EknathEaswaran was a mystic of the modern times who lived amongst people, not very different from them and gave to the world an eight-point program which was called Passage Meditation.
Profile
EknathEaswaran was born on December 17th 1910 in a village in Kerala. He belonged to the family which adopted matriarchal system and here the women were very strong people. Eknath’s grandmother had a great influence on him and shaped his spiritual growth. He was schooled in his village and then went on to study in St. Thomas College in Thrissur. Here Eknath was exposed to the Christian tradition and he greatly appreciated it. He graduated in English and Law from the University of Nagpur and then joined the same university as a Professor of English Literature. After his grandmother, the greatest influence in his life was Mahatma Gandhi. The importance of Bhagavad Gita was reiterated by Gandhi and he began to take a closer look at it. Meanwhile he got married as arranged by his family but it did not last long. He had two sons in that marriage from whom he was separated. This, along with the death of Gandhi, his grandmother and even his dog shattered him and he began asking all the questions a spiritual seeker asked. He found his answers in Bhagavad Geeta and began meditating on the ideas given therein. In 1959 he moved to United States, to the University of California, Berkley as a Fulbright Scholar. From 1960 he began classes on meditation in San Francisco. He met his wife Christine in one of these classes and in his own words, “With the arrival of Christinemost of my problems were solved.” In 1961 they founded the Blue Mountain Centre of Meditation. In 1970 they acquired a 250 acre ranch in Northern California near the ocean and built an ashram and called it Ramagiri. For about four years he had to come back to India and then when he returned he took his mother along. After doing great service he died on October 26th 1999 surrounded by his wife and close friends.
Philosophy Propounded
Though a mystic he lived a householder’s life and believed that one can realise the bliss as a householder as well. He included the teachings of Christianity, Sufism and Buddhism in the practise of meditation and wrote books as well. His eight-point meditation known as Passage Meditation is his biggest contribution to the society.
Work Done to Spread the Philosophy
EknathEaswaran’s works are seen as books, audio and video tapes. His words, “This is a come-as-you-are party,” helped even the most dejected to try the meditation. Ramagiri ashram is a retreat for people to rejuvenate. Books are printed from a printing press there. The mediation program has been created for different age groups and now the reach is more with online classes as well. EknathEaswaran has assured his devotees he lives through his eight-point program.
