced with many wonderful full color photographs of Swami Jyoti, alone and with his devotees. We get a glimpse of the life and times of this wonderful Master, and the impact he had on those around him. There is such a feeling of peace here - they are a great gift, and were obviously very carefully, lovingly chosen. There are certain topics addressed in some of the chapters that are not strictly "personal" - but in the end, they are, as they show the thought process behind the life he lived. Kutastha - the Great Silence (the silencing of the mind) is well covered. The lives of Sri Krishna, Buddha and Jesus are covered, as well as the thought of what God truly is in our lives. The last two chapters are the voices of his devotees - remembrances from America, and from Bharat. These are very real stories, and the reader is graced in the fact that they were shared so willingly. The bibliography is a story unfolding in its own right - as these are Swami Amar Jyoti's own words. Included are the time, place and nature of each article, as well as when and where it was printed. Immortal Light is a gentle book, about a gentle man. It carries a powerful message. As a guideline for life, it is well worth visiting.
Bonnie Cehovet
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