That one yearns for Union with Him,
And escapes serious danger.
The memoir of the first foreigner initiated into the Naga Sannyasis of Juna Akhara, told in my own voice.
I dreamed India into existence. Not that it was my personal private dream, but a believable movie reasonably constructed from the group psyche.
It was comforting, this dream, cushioned, as it were, with familiarity. It tamed the wild profusion of things, using the sights, sounds, and faces of India as its raw material. Everything might appear different from my ordinary world back home, but I knew that this was the way it was supposed to be. It was a good dream, it made me feel happy.
I recognized India immediately, like meeting a blood relative for the first time, because I carried with me, deep inside, images corresponding to what I saw on the outside.
In my own voice
“This book will entertain and enlighten you. A bold journey that explores the true intersections of Eastern and Western thought.”
Deepak Chopraauthor of The Book of Secrets“An authentic and fascinating account of a western yogi who has made India his home. The book is bound to challenge your view of reality and of the spiritual life. A journey beyond the western civilizational mindset to the real India of the yogis. An adventure into a different type of reality.”
Vamadeva ShastriDavid Frawley“Rampuri’s search has carried him into the very depths of one of the great ancient wisdom lineages of India. He has gone where very few Westerners have gone.”
Krishna DasStep into my world
The Kumbh Melas, Juna Akhara, and the legendary Naga Babas of these pages are real. Half a century of photographs and film keeps them alive in my archive.
Autobiography of a Sadhu
An Angrez among Naga Babas
More than a memoir: the first full account of a Westerner initiated into Juna Akhara, the ancient order of Naga sannyasis. Hundreds of readers have followed Rampuri across that threshold. The rest of the story waits in its pages.
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What the press says
"…this autobiography joins the ranks of such illustrious Eastern biographies as Paramhansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi, and will likely become a standard for those who follow Hindu, New Age, and Eastern shamanic traditions."Library of Congress
"A book that any spiritual seeker, or anyone even vaguely curious about India or the yogic tradition, will find fascinating. It will challenge your assumptions about Hinduism, about yogis, about a country that enjoyed thousands of years of rich tradition."Conscious Choice
"Rampuri's story of a wide-eyed American nineteen-year-old on a quest for truth in India is both enchanting and enlightening."Vision Magazine
Pilgrimage is a story. Each pilgrim is a hero, and every hero has a quest.
Autobiography of a Sadhu