*For a review copy of Touched by Fire: The Ongoing Journey of a Spiritual Seeker, or to speak with the author, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, please contact Dottie DeHart, Rocks-DeHart Public Relations, at (828) 459-9637 or reply to this email.

A Touch of Peace: Three Reasons Why Spirit-Weary Americans
Should Read the Himalayan Institute's Newest Book
Touched by Fire, the new autobiography from spiritual leader Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, introduces us to a better, richer, purer way to live.

    Honesdale, PA (May 2005)--When was the last time you felt "at peace"? If you're a typical busy, overstressed, consumption-driven American, you may have a hard time answering. In fact, the question itself may hardly seem relevant. Peace is, after all, a word from the realm of spirituality. And how can anyone hear the small voice over the cacophony of ringing cell phones, the constant blare of the TV, and the discordant honks and curses of rush hour?

    According to Deborah Willoughby, president of the Himalayan Institute, one of the best gifts spirit-weary Americans can give ourselves is to read about people who have taken a path completely different from our own. It gives us hope that there is a better, purer, richer way to live.

    She cites the newest book from the Himalayan Institute as a good example. Touched by Fire: The Ongoing Journey of a Spiritual Seeker (Himalayan Institute Press, 2005, ISBN: 0-89389-239-4, $18.95), by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Ph.D., offers an autobiographical account of the path taken by the current spiritual director of the Institute.

    "Touched by Fire is an important book," says Willoughby. "It's important not just for practitioners of yoga and meditation who may already be familiar with Tigunait, but for anyone who has a heartfelt yearning to cultivate inner peace and a joyful spirit. Through the author's life story, we see an example of a truly contemplative life. And I believe that all of us--regardless of our cultural background or station in life--can learn from and perhaps be touched by his wisdom."

    The Himalayan Institute, headquartered in northeastern Pennsylvania, is a leader in yoga, meditation, spirituality, and holistic health. It was founded by Swami Rama of the Himalayas to further his mission of discovering and embracing the sacred link, the spirit of human heritage that unites East and West, spirituality and science, and ancient wisdom and modern technology. Tigunait is Swami Rama's successor, and he describes their meeting and relationship in his new book.

    In addition to Touched by Fire, Tigunait has written twelve other books, including the best-selling At the Eleventh Hour: The Biography of Swami Rama of the Himalayas. In certain circles--practitioners of yoga, followers of holistic health principles, and students of various cultures and spiritual traditions--he is a well-known author. But why should "mainstream" America be interested in his books?

    Willoughby offers three reasons we should read Touched by Fire:  

 · It illuminates a more peaceful, spiritual approach to life. To most Americans, life is both too full (of things, of to-do lists, of noise and distractions) and too empty (of meaningful moments, of love, of inner peace). But we can't imagine living any other way. Touched by Fire is, itself, a glimpse of another way. Don't misunderstand: this book is certainly not a "how to" guide to enlightenment. Neither is it a "call" to any particular religious tradition (indeed, the author quotes his own master on the fact that "changing religions and adopting a new lifestyle will not lead [one] anywhere . . . only self-transformation will bring true fulfillment." But in its very description of Tigunait's life--the years of disciplined study and the struggle to master emotions like anger, despair, and pride--some of the keys are revealed. 

One of the most sobering passages is the description of when Swami Rama gives Tigunait a "crash course" on America. Here is an excerpt: "After World War II, people made more money in less time, and had more leisure. Television and other forms of mass media flowed in to fill it. As you know, the more you have, the more you want. The growing prosperity in the external world fueled an insatiable desire for more and more worldly objects. The entire culture became materialistic and outward oriented. The more they searched for pleasure and comfort in the external world, the more they began to lose touch with their inner selves . . . As I traveled and lectured the length and breadth of the country [in the 60s], I found that family ties had been loosened, old values were falling away, and new values had not yet been formed. The economy had engendered an insatiable desire for an endless number of objects, but deep down, people were questioning the purpose and meaning in life."

· It's a thoughtful, well-told story of an important spiritual leader. Anyone who enjoys autobiographies will savor this book. But even readers who don't generally gravitate toward the genre will enjoy it. Tigunait's story is a compelling one, and vividly told. It follows him from his boyhood in Amar Garh, a traditional village in northern India, all the way to his current life as the spiritual head of the Himalayan Institute. This journey is full of twists and turns, and along the way the reader encounters many exotic and unfamiliar sights, sounds, and experiences.

We meet Tigunait's family, headed by a once-prosperous Raj Purohit (a religious teacher), who has seen his wealth dwindle in the face of political and social upheaval. We share in the author's immersion into Sanskrit scriptures and his ongoing traditional education. Along with him, we meet a variety of saints and spiritual masters, who add to his understanding of the Divine Mother, teach valuable meditation techniques, lifestyle choices, and powerful mantras, and change the course of his life. We are privy to miracles and mystic events that leave us shaking our heads in wonder . . . perhaps even believing things that we would have dismissed prior to opening this book.

· It's an education in and of itself. It's probably safe to say that most Westerners have only the most rudimentary understanding of Eastern philosophies. If you count yourself among that number, Touched by Fire will be a revelation. It's a story of an Indian village that "has not changed in a thousand years," of intensive esoteric religious rituals, of holy temples surrounded by poverty, exploitation, and violence, and of people who heal physical illnesses through prayer, use mantras to dissolve animosity and cast out spirits, and dance on the sharp edge of swords and not bleed. In short, it opens the reader's eyes to a reality that he or she may never have suspected exists.

Certainly, the book dispels misconceptions. For example, a person who thinks that yoga is merely a "fitness fad" or "meditation technique" will be intrigued by passages like these (from an account given to Tigunait by tantric master Dolai Baba): "Yoga means union, for it helps you reestablish a harmonious balance among different aspects of your being--body, mind, consciousness, the world within you, and the world outside you . . . Yoga consists of a set of techniques that can enable you to gain access to the limitless wealth that lies dormant in your body and mind . . . Yoga offers you the tools and means for having a successful and productive life without becoming a slave to your own success and productivity . . . Yoga is a way of self-mastery, for by practicing yoga, you become master of yourself--master of the world within and the world outside you." 

    Despite the alien-ness of the terrain traversed in Touched by Fire, a larger truth shines through. Cultures and religions and life experiences may differ drastically. But in what really matters, we are all alike. It's these moments of recognition--yes, I have felt exactly that way!--that will make you most glad that you picked up this book. And you will be left with the certainty that its insights are desperately needed in our tumultuous world. 

    "In this day and age, I saw, when the world is shrinking into a global family, we must realize that our first identity is that we are human beings," writes Tigunait. "Unless we, as individuals, gain this realization at a personal level, political maneuvering and the sweet-sounding talk of peace will bear no fruit. We must understand that we would not be Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Chinese, or Americans if we were not first of all human beings. It is only this knowledge that can make the idea of loving all and hating none, embracing all and excluding none, a living reality."

# # #

About the Author:

Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Ph.D., the spiritual head of the Himalayan Institute, is the successor of Swami Rama of the Himalayas. Lecturing and teaching worldwide for more than a quarter of a century, he is a regular contributor to Yoga International magazine, and the author of twelve books, including the best-selling At the Eleventh Hour: The Biography of Swami Rama of the Himalayas.

Pandit Tigunait holds two doctorates: one in Sanskrit from the University of Allahabad in India, and another in Oriental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. Family tradition gave Pandit Tigunait access to a vast range of spiritual wisdom preserved in both the written and oral traditions. Before meeting his master, he studied Sanskrit, the language of the ancient scriptures of India, as well as the languages of the Buddhist, Jaina, and Zorastrian traditions. In 1976, Swami Rama ordained Pandit Tigunait into the 5,000-year-old lineage of the Himalayan masters.

About the Book:

Touched by Fire: The Ongoing Journey of a Spiritual Seeker (Himalayan Institute Press, 2005, ISBN: 0-89389-239-4, $18.95) is available at bookstores nationwide, major online booksellers, and direct from the publisher at 800-822-4547 or Himalayan.org. 

For more information, please visit himalayaninstitute.org.

# # #

Words of Wisdom for Spiritual Seekers
Excerpted from Touched by Fire: The Ongoing Journey of a Spiritual Seeker
(Himalayan Institute Press, 2005, ISBN: 0-89389-239-4, $18.95)
by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Ph.D.

On the blindness of prejudice
In Tigunait's childhood village lived a chamar--an untouchable--named Chinigi. He was a famed healer who was visited by people of all castes, creeds, ages, and genders. Yet, even the people who came seeking his blessings treated him as an outcast and mocked him for his highly disciplined life. "Today, having traveled far and wide, meeting hundreds of learned and holy men from a myriad of traditions and faiths, I realize that this simple villager was a great man," writes Tigunait. "Yet people were so entangled in their web of customs, dogmas, and prejudices that they could not see what was right before their eyes."
 
On fear and faith
As a child, Tigunait was terrified of the dust devils he encountered almost every day on his way home from school. Like other children he believed they were ghosts. His mother told him to recite a prayer dedicated to the God Hanuman and the dust devils would run away. So Tigunait did. He writes that because his mind was "not yet contaminated by logic" his faith grew and his fear of the dust devils vanished forever. "Like hunger, thirst, and sleep, fear is a natural urge in all living beings," he writes. "Under proper guidance, fear can be transformed into faith and inner strength. In fact, this is the purpose of spiritual training."

On finding good in negative events
When the author was sixteen, some violent and greedy men accosted him, threw him into a compost pit, and tried to injure him with bamboo sticks. As he lay in the pit, he realized that he was "surrounded by the protecting hands of the Divine." After he was rescued from the pit by his father, Tigunait decided to leave his village and live at the Sanskrit school he was attending. He writes, "There is a turning point in every individual's life, and during those moments, each of us is accompanied by divine protection and guidance. Every event, regardless of how bitter and unpleasant it may seem, is a direct expression of divine will, and it contains the seeds of higher good."
 
On the roots of anger
While at the Sanskrit school, Tigunait was tormented by a servant who "played mischief" by bringing him wet firewood (which emitted copious smoke and failed to get the fire hot enough to cook). One day he lost his temper and flung his plate of rice at the statue of the Divine Mother. His teacher told him to "find the cause of the inner unrest that created this emotional turmoil." Upon reflection, Tigunait realized that he felt that the economic upheaval of his family was unfair and that he felt he had the right to inherit what his father had possessed before he was born. "Anger is always preceded by desire," he writes. "If we do not cure our minds early enough of these two inflictions--desire and anger--then they lead to confusion. Once confusion matures, we become delusional. Our mind becomes clouded and memory fails us. And thereafter, we suffer from loss of discrimination. That is when we become disoriented, lose our temper, and behave in an irrational way."

On the art of joyful living
When Tigunait asked Swami Rama to explain yoga, this was just a small part of his answer: "Due to the intelligence and free will that you have received from Providence, you have the freedom to cultivate higher virtues and overcome negative ones. And yet, you may have certain weaknesses that prevent you from accomplishing everything you wish and plan. In that case, learn the art of performing your actions skillfully. When you meet with success, do not let your inner equilibrium be overcome by excitement. When you meet with failure, do not let yourself sink into depression and sadness. Gaining and maintaining this equilibrium is called the art of joyful living and is the foundation for self-mastery. The art of joyful living is at the core of yoga."

On spirituality vs. religion
Tigunait participated in a grand ritual known as Sahasra Chandi, an eleven-day ceremony that involves reciting a scripture consisting of seven hundred verses one thousand times. Many of the other fifty pandits mocked his dedication and made sarcastic jokes. Confused and saddened, he turned to his teacher who advised him to "be done with priestly business." Tigunait later reflects: "Rituals are a valid path of spirituality provided they are performed with full purity and precision. Ritual worship, in its own right, is a complete science, but today much of that science has been replaced by custom, dogma, and superstition. The efficacy of ritual practices is further diminished by the inner poverty of the priests who perform them with one intention--making money. Rituals are sacred. The indiscriminate display of rituals ruins their sanctity, and once the sanctity is gone, rituals become lifeless."

On the healing powers of nature
Swami Sadanand gave an epileptic patient medicine with strict instructions not to take it, or eat his breakfast, until he had fed the birds some grain. Observing this, Tigunait asked him why it was important to serve the birds first. Explaining that serving the birds is serving nature, Swami Sadanand added, "In our unconscious mind, we have the seeds of disease as well as its cure. The unconscious mind always works in conformity with nature. By nature, I don't only mean plants, rivers, and the rest of the natural environment. What we call nature, in fact, encompasses an entire primordial energy field that is the source of, and locus for, this material world . . . By sacrificing your comforts, and giving away that which you believe to be yours, you pay off your karmic debts in the subtle realm. And it is these karmic debts that are the cause of our present misery. Although we do not have access to our own unconscious mind, we can still pay off our karmic debts by serving nature, of which we are a part."

On God and poverty
When Tigunait said that he wanted to see God, Swami Rama sent him to a coal mining town in Giridih, near the coal mining district of Bihar. When Tigunait got there, he found that it was a place of terrible poverty and misery. Filled with rage and grief, he returned to Swami Rama who told him that the holier a place is believed to be, the greater the misery surrounding it. "The gates of the big, wealthy temples are tightly locked--as are the hearts of the rich and powerful," explained Swami Rama. "Easier to open are the hearts of the poor. The shrines that are crumbling, the human hearts that are breaking, are where your worship of God will be most fulfilling. The Lord of Life dwelling in such hearts is waiting for those who can render their love and service, and serving in those shrines will help you purify your own temple."

On insidious greed
After Swami Rama's death, even as his body lay on the funeral pyre, his students approached Tigunait with questions about how to distribute the love offerings that the master had previously handled. Tigunait was stunned. He writes: "Greed is the mother of all miseries. It is born of desire. The fear of being unable to obtain the objects of one's desire and the fear of losing the desirable objects already in hand creates the conditions out of which greed arises. The flame from the pyre that consumed the body of my living guide reminded me that all the great traditions of the world have their origins in revealed knowledge. The founding masters of these traditions were personally committed to austerity, inner purification, and selfless service. Theirs were lives of self-sacrifice. They were living examples of what they taught. But sadly, these sublime traditions soon became contaminated by greed."
 
On the future of humankind
"Today humanity is standing at a crossroads," writes Tigunait. "Both the best and worst are before us. The forces of darkness and the forces of light are at war--and we can decide which force we will join. Driven by economic forces, the process of globalization has begun. Corporations and even nations are merging, but human hearts are still far apart . . . Because science and technology are growing at a breakneck pace, if our spiritual understanding does not grow at the same rate, human civilization will collapse. Technology has given us everything we need to live a comfortable life. But lacking spiritual understanding, we are running amok. We can splice genes, send ideas across the globe at the speed of light, grow a rose blossom on a cactus and a human ear on a pig's body, but we know little about the dynamics of our inner lives . . . Unless we understand that we are citizens of two worlds--the world within as well as the world without--we will never comprehend the higher purpose and meaning of life."

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