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More Reviews of A DISCIPLE'S JOURNAL
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“Marie
Louise Burke was a well-to-do writer in San Francisco
when she met a Swami from India. During the following
decades she embarked on the transition from a young woman
wishing to “be a real person,” to Sister Gargi,
a highly respected monastic and literary figure in the
Hindu tradition of Vedanta. At the heart of her spiritual
unfoldment was the relationship to her Guru, Swami Ashokananda
(1893–1969). In A Disciple’s Journal,
Sister Gargi shares the intimate, little known and less
understood workings of a Guru with his disciple. What
is at stake is the transformation of the person, the spiritualization
of everyday life.
Many
lively conversations are included in accounts of her discipleship,
Swami Ashokananda’s teachings, his work in Northern
California and the devotees that gathered around him.
Probably the best way to give a flavor of this book is
to share some of the chapter titles: “Cartwheels,”
“Swinging Up to Freedom,” “Don’t
Wobble!” “Balancing on a Rail,” “Fiasco,”
and “Riches.” A rare treasure of a book. Notable
also is a companion volume, A Heart Poured Out: A
Story of Swami Ashokananda, by the same author and
publisher. Sister Gargi passed away in January 2004. Her
book Shafts of Light will also be published by
Kalpa Tree Press” |
—Light
of Consciousness |
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| “A
Disciple’s Journal: In the Company of Swami Ashokananda
by Sister Gargi (Marie Louise Burke) is the compelling
and true personal testimony of one woman’s spiritual
training during the course of two decades at the hands
of Swami Ashokananda (1893-1969), the spiritual teacher
of the Ramakrishna Order and head of the Vedanta Society
of Northern California. Sister Gargi’s journey began
in the 1950s as she learned meditation in the Hindu tradition
of Vedanta, and as she pursued her spiritual quest Sister
Gargi became a literary figure in the Vedanta movement.
Sister Gargi’s inner development, the highs and
lows of the path she followed, and the rewards of patient
dedication are all contained in this thoughtful and uplifting
account, recommended to all dedicated students of Religion,
Spirituality, and Metaphysics.” |
—Midwest
Book Review |
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| “In 1948,
Burke (also known as Sister Gargi) walked into the San
Francisco temple of the Vedanta Society of Northern California,
fell under the spell of its leader, Swami Ashokananda,
and began to seek her way according to the path of the
Ramakrishna Order of Advaita Vedanta. Here she draws upon
entries in her personal journal to chronicle her spiritual
trials as well as the ups and downs of her relationship
with Swami Ashokananda. Ashokananda’s assignment for Burke,
that she write about the revered Swami Vivkenananda’s
1890s mission in the United States, led to many of those
downs but also to Burke’s growth and her six-volume Swami
Vivekananda in the West: New Discoveries. This new
volume presents an important supplement to Burke’s biography
of Ashokananda, A Heart Poured Out, and a touching,
well-written portrait of the interaction of one student
with the guru who changed her life. This spiritual memoir
is recommended for public and academic libraries.” |
—Library
Journal |
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| Moving remembrance
of Gargi's spiritual training over two decades with Swami
Ashokananda, the leader of the Vedanta Society of Northern
California. Religious studies students and seekers of
all things spiritual will find themselves drawn to this
well-written book. |
—The
Boox Mentions, New Times Naturally |
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“When she first came to the San Francisco Vedanta Society
in late 1948, Marie Louise
Burke met the teacher who would influence and transform
every aspect of her life . . . when he asked her what
she wanted, she replied, ”I want to be a real person.”
So began the great spiritual adventure chronicled in A
Disciple’s Journal, newly published by Kalpa Tree
Press.
. . . Spanning
the twenty years of her close relationship with Swami
Ashokananda, this book affords a heretofore unprecedented
personal glimpse into the day-to-day training, in example
as much as in word, by an extraordinary spiritual teacher
who selflessly poured his heart out in service to generations
of spiritual seekers in the West. . . . A Disciple’s
Journal reveals the ways and means the author and
her gurubhais were instructed, encouraged, and goaded
to strive for the full realization of their “real person”
potentialities.
. . . With
her keen ear and memory for nuanced detail, Sister Gargi
captures the livingness of the experience of being
in the company of Swami Ashokananda as well as the immediacy
and freshness of his teachings. His words—fiery, sweet,
witty, always instructive to those who cared to listen
and reflect—emanated from the depths of his direct, illumined
perception of the highest truths of Vedanta, and ignited
in his listeners the longing for realization of their
own.
. . . Sister
Gargi has accomplished one of her finest works as a writer
by so generously and vividly welcoming her readers into
the magical, transformative company of Swami Ashokananda.” |
—MARJORIE
KEWLEY, American Vedantist (Fall 2003) |
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“A
Disciple’s Journal vividly portrays the struggles
of the earnest disciple, her self-doubts, her initial
problems as a writer, and the constant chidings, admonitions
and encouragements of her ever-affectionate father-like
guru, even as she traverses through the low and high
points of her spiritual journey.
At
the time this review was being written, the media announced
the sad news of the p assign away of Sister Gargi. We
may justifiably believe that she was chosen by God for
a specific mission on earth and she gave up the mortal
coil happily after fulfilling the assignment to her
entire satisfaction. A book which stands out from the
rest both in content and convention.” |
—Prabuddha
Bharata
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“’What can I tell you? I only did what Swami
Ashokananda asked me to do,’ Sister Gargi once
told me many years ago when I vainly sought to interview
her for an article. To those who knew her, such humility
was characteristic of this slightly built, intense woman
who not only wrote a brilliant biography of her guru,
A HEART POURED OUT, but also over a span of
several decades produced a meticulously researched published
record of Swami Vivekananda’s life in the West
that stretched over six volumes.
Also,
typically, she notes in her preface to A DISCIPLE’S
JOURNAL that she never expected this record to be
read by anyone other than ‘her doting older self.’
Fortunately for us, it is now in published form. Through
its intimate revelations, she tells us a great deal about
what it is like to be a true disciple. Sister Gargi is
painfully honest in revealing the weaknesses, fears, and
doubts that assailed her during her years of association
with Swami Ashokananada . . . But Sister Gargi seemed
to sense that with each jostling of her ego, she was growing
inwardly. Her deep affection for and complete dedication
to her teacher would never leave her. Apparently, the
Swami earned this affection through his deep concern for
her as well as for his other disciples. She notes: ‘Swami
Ashokananda’s concern for his disciples extended
to every aspect of their lives, for there was nothing
that did not bear upon their spiritual lives. He kept
his finger on our every thought and deed.’
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. . We can be grateful for the outstanding editing and
publishing effort of Dr. Shelley Brown. I am certain that
if Swami Ashokananda were alive to read this remarkable
book, he would applaud it. And, of course, Sister Gargi
would no doubt respond, ‘Well, I only did what I
thought you would ask me to do.’ (Thank you, Swami
Ashokananda!)” |
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—
Sri Sarada Society Newsletter, Spring 2004
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"All students of Swami Vivekananda and the Ramakrishna
movement have long admired Sister Gargi's meticulous six-volume
sourcebook, Swami Vivekananda in the West: New Discoveries.
Following up on the recent publication of her biography
of Swami Ashokananda, she now offers a personal account
of her twenty years as a student under Ashokananda's spiritual
guidance.
Scholars as well as
general readers will find much to savor in Gargi's very
human account of her close relationship with one of the
Ramakrishna movement's most important figures. Happily,
the volume not only reveals much about the personality
and role of the Swami, but also allows the reader to get
to know more about the remarkable life and contributions
of Sister Gargi." |
—CARL T. JACKSON, author of Vedanta for the West
and The Oriental Religions and American Thought
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| “A Disciple’s Journal is so interesting that I finished
the whole book in four days. Really wonderful! It will
be very useful as a guide for us and the devotees.” |
—SWAMI SWAHANANDA, Head of the Vedanta Society of Southern
California and author of Vedanta and Ramakrishna,
Hindu Symbology, Panchadasi, and other books
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"A Disciple's
Journal is a rich treasure of a book. Deeply inspiring
and a sheer pleasure to read, A Disciple's Journal
gives the reader entry into the rarefied domain of the
earnest spiritual seeker and the illumined teacher. This
book will be of interest to many readers,
not only for its beguiling prose but more importantly
for its universal spiritual relevance and applicability.
For the genuine spiritual seeker, this book will be profoundly
valuable." |
—PRAVRAJIKA
VRAJAPRANA, author of Vedanta: A Simple Introduction
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| “Reading
A Disciple’s Journal is like having a
ringside view of a very precious event. Most impressive
about the writing is Sister Gargi’s complete lack
of ego, being who she is! Her guru is great; but she
also stands tall beside him through all her trials.
All in all, the book is a wonderful tale of discipleship
that will be useful to anyone who is interested in spiritual
life.” |
| —SHUBHRA
CHATTERJI, Executive Director of Vikramshila Educational
Resource Society, India |
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