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."
(Kirkus Reviews)
For many, "Great Swan" is Lex's greatest work -- a true classic.
The sanctity, delightful playfulness, wisdom, power, devotion, and
spiritual intensity of one of the most inspiring spiritual teachers
of all time permeate every page. Blissfully unconventional,
Ramakrishna (1836-1886) was a prime mover in the transmission of
Eastern mystical practices into the West's spiritual renaissance.
"Great Swan" may well be the next best thing to a personal meeting
with him.
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