A Guide to the Ashrams, Hermitages and Monasteries of India and Nepal and the teachings and potted history of numerous Gurus of this century. Also Medical advice, Festivals, Ashram Tradition and Customs;plus the all important advice on how to find the Ashrams in different States.
This book was the first ever comprehensive guide to the ashrams of India and Nepal (published in 1980 by Neville Spearman Press, Ltd) and became renowned as the 'Bible of India-bound spiritual seekers' during the Eighties.
Seeking the Master has been out of print for over 30 years now, (except for a pirated edition in Nepal in 1998). It has recently been made available by popular request in a downloadable PFD facsimile version only, for a fraction of the original price.
Of course, the Gurus and their teaching explored in this work, have long left this worldy plane, but the ashrams are still there with new teachers and the directions of how to find them are invaluable.
The book is virtually a historical record of Indian spirituality in this century. It contains information on over 300 ashrams and monasteries, their daily programmes and teachings, with the honest impressions of Western seekers regarding the Masters and Ashrams of the time; plus a wealth of geographical and travel information, tips of keeping healthy in India and much, much more. So it's still worth taking a look.
Downloadable ebook price only £2.99 ($4.62) direct from our website.
Please Note: It is NOT AVAILABLE from Amazon.
Excerpt
'Mother' India is a land of absolute extremes and no matter what one says about her the opposite is also true. Nowhere are her paradoxical extremes more manifest than in Hindu spirituality, where multi-religious tolerance lives alongside fanatically rigid cultism and where spiritual beliefs seem totally at variance with the inequality of traditional and social customs. These disparities are not only to be found in the incredible phantasmagoria of Indian worldly life, but also in those extraordinary diverse centres of peace, the 'ashrams'. In such retreats one might expect to spend one's days in meditative ecstasy and bliss among fellow pilgrims who have cast aside all the grasping, striving, conniving and contradictory ways of the world. And in some ashram this is so. But the present range (of several thousand) is so vast that any preconception of what an ashram is today must fall far wide of the mark.
...Although I have no wish to prejudice a preview, on the other hand (if there is any reality to learning from another's experience) I would save the unwary from walking into the crocodile's mouth.
Professional Reviews
Seeking the Master
This book is an absolute must for anyone undertaking a spiritual journey to India--whatever their commitment or for whatever they seek. It is written in a very descriptive style and takes the earnest seeker through the various geographical regions, pointing out the problems of climate, transport, beauties, advantages and disadvantages of each area.
There are hints on food and drink (what to take and what not to take), hints on customs and manners and a preparatory description of the traditions of the Ashram and and the religions of India. The author's own deep respect and understanding of India and its people feeds through his words and should ensure , if you heed his advice, that you do not put a foot wrong -- or lat least, not too often...
Over 300 ashrams are described in the book with details of the Gurus, studies, location and, in most cases, 'impressions' (of other visitors, not the author). Muz Murray is a well-know English mystic (now living in France) who has been the source of much spiritual power to young people of the West... he withdrew from the West to undertake his own long pilgrimage to the East and India. This inspiring book is one of the fruits of that journey and in addition to the love of India which emanates from its pages it will provide a much felt need for many seekers on the road.
Derek Ewen -- Aware Magazine
A Sense of Authenticity
“A delightfully unstuffy book that abounds in humour. As I began to read, I started to experience an increasing feeling of excitement, to realise that he has made so many discoveries of major importance. Muz Murray has pursued the way of the mystic with tremendous rigour and determination. Every page of this book bears witness to the reality of his experience. Its essence undoubtedly lies in its sense of authenticity. He quotes St. Matthew: ‘And he taught as one having authority, and not as one of the scribes.’ And it is precisely that quality that makes Sharing the Quest such an exciting and absorbing experience.”
—Colin Wilson (Philosopher), Resurgence Journal
The most comprehensive summary of the spiritual facilities available in India today
Although designed primarily as a guide for foreigners who are coming to India on a spiritual pilgrimage, this book will be of interest to all seekers who are still searching for a teaching, a Guru or an Ashram which will satisfy their temperament and their spiritual inclinations. It is an encyclopaedic compilation of all of India's major spiritual institutions, along with many of its lesser known ones, which aims to give all the information any prospective visitor or pilgrim might require.
…The editor has scrupulously avoided making any assessments of the ashrams he visited, but at the end of each section he often prints comments from visitors which usually give a penetrating insight into the atmosphere of the ashram, the friendliness of the staff and inmates and the attitude of the management to visitors.
…Its pages will provide a fascinating afternoon's entertainment for anyone who wants to contrast the superlative-ridden official accounts which start each section, with the views and impressions of the people who have experienced the ashrams first-hand.
The information contained in this book represents the most comprehensive summary of the spiritual facilities available in India today: highly recommended.
David Godman —The Mountain Path
