Enlightenment - Yudhishtara - Free Online Book

In all honesty I try not to give too much importance to personal history as this can so easily lead to wasting precious energy creating and defending images of the ego as well as trapping one's mind with rigidities that are ultimately unimportant and transitory. However, that being said, I also understand that many people have a natural curiosity about my life—especially when they first come to see me or hear what I have to say. To satisfy that curiosity, here is a thumb-nail sketch of what would be called "my life."

Born in Thessaloniki, Greece
Immigrated to USA with my parents after WW II
Educated in USA, graduating from college with a degree in chemical engineering
Worked for international chemical company, becoming president of one of its divisions
Widely read in Eastern and Western philosophies, numerous religions, and in modern science
Traveled extensively throughout the world
Studied with Olmec and Toltec people in South America
Spiritual search for the truth led me to India to meet Sri H.W.L. Poonja
With Prashanti, created two books of Poonja-ji's teachings:
The Truth Is
This: Prose and Poetry of Dancing Emptiness (a condensation of The Truth Is)
Currently offering satsang (informal spiritually oriented talks) in the Los Angeles area

I think that at some time in their lives everyone has spiritual questions and undertakes some sort of spiritual search. From the time I was a young child I was interested in these things. As a youngster in Greece I experienced first hand what it was like to live in a war ravaged country. When my parents came to the United States they had few financial resources left. In the United States, my father worked long hours at minimum wage to provide for his family - and to give me the chance to succeed. As I grew up and became more and more successful in life, I began to see that many of the people who supposedly had everything were unhappy and spiritually empty. I felt that way myself. However my search really stepped into high gear when I began to fear my own mortality.

My spiritual searching ended when I met Poonja-ji. Poonja-ji told me to stop analyzing the differences, comparing, and judging all the religions, theologies, philosophies, and cultures that I had been searching through. He told me to find the common thread that went through all of them.

The ultimate spiritual question (all other questions generally fall within the realm of skillful living) that we have to come to grips with is about our true nature. Who are we? What are we? And are we separate, distant, or different from That that created us? How we answer those questions is incredibly important and will make a difference in how we perceive life, how we proceed in life, and how we experience life.

For myself, that answer came with my unforgettable initial contact with Poonja-ji and subsequently has been confirmed within my own experiences.

Once I understood what I was and what my relationship to the Beloved was, there was no longer need for further spiritual searching. Poonja-ji was right - in the arena of the Absolute there are no students, no teachers, and no teachings. There is is-ness...and freedom!

This being said, I want to make it very clear that I am not perfect and I do not wish to be perceived as perfect. Like you, I am now occupying a human form with all of its characteristics. Just because I am sharing my experiences, knowledge, or lack of knowledge with you does not mean in any way shape or form that I have some type of “higher position” than you or that you have to attain “something” I have or am that you are not..

In your own heart, in the depths of your own being, in your own inner knowing is the magnificent beloved Mystery which I try to give voice to. Remember this, when you think the Mystery is in me—that It is fully within you too.