Goddess and the Guru: A Spiritual Biography of Sri Amritananda Natha Saraswati

468 Pages·2017·19.38 MB·English

by  Michael M. Bowden

Praise for The Goddess and the Guru “Any serious seeker
after truth will find in Amritananda’s story a wonderful
example of just how vivid life can become when you enter
into a real relationship with the Divine.”—Dr. Robert
Svoboda, author of Aghora: At the Left Hand of God and a
dozen other books “In The Goddess and the Guru,
Bowden has brought forth a work that is a joy to read,
whose wisdom calls for more than a single reading...So read
it again and again: You will find yourself traversing many
dimensions with ease and in wonder.” —Professor Ambika
Talwar, Cypress College, author of Poems in Color and In
the Folds of Your Sari “Just as an ocean cannot be held in
one’s palm, a life cannot be fully contained in a book. But
what readers of The Goddess and the Guru will glean is an
experience—even if only for a short while—of what this
particular ocean truly felt like. And that glimpse can
become the prod, the catalyst, by which they might carry
their individual sadhana forward.”—Anantalakshmi
Pisipati, eldest daughter of Sri Amritananda Natha
Saraswati “Here we find the life and legacy of a spiritual
innovator—and nuclear scientist, no less—whose existence
was as Goddess-filled as it was insistently human, a case
study in sacred wonder carved by the challenges of everyday
life. A page-turning gem of a book.”—Corinne Dempsey,
author of The Goddess Lives in Upstate New York “The
Goddess tradition lives and breathes in Michael Bowden’s
riveting account of Dr. Prahlada Sastry (Sri Amritananda
Natha Saraswati, or Guruji), a pioneering physicist who
passionately engaged the provocative goddess of India’s Sri
Vidya tradition. A must-read for explorers of Tantra,
mysticism, and the feminine divine.”—Linda Johnsen,
author of The Living Goddess, Daughters of the Goddess
and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Hinduism “An
important book if you’re interested in authentic Tantra,
especially ´Srīvidyā ´Sākta Tantra.”—Christopher
Hareesh Wallis, author of Tantra Illuminated and The
Recognition Sutras “Guruji was an unusual personality,
able to mask what he was to perfection. Nobody would ever
begin to suspect what he was. I think he eventually became
the human face of the Goddess, so that everyone who met
him had an experience of Her. I am happy that his journey
and his wisdom have been collected and shared in The
Goddess and the Guru for the benefit of all. The world has
rarely known his like.”—Wijayaharan Aiya, founder and
head priest of Sri Rajarajeshwari Peetam, Rochester, New
York “Pay close attention: The Goddess and the Guru has
the potential to realign your world.”—Roxanne Kamayani
Gupta, Ph.D., author of The Yogini’s Mirror “Riveting
storytelling and revolutionary teachings…on the miraculous
possibilities that open up when we bring our spiritual and
worldly lives together.”—Sarah Tomlinson, author of Nine
Designs for Inner Peace “Not since Yogananda’s
Autobiography of a Yogi have we had such an intimate
look into the making of a spiritual master and teacher.
More than mere biography, The Goddess and the Guru is a
reflection of us all…tracing not just how and what we
practice, but what leads us to practice.”—Maya Devi
Georg, founder and editor of Brahmaloka or Bust
The Goddess and the Guru
The Goddess and the Guru
A Spiritual Biography of Sri Amritananda Natha Saraswati
~
 Michael M. Bowden 
The Goddess and the Guru
A Spiritual Biography of Sri Amritananda Natha Saraswati Text © 2017 by Michael M. Bowden Photos ©
by Michael M. Bowden unless otherwise indicated. Other photos © the listed creators.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations in critical articles and reviews.
45th Parallel Press P.O. BOX 9551
PROVIDENCE, RI 02940
Cover design by Darinka Aguirre and Jeff Werner Front cover photo © 2015 Julianne Reynolds Back cover
photo © 2014 Oleg Zinkovetsky Interior design and typesetting by Jeff Werner Copy-editing by Amy
Haagsma
Proofreading by Hazel Boydell
Indexing by Sheilagh and Elspeth Simpson Publisher’s Cataloging-In-Publication Data
(Prepared by The Donohue Group, Inc.) Names: Bowden, Michael M.
Title: The goddess and the guru. [Volume 1], A spiritual biography of Sri Amritananda Natha Saraswati /
Michael M. Bowden.
Other Titles: Spiritual biography of Sri Amritananda Natha Saraswati Description: Charlotte, Maine : 45th
Parallel Press, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: ISBN 978-0-9979466-0-4 (paperback) | ISBN 978-0-9979466-4-2 (international paperback) |
ISBN 978-0-9979466-3-5 (hardcover) | ISBN 978-0-9979466-1-1 (ePub) | ISBN 978-0-9979466-2-8
(Mobipocket) Subjects: LCSH: Saraswati, Amritananda Natha, Sri. | Gurus--India--Biography. |
Physicists--India--Biography. | Hindu goddesses. | Spiritual life--Hinduism. | Tantrism. | LCGFT:
Biographies.
Classification: LCC BL1175.S37 B69 2017 (print) | LCC BL1175.S37 (ebook) | DDC 294.5092--dc23
e-book edition v1.0
For Guruji