Days in an Indian Monastery
Fascinating to get a window of understanding about the Indian culture that so values the spiritual aspect of our human experience. I have to say how I would welcome being in community that so honors what, for me, is the pervading and eclipsing meaning of existence. I highly recommend this book. Sister Devamata was the humble literary partner to Swami Paramananda's gift and legacy here in the US. This book is the sharing of her her own experience to us.
Sister Devamata's very personal descriptions of the direct disciples, particularly Swami Ramakrishnananda with whom she spent a great deal of time in India, are engaging, enlightening and well written. Her accounts of life at the monasteries (both in Madras (now Chennai) and Calcutta/Belur Math and her observations of Indian life in the early 1900s are colorful and interesting. She also weaves in Vedanta philosophy and first hand stories from some of the luminaries of the Ramakrishna Order in India. A delightful book; easy to read yet profound and intimate.
