Mystics, Masters, Saints, and Sages: Stories of Enlightenment

316 Pages·2001·35.299 MB·English

by  Robert Ullman, Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman

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ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA
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FOREWORD BY HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA
ROBERT ULLMAN AND JUDYTH REICHENBERG-ULLMAN

PRAI SE FOR
MYSTICS, MASTERS, SAINTS, AND SAGES
—
"A fascinating collection of first-person accounts across cen-
—
turies and across religious traditions of the experience of
awakening, all held together by the common denominator of
'SurprisedbyJoy.'"
Sylvia Boorstein,authorofIt'sEasierThan You Think:
TheBuddhistWaytoHappiness
"Each time you read of one of the encounters with the infinite
you feel the tug foryour own realization."
RabbiZalman Schachter-Shalomi,
pastholderoftheWorldWisdom Chair,NaropaUniversity
"Equanimityofthemind,contentment,self-reflection,andasso-
ciation with spiritual seekers are the four ways to spiritual en-
lightenment. An aspirant of the spiritual path can choose any
one of the four. Association with spiritual seekers includes
readingthe life histories and teachings ofsaints and sages, spir-
itual masters, and God-intoxicated people who are merged in
their devotion to God, both historically and in the present.
Through this book, Bob Ullman and Judyth Reichenberg-Ull-
man have helped others fulfill that need of association with
spiritual seekers, saints, and sages ofthe East andWest, histori-
cal and present. I wish them success in their efforts to serve
peoplebyvarious means."
BabaHari Dass,authorof
SilenceSpeaksfrom theChalkboardofBabaHariDass
"Finally, a beautifully concise and readable overview of the en-
lightened condition as it is expressed through a wide variety of
personalities,both historical and contemporary."
Adyashanti,OpenGateSangha,
authorofTheImpactofAwakening
"Mystics, Masters, Saints, andSagesoffers a myriad ofreflections
of the profound potential we have for awakening to our true
nature. These inspiring life stories of personal transformation
inspire us to discover and embodya trulyuniversal spirit at the
heart ofourhumanityandto live in awaythat honors it."
Dr.JoelandMichelleLevey,authorsof
LivinginBalanceand SimpleMeditation &Relaxation
MYSTICS,
MASTERS,
SAINTS,
and SAGES
Stories of
Enlightenment
FOREWORD BY
HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA
ROBERT ULLMAN
UDYTH REICHENBERG-ULLMAN
Conari Press
Berkeley, California
Copyright©2001byRobertUllmanandJudythReichenberg-Ullman
AllRightsReserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybeusedorreproducedinanymanner
whatsoeverwithoutwrittenpermission,exceptinthecaseofbriefquotationsincriti-
calarticlesorreviews.Forinformation,contact:ConariPress,2550NinthStreet,Suite
101,Berkeley,CA94710-2551.
ConariPressbooksaredistributedbyPublishersGroupWest.
CoverPhotography:©KamilVojnar/Photonica
CoverandBookDesign:ClaudiaSmelser
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Ullman,Robert.
Mystics,masters,saints,andsages:storiesofenlightenment /RobertUllmanand
JudythReichenberg-Ullman.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
isbn 1-57324-507-0
1.Religiousawakening. 2.Spirituallife. I.Reichenberg-Ullman,Judyth. II.Title.
B1476.U552—001
29i.4'2'o922 dc2i 2001002853
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmericaonrecycledpaper.
987654321
01 02 03 data 10
Wededicate this book toBaba HariDass
y
a silentyogiwho haspatientlyguidedand inspired us
and isa livingexampleofwhatitmeans to be liberated.

MYSTICS, MASTERS,
SAINTS, AND SAGES
Acknowledgments xi
Foreword xin
Introduction xv
1 Gautama,the Buddha (624-544 b.c.e.,Nepal)
From SufferingtoNirvana 1
2 Hui-Neng (638-713, China)
From Illiterate Woodcutter to Sixth Zen Patriarch 7
3 Yeshe Tsogyal (757-817,Tibet)
LadyoftheLotus-Born 15
4 Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273,Afghanistan)
Intoxicatedwith theBeloved 23
5 A Disciple ofthe Kabbalistic School ofAbrahamAbulafia
(1240-1291, Spain)
Kabbalah: TheSecretNames ofGod 29
6 Saint Catherine ofSiena (1347-1380, Italy)
TheBrideofChrist 37
7 Kabir (circa 1440-1518, India)
BeyondDogma toDivinity 47
8 Gendun Gyatso Palzangpo (1475-1541,Tibet)
Poems ofaMadDalaiLama 55
9 Saint John ofthe Cross (1542-1591, Spain)
TranscendingtheDarkNightoftheSoul 63
10 Hakuin (1686-1769, Japan)
FallingDown Laughing 69
11 The Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760, Eastern Europe)
TheHeavenlyHasid 77
VII
12 Baha'u'llah (1817-1892, Iran)
In Bondage, YetFree 85
13 Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836-1886, India)
TheEcstaticLoverofMotherKali 91
14 Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950, India)
JAm NottheBody, IAm theSelf 99
15 Swami (Papa) Ramdas (1884-1963, India)
andMother Krishnabai (1903-1989, India)
ThereIs OnlyRam (God) ' 107
16 ParamahansaYogananda (1893-1952, India)
BringingCosmicConsciousness to the West 113
17 Meher Baba (1894-1969, India)
The UniversalLoveofanAvatar 123
18 Krishnamurti (1895-1986, India)
JAm GodIntoxicated 133
19 Franklin Merrell-Wolff(1897-1985,United States)
Pathways Through to Space 139
20 Peace Pilgrim (Early1900S-1981, United States)
WalkingforWorldPeace 147
21 Gopi Krishna (1908-1984, India)
TheAwakeningoftheKundalini 155
22 Lester Levenson (1909-1994,United States)
Releasingfor UltimateFreedom 163
23 Jean Klein (Circa1916-1998, Czechoslovakia)
From Individual toImpersonal 175
24 Ramesh Balsekar (1919-present, India
)
ItHad toHappen 185
25 RobertAdams (1928-1997, United States)
TheSilenceoftheHeart 191
VIII CONTENTS