Foreword

Swami Rama was one of the greatest personalities of the 20th century, a world-traveling yoga adept whose teachings and activities altered the course of history for the better, both in the East and the West.

Regrettably, future generations cannot personally experience the dynamic physical presence of this extraordinary master. That’s why it’s so important for those who knew him to share their stories, so others can sense vicariously some small fraction of the spiritual power of this greatest of modern sages. In this volume, four of his students record their life-changing encounters with Swami Rama of the Himalayas.

Charles Crenshaw was my fellow graduate student in the Program in Eastern Studies at Swami Rama’s Honesdale campus in the American northeast. He was one of the rarest of American men: a black male with a passion for yoga philosophy and practice. We took many a walk together during which I enjoyed Charles’ intelligent observations and delightful sense of humor. But under that sparkling mind lay a world of inner anguish. Charles was struggling with the terrible racism in America—he was even uncomfortable shopping in town because of the fierce hatred directed at him by some of the townspeople. He was also unsure whether, as a serious spiritual aspirant, he should remain celibate. (We women friends often speculated whether he’d finally marry or not!) Swami Rama helped him resolve these painful issues, as Charles recounts here.

I also knew Vinay (Bill Dennis) while he was a resident at Swami Rama’s American headquarters in Glenview (just north of Chicago). He was a quiet but eminently capable young man who was assigned very responsible positions in the therapy program there. I was a bit in awe of him—he was always so professional and self-contained. It wasn’t until I read his story in this book that I realized the inner turmoil he was experiencing at the time, or how brilliantly Swamiji worked with him.

I’ve never met Vijaya Subramani, but having read her account here I feel as if she is a sister. A brilliant, artistically gifted, but in some ways deeply insecure young woman, she met Swamiji in Curacao. Though she had a strongly religious upbringing, it was the Himalayan master who ignited her spiritual fire. He completely transformed her life, and blessed her entire family with his grace and attention.

I’ve never met Madhavan Nambiar either, but he’s the type of devotee I admire, who comes not only to learn from the master but to actively serve the master’s mission. Using his position in the Indian government, he was able to assist Swami Rama in creating a state-of-the-art hospital complex in Dehradun, designed to help numerous needy mountain people who had no other access to health care.

I want to thank these four writers for helping bring all of us a little closer to Swami Rama of the Himalayas.

Linda Johnsen, M.S.
San Francisco, U.S.A.
July 4, 2013