A disciple's journal : in the company of Swami Ashokananda

In A Disciples Journal, Sister Gargi, an award-winning author, tells the personal story of her spiritual training over two decades with Swami Ashokananda, the illustrious Hindu monk of the Ramakrishna Order who headed the Vedanta Society of Northern California. Readers can eavesdrop on their lively verbatim conversations, during which the author is gradually lifted from a state of uncertainty into the confident possession of her own being through the loving insights and beneficent scolding of an authentic spiritual guide. This is Sister Gargi's personal account of her spiritual training over two decades by Swami Ashokananda (1893-1969), the illustrious spiritual teacher of the Ramakrishna Order who headed the Vedanta Society of Northern California. Her journal starts in 1950 when the Swami started to teach her meditation in the Hindu tradition of Vedanta. Marie Louise Burke, as she was then known, went on to become a prominent literary figure in the Vedanta movement and later a respected monastic. This story takes readers on a powerful inner journey as Swami Ashokananda transforms the author's self-doubt into a rich and joyful spiritual quest.Sister Gargi is to be thanked for another important entry in the archives of world spirituality.-HUSTON SMITH, author of The World's ReligionsTouching, well-written portrait.-LIBRARY JOURNALThoughtful and uplifting.-MIDWEST BOOK REVIEWRare treasure of a book.-LIGHT OF CONSCIOUSNESSDeeply inspiring and a sheer pleasure to read.-VRAJAPRANA, author of Vedanta: A Simple Introduction In the summer of 1949, Swami Ashokananda had said he would be my teacher.