How Richard became Radhanath
http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report_how-richard-became-radhanath_1320509
Amberish K Diwanji
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Mumbai: This book is about a man who sets out to find the meaning of
life and a guru to help in the search. Born in Chicago in 1950, as a
child, Richard Slavin realised he could never really fit into the
'American way' or become an all-American guy. America of the 1960s
was the Woodstock era, and Slavin got caught up in the
counter-culture revolution.
Along with friends, loads of determination, and not much in his
wallet, a young Slavin set out on a trip to Europe in 1970. Heading
eastwards, he and his friends ended up in Greece where, as the book
puts it, he heard a voice telling him: "Go to India!"
Slavin's journey to India is a saga by itself. He's nearly killed in
Turkey by mobsters who want his money. He is again nearly killed in
Afghanistan, when he refuses to make love to a Dutch lady in Kabul.
(That might have been a first in recorded history -- a young man
murdered for refusing to sleep with a lady).
Then, at the Pakistan-India border, the visa officer on the border
refuses to grant him a visa because Slavin doesn't have the money to
pay the visa fee; when her shift ends, another officer is more
sympathetic to Slavin's plea about seeking the meaning of life, and
grants him a visa.
In that sense, while this book is about the beginning of Slavin's
journey to becoming Radhanath Swami, it is also about experiencing
India at its best, and its worst. In his travels, Slavin meets
charlatans posing as gurus, out to fool people. But he also meets
people who spend time quietly in caves in the Himalayas, meditating.
He meditates in caves infested with snakes and enjoys the kindness of
the poor people who, despite his white skin, treat him like they
would any other wandering mendicant.
After spending time at Vrindavan, Slavin finally becomes a disciple
of AC Srila Prabhupada, bringing to an end his journey in search of a
spiritual guru. He then acquires the name Radhanath Das (later, it
became Radhanath Swami). Today, Radhanath Swami lives mostly in
Mumbai and travels around the world, giving lectures on Krishna and
the Bhagavad Gita.
This book isn't always an easy read; there are heavy doses of
melodrama, with young Slavin breaking down at the drop of a turban
(he is, truly, more Indian than he realises!). But it is an honest
and interesting read, not least because we also journey alongside
Slavin as he seeks enlightenment.
.
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