Baba: Autobiography of a Blue-Eyed Yogi | Rampuri

Baba: Autobiography of a Blue-Eyed Yogi | Rampuri | the West meets East: An inspiring spiritual adventure

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Baba: Autobiograph...

	Baba: Autobiography of a Blue-Eyed Yogi Rampuri Harmony/Bell Tower, 2005 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 16 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Although this book often reads like a fast-paced adventure story, it is the true account of a nineteen-year-old American (the son of a Beverly Hills pediatric surgeon) who in the late 1960s, after experimenting with drugs, sex, and political activism, set off for India in search of the truth. He arrived with twenty dollars in his pocket and, enchanted by the extraordinary world he found there, explored the country until he stumbled into the presence of Hari Puri Baba, a yogi in the ancient tradition of the Renunciates of the Ten Names. Hari Puri proceeded to shave the young stranger?s head and initiate him into his order. Now called Rampuri, the young man embarked on a discipleship unlike anything he had ever imagined. He had to learn Hindi and Sanskrit, overcome opposition as an outsider, and deal with the battle that raged within him as he attempted to reconcile the Western view of India with the reality of its culture and beliefs. Despite overwhelming odds and the mysterious death of his guru, he stayed the course and has remained in India to this day.

As Rampuri reveals the teachings he received and describes the rituals and pilgrimages in which he participated, it becomes clear that this is an unprecedented telling of one man?s sacred initiation and training and a must-read for any serious seeker.

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Amazing

I found this at the library, was skeptical, had no notion of what might be lurking between the covers. This is a treasure. Rampuri is not only a unique being with a star-blessed journey that most of us who are interested in such things can only dream about - he also writes beautifully. This unfolds like good novel, and even if only a fraction of it is true (I suspect all of it is), the story is amazing on a host of levels. I have been to India several times, lived in ashrams, studied Yoga there, been with great masters, but this - my God, what an adventure, it makes my pilgrimages seem like they were taken in an armchair. The ending reminds me of one of my favorite books "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" - an unexpected, shocking and enlightening BOOM! Great job, Ram Puri-ji, thank you.

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the West meets East: An inspiring spiritual adventure

A tour de force spiritual adventure! Rampuri's journey to India and his eventual acceptance into the esoteric tradition of the Naga Babas is extraordinary given the exclusivity of the tradition. In an unprecedented occurrence, a foreigner was allowed into this highly ascetical tradition in which he (Rampuri) undertook a strict discipline( interestingly, part of this "discipline" is the use of ganja) of spiritual practice and study. This lifestyle of a Hindu ascetic is a a radical departure from the affluent lifestyle he knew in his home of origin, Beverly Hills, CA
Rampuri candidly describes his struggles as a spiritual seeker and Westerner seeking acceptance among these radical Indian sanyansins (renunciates).
Readers unfamiliar with Hinduism--particularly the Shiva worshiping sects like the Nagas--may struggle a bit with this book.And there are several transliterated Sanskrit terms that may slow an unfamiliar reader down. Still overall, the book is an easy read unencumbered by heavy theorizing or philosophy.
I highly recommend this book. It's a beautifully told account of spiritual transformation in extraordinary circumstances.

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Jai Jai

If you have been to India you can relive the smells and sights of that phantasmagoria in Baba. If not, welcome to baba-ville where the unusual is likely, the bizarre is commonplace and miracles are found anywhere. You may be possessed as was the author. Ah if only the outcome then would be so precipitious. Having been to Gaumukh, the source of the Ganges, I was transported again and enjoyed a drop of the nectar of that initiation.
Jai baba!

A step inside spiritual India with good elements of a story

Rampuri grew up in a moderately affluent Beverly Hill's household and like many well off Americans felt something was lacking. This was also the time when America was experiencing a strong counter-cultural element. Rampuri, the American, decided instead of just being a hippie or preaching free love he wanted the real authentic experience. The only way to get this was to travel to perhaps the most sacred and spiritual land the world has ever known. India.

After arriving in India, Rampuri wanders a bit till he finds his guru Hari Puri Baba. Hari Puri decides to try and initiate Rampuri into the strongly traditional mystical order of yogis. In other words, Rampuri would become a true sadhu. However, during the book there are some obstacles to this initiation. One is that despite other sadhus supposedly being spiritually evolved they tend to be judgmental to a foreigner. Some of these sadhus cannot stand the thought of an American yogi or sadhu. A whole plot of contention and animosity develops between Rampuri's guru and another spiritual guru. This strong tension is what makes this book read somewhat like a story. Elements of evil and suspense linger till the end of the book.

During Rampuri's spiritual discipleship he learns many things. He learns languages like Hindi and Sanskrit and also traditional yogic practices dealing with herbs, medicines, and just a whole different way of looking at the world in general.

For the most part I enjoyed the book minus a few rough areas. One problem is that a lot of the terminology is not very clear. You can, of course, understand many things from context but if a person had no previous exposure to Hinduism or its beliefs they would probably have trouble deciphering some of the text. There is no glossary at the back of the book to help with this problem either. Another problem I had is that sometimes the book seemed to wander a bit without any sense of direction. Lastly, the biggest problem I had was that this book was too brief. I was hoping for something more rich and in-depth. At only a little over two hundred pages Rampuri has only revealed very limited aspects of his experience to make them entertaining to the reader. He admits to having thousands of pages of notes so why skimp? Despite these few drawbacks I believe most people interested in the spiritual side of things (especially concerning Eastern traditions) will enjoy the book.

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The writing doesn't *seem* bad....

The writing doesn't *seem* bad....but there's definitely something missing here. There are lots of details and interesting stories, and some self-reflection. But in the end, I just don't get it. The connections, the analysis, the context just isn't enough to make this story captivating to a person who hasn't had this sort of experience. Which would be most of us. Perhaps after 30 years as a yogi, the author no longer hs much connection to the boy who left home and moved to India and became naked. But in order to understand his story, we need to be able to understand who that boy was and how he changed. Though the surface story is here, the true inner depth seems gone, maybe erased through spiritual practice or ganja, or maybe just not clarified through careful enough writing. It's hard to put my finger on what's missing in this book, but something just isn't there.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

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