Children's Meditation and Prayer - Great Swan: Meetings With Ramakrishna

Author: Hixon, Lex

From Kirkus Reviews , April 1, 1992
A remarkable portrait of a most remarkable spiritual teacher. Though little known in the West, Ramakrishna (1836-86) is generally revered in India as a direct incarnation of God, similar in some ways to Christ. Rather than write a standard biography of this Hindu mystic who embraced and, reportedly, embodied the essence of all major world religions--a biography like Richard Schiffman's Sri Ramakrishna (1989)--Hixon (Coming Home, 1978) here attempts a more daunting task: to re-create the experience of observing, over the course of years, a man who ``has attained the goal of spiritual evolution.'' To do this, the author draws on numerous eyewitness accounts of the sage, smoothly blending them into the voice of a disciple who observes his ``Master'' lecturing, conversing, playing, singing, dancing, and slipping into profound mystical ecstasies. There is no skepticism in this devotional telling but, rather, a pervasive sense of wonder and even rapture that Hixon makes concrete through tight physical detail, as in this deathbed scene: ``Ramakrishna's charming smile and the fresh white cloth around his waist shine in the flickering lamplight. His honey-colored skin, dulled by illness, seems to regain its extraordinary luster....The room is being filled with light....It is like a lightning flash, prolonged for several minutes. The pressure is unbearable....'' There is also much inspired exposition by Ramakrishna of religious principles and practices, making this account of great interest to those spiritually inclined but occasionally a tough go for those more interested in Ramakrishna's incandescent character than in his teachings. You don't have to share Hixon's conviction in order to appreciate his achievement in evoking--artfully and with considerable emotional power--what it might be like to encounter, as Ramakrishna put it, ``a human emanation of Divine Reality.'' -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description
Dramatically recreates a series of delightful encouters with a great spiritual teacher.

From The Publisher
Dramatically recreates a series of delightful encouters with a great spiritual teacher.

Reviews
From Library Journal
Hixon, a disciple of both Ramakrishna's wife and his spiritual successor, provides contemporary commentary based on The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna and The Great Master . This retelling in clear contemporary English requires no background knowledge and makes accessible the ideas of a most remarkable Hindu saint who worshipped Kali, the Divine Mother, but also experienced union with Jesus, Muhammad, and Allah. Hixon claims his book ``is not a conventional biography but a workbook'' to provide Ramakrishna's guidance to the spiritually inclined reader of any religious tradition and to clarify the mystical path. Hixon is self-effacing: what shines through is Ramakrishna sanctity and wisdom, as well as the devotion of his disciples. Recommended for most libraries.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
1 Initial Encounter: Visiting Dakshineswar Garden on the Ganges Near Calcutta 1
2 Face to Face With the Divine Dancer 14
3 Ancient Sage Meets Modern Pandit: Ramakrishna and Vidyasagar 19
4 From the God-Man's Treasury of Secrets 28
5 The Taste of Sugar: Boating on the Ganges With Keshab Sen 33
6 One Hemp-Smoker Recognizes Another 38
7 The Sage Opens a Gap in the Net of Convention 45
8 The Bliss of Ramakrishna's Birthday 51
9 The New Dispensation: Harmony of All Religions 56
10 Cry With an Infinite Cry: The Master Responds to Burning Questions 62
11 Timeless Man Meets Contemporary Man: Ramakrishna and Bankim Chandra 70
12 Ramakrishna Relates His Intimate Experiences 80
13 Radha and Krishna in Mystic Union: The Festival at Panihati 93
14 Meeting Mother Sarada: Where There Is Shiva, There Is Shakti 100
15 The Master Expounds Advaita Vedanta 107
16 The Mystery of Narendra and the Vow of Spiritual Completion 113
17 Two Great Souls: Ramakrishna's Last Meeting With Keshab Sen 120
18 The Paramahamsa Transmits Spiritual Intensity: O Brother Madhusudana, Please Come! 140
19 The Ideal of Feminine Love 149
20 Avatara Meets Wandering Sadhu 155
21 The Mood of the Divine Child: Ramakrishna Breaks His Arm 161
22 Upward-Flowing Energy of Kundalini 167
23 Secret Rhythm of the Wisdom Mother 173
24 Special Worship of Kali: The Master Meets a Young Actor 182
25 Great Swan Meets Orthodox Pandit: Ramakrishna and Shashadhar 193
26 Ramakrishna Sings the Tantric Transmission 202
27 The Master's Terminal Illness: His Friendship With the Humanist, Dr. Sarkar 212
28 My Play Is Over 219
29 The Master Transforms Dr. Sarkar 222
30 Ramakrishna and Lord Buddha 233
31 The Mood of Formlessness: The Master Gives Away His Treasures 241
32 Universal Victory: The Passing Away of Ramakrishna 245
33 Divine Communion 250
Index 309

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