Living with the Himalayan Masters

by Swami Rama

"I will tell you how I grew up and how I was trained, about the great sages with whom I lived and what they taught me, not through lectures and books but through experiences."- Swami Rama
Reading it, you will discover the human side to this yogic master. 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 fake gurus from genuine masters, mistaking magic for spiritual achievement. Living with the Himalayan Masters is one of those rare books that contains the seeds of transformation within its pages―sowing those seeds in the heart of the reader, and creating the potential for true spiritual upliftment. These stories record Swami Rama's personal quest for truth and enlightenment―inspiring, illuminating, entertaining, mystifying, and often droll and humorous. This life-changing book will bring you face-to-face with some great twentieth-century masters, including Mataji of Assam, a ninety-six-year-old sage who never slept; Gudari Baba, who taught Swami Rama the value of direct experience; Yogi Sri Aurobindo, who integrated meditation with action; Uria Baba, who demonstrated that every human being has the potential for healing; and Mahatma Gandhi. Read the humbling story of the man who founded the Himalayan Institute, and the great teachers who molded him into a Himalayan Master.

Genres: Spirituality, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Religion, Biography, Autobiography, Memoir

486 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1899

About the author

Swāmī Rāma was born Brij Kiśore Dhasmana or Brij Kiśore Kumar,to a northern Indian Brahmin family in a small village called Toli in the Garhwal Himalayas. From an early age he was raised in the Himalayas by his master Bengali Baba and, under the guidance of his master, traveled from temple to temple and studied with a variety of Himalayan saints and sages, including his grandmaster, who was living in a remote region of Tibet. From 1949 to 1952 he held the prestigious position of Shankaracharya of Karvirpitham in South India. After returning to his master in 1952 and practising further for many years in the Himalayan caves, Swami Rama was encouraged by his teacher to go to the West, where he spent a considerable portion of his life teaching, specifically in the United States and Europe.
He is especially notable as one of the first yogis to allow himself to be studied by Western scientists.
Swami Rama authored several books in which he describes the path he took to becoming a yogi and lays out the philosophy and benefits behind practices such as meditation. One of the common themes expressed in such books as "Enlightenment Without God" and "Living with the Himalayan Masters" is the ability of any person to achieve peace without the need for a structured religion. He was critical of the tendency for yogis to use supernatural feats to demonstrate their enlightenment, arguing that these only demonstrated the ability to perform a feat.

Reviews

[Dr. Appu Sasidharan (Dasfill) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an inspiring story of a person's quest for spiritual enlightenment. We can see how he shaped himself into a Himalayan master. There are also some other inspiring stories of great personalities like Yogi Sri Aurobindo and Mahatma Gandhi in this book.

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[Arvind Balasubramaniam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Before I go into the review, I'd just like to point out that Swami Rama has more than 10 allegations of sexual misconduct against him. That should give a lot of insight upon the authenticity of this book. To be on the fair side, he does admit to having a lot of anger and egoic issues as a neophyte, but does subtly hint that his "moral character" was very pure in one of his anecdotes. I find this to be very hypocritical.

The book is written more as a series of anecdotes than a linear autobiography. The initial chapters on life in the himalayas are very interesting, and a fair amount of detail is given upon the lives of villagers and sadhus who live there. Anyone who wants to visit the mountain ranges would find his descriptions very interesting. There were a few other anecdotes based on his experiences with sages, but i felt he had made up a lot of them; probably just my bias. Several chapters are a description of various eastern philosophies which one could find anywhere else as well as a few chapters on famous sage-like personalities during this period, but again I felt that he was trying to boost his credibility by association with them.
My recommendation would be to just read the first few chapters that deal with life in the Himalayas and toss out the rest.

[Sarath · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent book for those who have devotional fire in them..... came to know many things about himalayas....really good

[Sarath Thampi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Living with Himalayan masters is a must read for anyone interested in learning about Indian philosophical thoughts. This book highlights the center of all the mystical teachings in India- The Himalayas. In this autobiographical account, swami Rama tells us about his journey through the Himalayan passes and meeting with various sages and yogis of different sects and branches. This book really make us wonder-"How far are we in the journey of self discovery?"

[ಸುಶಾಂತ ಕುರಂದವಾಡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

ಹಿಮಾಲಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ವಾಮಿ ರಾಮರು ಸಂಧಿಸಿದ ಶಕ್ತಿಯುಳ್ಳ ಸಿದ್ಧಿ ಪುರುಷರ ವಿಶ್ಲೇಷಣೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲವು ಜನ ತಮ್ಮ ಸಾಧನೆಯನ್ನು ದುರುಪಯೋಗ ಪಡಿಸಿಗೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದರೆ ಕೆಲವರು ಅದೇ ಸಾಧನೆಯ ಪಥದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು.
ಇನ್ನು ಸ್ವಾಮಿ ರಾಮರು ತಮ್ಮ ಸಾಧನೆಯ ಹಾದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಂಡ ಅಡೆತಡೆಗಳು, ಲಾಯಕ್ಕಾಗಿರುವ ಗುರುಗಳು ದೊರಕದೇ ಇರುವುದು ಮತ್ತು ಹಿಮಾಲಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಂಡ ತಮ್ಮ ಅನುಭವಗಳನ್ನು ಈ ಪುಸ್ತಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿಚ್ಚಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

[Ines · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book in preparation for my first trip to India to visit the Sri Vidya shrine and study with Swami Rama's students. I have learned a lot from some of Swami Rama's other books, but I'm just not as amazed by this book as everyone else seems to be.

I loved the first half of the book, and I couldn't stop reading. It was interesting to learn about life in the Himalayas, and some of the ancient traditions. It was also interesting to hear about Swami Rama's own spiritual development. The lifestyle presented in this book is so different from my own that it was fascinating to learn about his life path.

At some point the focus shifted from Swami Rama's spiritual development to a repetitive stream of anecdotes about people he visited with magical powers (such as killing living creatures and bringing them back to life, switching bodies, magical instant healing of deadly illnesses, turning human flesh into vegetarian food, etc.). I would not have minded this if there wasn't so much of it, but it really felt like the whole second half of the book was one fantastical story after another. They were all followed by him saying that such powers are not spiritual practices and should not be the goal- yet his focus is on those powers and he doesn't talk about those other things. If such powers are not as meaningful as spiritual practices, then why not just talk about the meaningful spiritual practices instead?

Perhaps this is an issue of translation, but as a Westerner, I found his tone to be preachy and condescending throughout the second half of the book. I do agree that Eastern philosophy is very well-developed and that many spiritual practices from the East are better than what Western systems have to offer (hence my own practice of these techniques) - but the East is not without its problems, too. Swami Rama takes an attitude that we just have everything wrong here in the West, while everything in the East is more pure and developed, and this tone became annoying after a while. It just simply isn't true. Each culture has their strengths and shortcomings.
He also harped on the perspective that Eastern spiritual practices are always better and more profound than the ignorant Western scientific approach. I'm also a scientist, and I think that he is comparing two different things. Both Western science and Eastern spirituality have a lot to offer as well as their own shortcomings, but they are not mutually exclusive, do not have the same goals, and shouldn't be compared side-by-side the way Swami Rama does throughout the book. Since Swami Rama is not an expert in Western science, I think the book would have been stronger if he had left his opinions of it out and focused more on the area that is his strength without being critical of another system that he doesn't fully understand.

Despite the things about this book that bothered me, I am glad that I read it. It was interesting and does have something to offer (especially the first half). I rate it 3 stars because ultimately it's more good than bad. It did teach me more about India's spiritual background and I have a deeper understanding of the culture now. However, in my opinion it is not the life-changing spiritual text that other reviews make it out to be.

[Sanjay Manjunath · Rating 5 out of 5]

ಅಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮಿಕತೆ ಅನ್ನುವುದು ಅವರವರ ಪಾಲಿಗೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕಂತಹ ಅನುಭವ. ಅದನ್ನು ವಿವರಿಸಲಾಗದು.

ಈ ಕೃತಿಯಲ್ಲೂ, ಹೀಗೆ ಧ್ಯಾನ ಮಾಡಿ, ಹೀಗೆ ಉಪಾಹಾರ ಸೇವಿಸಿ, ಇಂಥದೇ ಸ್ಥಳದಲ್ಲಿ ಜೀವಿಸಿ, ಇಂಥವರ ಆಶ್ರಮಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗಿ, ಕಟ್ಟು ನಿಟ್ಟಾಗಿ ವೃತ ಮಾಡಿ, ಹೀಗೆ ಹೀಗೆ ಮಾಡಿ ಎಂದು ಎಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಬೋಧಿಸಿಲ್ಲ.

ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ವಾಮಿ ರಾಮರು ಬೆಳೆದುಬಂದ ಬಗೆ, ಅವರ ಗುರುಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ, ಅವರು ಹಿಮಾಲಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಧಿಸಿದ ಸ್ವಾಮಿಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಇನ್ನಿತರರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮತ್ತು ಅವರೆಲ್ಲರ ಸಾನ್ನಿಧ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಮರು ಪಡೆದುಕೊಂಡ ಅನುಭವಗಳ ಹೂರಣವನ್ನು ಸ್ವಾಮಿ ಅಜಯರು ನಿರೂಪಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಮತ್ತು ಅದನ್ನು ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಉತ್ತಮವಾಗಿ ಡಿ.ಕೆ.ಶ್ಯಾಮಸುಂದರ ರಾವ್ ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ಅನುವಾದಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ಕೆಲವು ವಿಷಯಗಳನ್ನು ನಂಬಲಾಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ, ಕೆಲವೊಂದು ವಿಸ್ಮಯ ಮೂಡಿಸುತ್ತವೆ. ವಿಕ್ಷಿಪ್ತ ಸ್ವಾಮಿಗಳು ಸಿಗುತ್ತಾರೆ. ವೈರಾಗಿ ಅಲ್ಲದ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಜನರು ಮತ್ತು ಕುಟುಂಬಸ್ಥರ ಅಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮಿಕತೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿದೆ. ಕೆಲವು ಅಧ್ಯಾಯಗಳು ಮತ್ತೆಮತ್ತೆ ಹೋದ ಬೇಕೆನಿಸುತ್ತವೆ.

ಇಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಅಧ್ಯಾಯಗಳನ್ನು ಒಂದೇ ಬಾರಿ ಓದುವುದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ದಿನಕ್ಕೊಂದರಂತೆ ಓದುವುದು ಸೂಕ್ತ. ಅಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮಿಕತೆಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಪಟ್ಟ ಯಾವುದೇ ಕೃತಿಯನ್ನು ಈ ರೀತಿಯೇ ಓದುವುದು ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದು ಎಂಬುದು ನನ್ನ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ.

ಒಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಕೃತಿಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಸಂಕ್ಷಿಪ್ತವಾಗಿ ಹೇಳುವುದಾದರೆ.. ಅದರ ಮುನ್ನುಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇದ್ದಂತೆ,
"ಈ ಕೃತಿಯನ್ನು ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯದ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಯಾಗಿ ಅಧ್ಯಯನ ಮಾಡಿದಾಗ, ಕುತೂಹಲಿ ಓದುಗನಾಗಿ ಅವಲೋಕಿಸಿದಾಗ, ಅಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮಿಕ ವಿಚಾರಗಳ ಅನ್ವೇಷಣೆಯ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಯಿಂದ ಪರಿಶೀಲಿಸಿದಾಗ, ಇದು ಯಾವುದೇ ವರ್ಗ, ದೃಷ್ಟಿ-ಧೋರಣೆಗಳನ್ನು ತಣಿಸಬಲ್ಲ ಅನನ್ಯ ಕೃತಿಯಾಗಿದ ತೆರೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತದೆ. ಕುತೂಹಲಕಾರಕ ಕಥನಮಾಲಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣಬಹುದು. ಒಂದು ಸುಂದರವಾದ ಪ್ರವಾಸಕಥನದ ಉತ್ಕೃಷ್ಟ ಅಂಶಗಳು ಇಲ್ಲಿವೆ. ಸೌಂದರ್ಯಾರಾಧಕರನ್ನು ತಣಿಸುವ ವರ್ಣನೆಗಳು ಇಲ್ಲಿವೆ. ಜೀವನಚಿತ್ರ ಚರಿತ್ರೆಗಳು ಸರಮಾಲೆ, ಇಹಪರಗಳ ಗಣಿತಸಿದ್ಧಾಂತದ ಪೂರ್ಣಪಾಠದ ರಸಘಟ್ಟಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿದೆ. ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಬ್ಬ ಮಾನವ ಜೀವಿಗೆ ಅಗತ್ಯವಾದ ವಿಶ್ವಮಾನವಧರ್ಮದ ಸಂಜೀವಿನಿ ಸಂಪುಟ ಈ ಕೃತಿ. ಇಂಥ ಏನೆಲ್ಲಾ ಸಂಗತಿಗಳೂ ವೈಜ್ಞಾನಿಕ ದೃಷ್ಟಿ ಧೋರಣೆಗಳೊಗೂಡಿ ಸರಳ ಸುಂದರ
ಭಾಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸುಸ್ಪಷ್ಟವಾಗಿ ಮೂಡಿ ಬಂದಿರುವುದು ಈ ಕೃತಿಯ ವಿಶೇಷ."

ಅಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮಿಕತೆಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಪಟ್ಟ ಕೆಲವು ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳಿಗೆ ನನಗೆ ಈ ಪುಸ್ತಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಉತ್ತರ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದವು. ಓದಿನ ಸುಖ ಅನ್ನೋದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ತೃಪ್ತಿಕೊಟ್ಟ ಕೃತಿಯಿದು. ಅದ್ಭುತ ಕೃತಿ. ♥️

[Asha Mohun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book narrates Swami Rama's mystical journey through the mountain passes in the Himalayan Range. He mastered the science of life...according to him, any person can achieve peace without the need for a structured religion. Any person interested in learning spirituality, philosophy of life, will surely love this book.

[Frightful_elk · Rating 1 out of 5]

Perhaps I am too prejudiced to take seriously anyone who writes a book full of miraculous happenings presented as truth.

But this book seems the work of a hypocrite, he tries to tell us that magic and wonders are unimportant on a spiritual path, but other than a few confused platitudes, this is all he has for us.
Everywhere are hints of magic powers he has acquired quickly followed up with telling us how he is too noble to use them.

Further research shows that he is wrapped up in many allegations of sexual misconduct with his students.

Skip this one.

[Rui Delgado · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book perfectly portrays what I believe is the spiritual and philosophical part of our existence. Also, I could've learned a little bit of the origins of our current religions, and the common roots of them. It should be a must for every human being.

[Pooja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. Must read for every person in search of peace.

[Tanmay Meher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish, Good Reads would have given an option to rate this book 10 out of 5. For the seekers, its a must read. The book will sail you through the beds of Himalaya and Spiritual Learning. I felt like roaming with Swami Rama in the Himalayas while reading this book. What a divine experience. It has great similarity with the most acclaimed book "The Autobiography of a Yogi" and is equally good . I had read "Autobiography of a Yogi" all most 10 years earlier and now I completed "Living with the Himalayan Masters", I felt like I was lost and this book helped me in re-inventing myself. WOW, what a great book and definitely I am a chosen one to have been fortunate enough to read this book.

This book is not abut simple reading, its like living a life and experiencing some of the untold mysteries about the himalayan sages.

I would say that experience this book rather than saying read this book.

[Palahalli Rajesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

If not the greatest spiritual book on the horizon, this wonderful work of Swami Rama is a masterpiece of its own. It’s in its own league; the intruders should not trespass to this holy – isolated –land. Or else they will regret way too much. Reprimand should have been made with a quote before starting journey with the narrator.
This is not recommendable for all readers, only if you have some of the kicking in your heart for spirituality; come fall in love with this magnum opus of Swami Rama. This is yet another exemplification how east has mastered the science of life in the true scene.

[Gayathri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The different types of sadhus and Babas Swami rama talks about are really surprising. It is also amazing to know that such people into the spiritual beliefs are there . One thing I feel when reading the book is how amazing it is to be part of an ecosystem like himalayas. It is always good to read stories where people have been determined about what they want and how they achieved it,this is a good read on those lines.

[Elinor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly, this is an excellent read. Very funny and yet uplifting at the same time.

[Karthikeya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Complex Spiritual and Philosophical concepts explained in a very simple way.

[Anuradha Goyal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magical and mystical - a must read book for those interested in Indian spirituality - https://www.anuradhagoyal.com/living-...

[Thomas Thune-Haugerud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Veldig flott skrevet, og helt utrolige historier. Synes det er så sykt det livet de gutta lever, mye visdom og.

[Shashwat Rohilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read 30% of the book and can't continue further.

It all feels superficial. And this is not just because it's filled with magical powers. The conversations too kind of lacks depth.

One example
-----
after achieving some siddhi, there is a guy who can produce fire from his mouth.. rama is fascinated by that.. he says to his master that he doesn't teach him anything of importance.. and then he decides to go to that fire guy.. his master asks to accompany him.. after reaching there, he learnt that the fire guy was also a student of his master.. now more or less this is the conversation that takes place..

"i've practiced 20 years to master this"
"a match will produce fire in a second, if you spent that much time to produce fire from your mouth, you are a fool"
-----
What do I make of this! The book is filled with things like this that are difficult for me to digest.

Moreover, they keep criticizing modern education given to the child. It's superficial and useless. I agree it has it's limitations but if you are talking about control of mind, it has an effect on that too.

The book has a feeling that it's written to lure people in - perhaps to be his follower or something. Too superficial outside, shallow inside. Not saying there is none, but if there is magic deep in the Himalayas, then this book doesn't convince me of that.

[Kerri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Groan... It's been awhile since I've read quite such a boring book. I'm eternally grateful that I got it for free on my Nook because I would be very annoyed if I had actually paid for it.

This book is basically the story of Swami Rama's life as he grows up living and studying with spiritual gurus in the Himalayas. It started off pretty interesting. I liked learning about life in the Himalayas and some of the stories were fascinating. Then it just got redundant, boring, and preachy. It seemed like I kept reading the same affirmations over and over and OVER again. Alright... I GET IT! Ugh. I suppose I probably should have been leery in the first place, but it had so much potential to be interesting and just... wasn't. Lesson learned.

[Afsal Pt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for anyone who is interested in yogic philosophy, spirituality or just a peek into himalayan yogic culture.
The first person narrative which takes the reader through his life which focuses on experience based learning. Lots of thought provoking arguments.

Full of magical experiences yet he discourages any belief in miracles or magic which I firmly believe are practiced tricks as he describes. So I would recommend reading this books for the journey through himalaya and for the fresh thoughts, giving least relevance to magic & persona.

my fav picks:
"real knowledge comes only through direct experience"
"all spiritual knowledge and practices should be verifiied scientifically and if it has the capacity to do so"

[Pranita Bhat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. While it doesn't teach much, it definitely instills faith in people treading on the spiritual path. Through its many stories of different sages and their accomplishments, it helps one believe that the human potential has endless possibilities waiting to be explored.

I like that the book did not try to teach, and rather touched up on different subjects. So curious people can be motivated to concentrate on their practices and be more devoted to their own gurus and systems.

We need more such content from India, so these unimaginable feats are well documented for posterity, considering the lack of exposure we have to genuine spiritual teachers in this day and age.

[Ponder · Rating 4 out of 5]

After my Mom started meditating again in 1987, she started reading this book to be a few years later....Swami Rama was the guru of her guru who taught her her meditation practice. This collection of anecdotes and tales of Swami Rama's life as a child in the Himalayas helped to soothe my soul as a young man and opened my eyes to other religious paths and and the inner journey of my soul. Great book!

[S.Ach · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's all about searching.
I picked up this books assuming that I will be searching the meaning of life in its pages.
Some pages into the book, I realized that I was searching for Yeti and Shangri La instead.
After hundreds of pages and millions of (unbelievable) anecdotes, I am now searching for the person who recommended this book to me. He will die by my hands.

PongalSwamy said, "Non-believers like you can never grasp the power of belief."

[Sriram · Rating 5 out of 5]

....where spirituality supercedes mere religion.....an eye opener

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful! I enjoy reading about Eastern culture, and their spiritual ways. Very uplifting.

[Krishna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice account about the life of sages living in the Himalayas. It gives us city-dwellers a sneak peek of their simple but high living :)

[Jayakumar Baradwaj · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was the most motivating book i have ever read. It gives a great positive energy towards everything.

[Suresh Yagneswara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for beginners, this helps to know about various Hindu practises. Well written and I like it. Would like to read his other books.

[kiersten · Rating 3 out of 5]

This rating is confounded by the fact that I found out that the Swami has sexual assault cases against him making it much more difficult to interpret the teachings in here…

however, I do believe his words have brought peace to people and I truly loved having conversations with those who have found meaning in them.