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BOOKS
RISING IN LOVE
by Ram Das Batchelder
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piritual experiences in and of themselves shouldn’t be cause for admission to mental
hospitals, but in mainstream Western consciousness, they may become such. It seems
as though we either turn someone having unexplained spiritual experiences into mystics,
or into crazy people. Ram Das Batchelder has gone to both places before finding a more
sober and humble context for his spiritual growth, as he narrates in his book “Rising in Love:
My Wild and Crazy Ride to Here and Now with Amma, the Hugging Saint”.
Eastern philosophy, distilled from experiential wisdom by saints and sages over millennia,
understands that if you are having spiritual experiences that you cannot explain, most likely
you are neither the next great saint nor in need of institutionalization. You’re just experiencing something that is natural to the human condition on the journey back to oneness.
It advises that the best thing you can do for yourself is get a guide - someone who has
moved through such experiences and reached the goal of existence, which is enlightenment. With this guidance, you can ensure your spiritual growth unfolds in a way that is timely
and balanced for you, and avoid the dangers of being deluded by experiences that are
not grounded. “Rising in Love” seeks to help bridge the gap from Eastern knowledge to our
Western understanding, in the hopes that others do not need to undergo the same difficulties Ram Das did.
Ram Das has a background in acting and is a gifted poet and playwright, with an excellent sense of pacing. He starts “Rising in Love” in the middle of his story, when he meets his
teacher Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi Devi). Only after we are already intrigued and
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inspired does he take us
back to the beginning
of his story and relate an
earlier descent into drugs
and madness - a descent
fueled in part by spiritual
experience but distorted
by ignorance and ego.
While it’s sometimes challenging to read, straddling the line between
spiritual awakening and
insanity, Ram Das tells the
story with gentleness and
humor. It seems apparent that in his years on the
spiritual path since then,
he’s been “cooked” by
the fires of transformation,
with no interest in trying to
hide or distort his story to
make himself look better.
That said, readers used
to sweet stories of saintlike devotion and purity
should be prepared: his
journey is every bit the
wild and crazy ride the
title promises.
That’s why “Rising in Love”
is useful reading for anyone who feels that they
can safely engage in
the use of psychoactive
drugs in the context of
a spiritual path, or that
they are already enlight-
ened and need no guidance. As Ram Das himself
says, the highs he experienced through marijuana
use, even though they
seemed to impress others and bring him closer
to God at the time, only
caused harm. He eventually sank into depression
and almost took his life
before quitting the drugs
for good. From there, he
went on to seek oneness
with the Divine through
the wiser means of meditation and service.
Ram Das then met Amma
on one of her first tours
of the US, and accepted her as his guru. He
soon moved to India to
be around her as much
as possible, cultivating a
deep connection and
experiencing subtle guidance in his practice as
well as a few hard egoknocks. He ultimately
married a fellow Amma
devotee (their courtship,
marriage and the challenges they faced together as a couple are
included in the book and
are valuable reading for
anyone
contemplating
By Parvati Magazine staff
a spiritual partnership)
and they now divide their
time between serving at
Amma’s ashram in Amritapuri and operating
guided tours in India. He
continues to write stories
and poems that relate
spiritual concepts in an
approachable and often
hilarious manner. Attendees of Amma’s programs
will recognize the children’s books “You Are The
King” and “The Awakening of Wendy the Wave”,
often available for sale
at the bookstores there.
Originally written for his
niece and nephew, these
books are a way to help
younger readers understand the spiritual truths
he has learned and touch
the real value of this life.
“Rising in Love” extends
this offering to adults. This
humble offering under
the O-Books imprint raises
funds for Amma’s orphanages, and deserves to be
read broadly. It’s the kind
outstretched hand of a
friend on the journey one who’s been through
some crazy stuff and lived
to tell.