This book is much more than a biography of a great sage of the Himalayas who mastered the practices of yoga and brought to the West a system for understanding the mysteries of body, mind, and spirit. It features the timeless wisdom, teachings, and astonishing stories of the Himalayan Masters and their ancient spiritual tradition. Like the life of Swami Rama, these pages go deeper than a sequence of astonishing events. They also serve as a guide to the advanced practices of yoga and tantra. And they bring you to holy places in India, revealing why these sites are important. As you read Pandit Tigunait\s tales of life with his master you will feel a few drops from the timeless stream of the tradition of the Himalayas planting themselves in your own heart. "A rare glimpse into a masterful teacher. Very inspiring and well written." —Lilias Folan, of the PBS yoga series Lilias! "Its a book youll want to read over and over again."  —Yoga Chicago "Pandit Tigunait presents a riveting and enlightening biography of the master he loves and respects, interweaving the story of Swami Ramas life, philosophy, and experiences with the wisdom of the masters throughout the ages."  —Library Journal

Excerpts:

From Chapter 1:
According to most spiritual traditions the desire for wordly pleasures is incompatible with the spiritual quest. You can have the treasures of this world, they say, or the treasures of the spiritual realm, but not both. This either/or approach sets off an endless internal struggle in those who are drawn to spiritual beliefs and practices but who have at the same time a natural urge to fulfill their worldly desires. This includes most of us. And when there is no way to reconcile these two impulses we fall prey to guilt and self-condemnation, or we repress either our spiritual desires or our worldly desires, or we try to have both, and become hypocrites.

The tantric approach to life avoids this painful and confusing dilemma by taking the whole person into account - our human as well as our spiritual nature. The literal meaning of tantra is "to weave, to expand, to spread," and according to tantric adepts, we can achieve true and everlasting fulfillment only when all the threads of the fabric of life are woven according to the pattern designated by nature. When we are born, ignorance, desire, attachment, fear, and false images of ourselves and others tangle and tear the threads.

Tantra sadhana (practice) reweaves the fabric of life and restores it to its original pattern. No other path of yoga is as systematic or as comprehensive. The profound practices of hatha yoga, pranayama, mudras, rituals, kundalini yoga, nada yoga, mantra, yantra, mandala, visualization of deities, alchemy, ayurveda, astrology, and hundreds of esoteric techniques for engendering wordly and spiritual prosperity blend perfectly within the tantric disciplines.