Author: Tandan, Madhu

"Follow the instructions and 'die' to yourself. Drop your identity-not only identification with your body, but with your thoughts and memories-everything you think of as yourself. Then see what follows." - Aropa" This is the true story of a young couple's yearning for a meaningful life. Madhu and Rajeev leave the city to join a small community in the Himalayas; and for seven years they live under the tutelage of Aropa, an Englishman who had taken sanyas (renunciation of worldly life). "Aropa's philosophy inspired a simple life in which every experience was viewed as an opportunity to grow. Over time, many questions arose, making their life perplexing; doors appeared to close on them, and their personal dilemmas peaked."Madhu and Rajeev's story speaks to the spirit as it lays bare a struggle to transcend suffering and discover what lies beyond it. In sharing the simple practices that intensified their search, as well as the powerful role of dreams, Madhu Tandan offers us her conviction that there are no dead ends in life. She also gives us a glimpse of the mysterious, magical, uplifting support we can receive at every step of such a journey.