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Loading... Long Pilgrimage: The Life and Teaching of Sri Govindanda Bharati, Known As the Shivapuri Bababy John G. Bennett
   None No current Talk conversations about this book.  willszal | Jan 3, 2016 |  no reviews | add a review
The book takes the form of six essays covering the life and teachings of Shri Govindananda Bharati, known at the time of his death as the Shivapuri Baba. The first chapter describes his origins from his birth in 1826 in Kerala, his religious training and preparation and his 40 year circumambulation of the world, meeting all the major world leaders of his day, and his forty year retirement in a forest hut outside Kathmandu. Subsequent chapters, describe his practical teachings, which are so simply explained and so universal that they will always be relevant to seekers. Ancient teachings are presented in a modern interpretation. The Shivapuri Baba himself described his teachings as "the Bhagavad Gita brought up to date'. The final chapter presents a revolutionary world view which reveals an immense wisdom and understanding of human destiny, presented in a form that all can appreciate. The Shivapuri Baba left this life in January of 1963, and at that time few knew of him, and nothing at all had been written about him. The present book was the first public account of the saint, appearing in 1965. In 2001, Thakur Lal Manadhar's son Giridhar approached J.G. Bennett's family requesting the rights to republish in English and Nepali. Giridhar was able to provide a number of photographic images not published previously and many of which were from his own camera. The present edition is taken from the 2001 publication. At the launch of the book in Kathmandu in 2007, Giridhar was asked by a reporter whether the Shivapuri Baba had actually read what was written, noting that the text indicated that he had seen and approved it? Giridhar said that he believed that he had not read it, and stating that at the end of his life, the Shivapuri Baba did not want to engage with anything which would tie him to the world he was preparing to leave for the last time. To Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, visiting in 1956 he said: "I teach three disciplines: physical; moral spiritual." These disciplines form the foundation of Right Life - Swadharma, and the journals of Thakur Lal Manandhar relate how these disciplines were taught in the practical application to every day life. This is a simple but inspiring book from which everybody can benefit . No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)294.5Religions Other Religions Religions of Indic origin HinduismLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (2)
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Wikipedia in English
1
The Shivapuri Baba [SB] was born in India in 1826. At the age of eighteen he denounced worldly life [an acceptable path in his culture at the time] to join his grandfather as a traditional forest hermit. He remained in perfect solitude in the jungle for twenty-five years after his grandfather’s death, and returned “liberated yet embodied,” according to Jivanmukta.
Crossing the oceans was considered a cardinal sin in Hindu, then dominant, yet he ignored this, and took on what he considered to be his duty, a thirty-five-year transglobal pilgrimage. He was not a guru. He preferred to work with the influential. He lived and taught in a simple fashion.
He died in his small hut in the forest near Kathmandu, Nepal, at the age of 137.
J. G. Bennett wrote this book under the direction of SB.
Key Notes from the Book
Man’s Three Duties:
Physical and social [livelihood]
Personal and moral [Truth]
Spiritual [worship]
The Four Charities:
Think only good thoughts of others
Speak only good words of others
Do only good deeds to others
Give of your substance to help others
The Twenty-Six Divine Endowments:
Fearlessness
Purity of Mind
Stability of Character
Charitableness
Self-Mastery
Readiness to make Sacrifices
Studiousness
Ability to make Efforts
Straightforwardness
Non-Violence
Truthfulness
Freedom from Wrath
Renunciation (of the fruits of action)
Tranquility
Aversion to Slander
Compassion towards Living Beings
Non-Covetousness
Gentleness
Sense of Shame in doing evil actions
Strength of Mind
Energy
Forgiveness
Endurance
Chastity
Absence of Malice
Aversion to Praise
The Six Demonic Endowments:
Ostentation
Arrogance
Excessive Pride
Anger
Hardness of Heart
Ignorance
These endowments are contents of the mind and can be altered.
The Three Stages of Meditation:
Steadiness [dharana]
Concentration [dhyana]
Diffuse contemplation [samadhi]
Reception
The key aspects of the book is the Shivapuri Baba’s emphasis on what he called the Three Disciplines - essentially: the self-care, care for one’s community, and striving to know God. This is Right Life. It’s reassuring in it’s simplicity, but daunting in the discipline demanded.
The second half of the book get’s pretty technical [into the details of India spiritual tradition], and wasn’t as useful for me. Although on takeaway from this section is that the Shivapuri Baba considers the “Bhagavad Gita” to contain everything we need to know about living in this world.
I liked the book, but I think that Zen Buddhist and Bill Plotkin’s Soulcraft approaches are more useful for me at this point in my life.
Excerpts
On the cycles of civilization (