GREAT SWAN (Shambhala Dragon Editions) [Paperback]

Lex Hixon (Author)

Book Description

Series: Shambhala Dragon Editions | Publication Date: May 5, 1992

Dramatically recreates a series of delightful encounters with a great spiritual teacher.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Hixon, a disciple of both Ramakrishna's wife and his spiritual successor, provides contemporary commentary based on The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna and The Great Master . This retelling in clear contemporary English requires no background knowledge and makes accessible the ideas of a most remarkable Hindu saint who worshipped Kali, the Divine Mother, but also experienced union with Jesus, Muhammad, and Allah. Hixon claims his book "is not a conventional biography but a workbook" to provide Ramakrishna's guidance to the spiritually inclined reader of any religious tradition and to clarify the mystical path. Hixon is self-effacing: what shines through is Ramakrishna sanctity and wisdom, as well as the devotion of his disciples. Recommended for most libraries.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A remarkable portrait of a most remarkable spiritual teacher. Though little known in the West, Ramakrishna (1836-86) is generally revered in India as a direct incarnation of God, similar in some ways to Christ. Rather than write a standard biography of this Hindu mystic who embraced and, reportedly, embodied the essence of all major world religions--a biography like Richard Schiffman's Sri Ramakrishna (1989)--Hixon (Coming Home, 1978) here attempts a more daunting task: to re-create the experience of observing, over the course of years, a man who ``has attained the goal of spiritual evolution.'' To do this, the author draws on numerous eyewitness accounts of the sage, smoothly blending them into the voice of a disciple who observes his ``Master'' lecturing, conversing, playing, singing, dancing, and slipping into profound mystical ecstasies. There is no skepticism in this devotional telling but, rather, a pervasive sense of wonder and even rapture that Hixon makes concrete through tight physical detail, as in this deathbed scene: ``Ramakrishna's charming smile and the fresh white cloth around his waist shine in the flickering lamplight. His honey-colored skin, dulled by illness, seems to regain its extraordinary luster....The room is being filled with light....It is like a lightning flash, prolonged for several minutes. The pressure is unbearable....'' There is also much inspired exposition by Ramakrishna of religious principles and practices, making this account of great interest to those spiritually inclined but occasionally a tough go for those more interested in Ramakrishna's incandescent character than in his teachings. You don't have to share Hixon's conviction in order to appreciate his achievement in evoking--artfully and with considerable emotional power--what it might be like to encounter, as Ramakrishna put it, ``a human emanation of Divine Reality.'' -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; 1 edition (May 5, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087773660X
• ISBN-13: 978-0877736608
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,226,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bonding, July 28, 2000

By 

Burl Hall - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great Swan: Meetings with Ramakrishna (Paperback)

Lex Hixon's words float in the reader's mind like clear, sweet water. Hixon is not a philosopher or theologian. He is a lover. His words melt into the heart and rise one's level of awareness into a state of ecstatic bliss. Read this book and discover the Ramakrishna that Lex Hixon knew and loved. The Ramakrishna who believed all religions were ultimately guided by the same Godhead.

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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Essence of the Divine, June 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Great Swan: Meetings with Ramakrishna (Paperback)

In this amazing book, Lex Hixon takes on the formidable task of trying to anticipate questions, thoughts and feelings that a reader may have on Spiritual Development/God Realisation and makes it a part of the Encounters of Sri Ramakrishna. It does not matter whether one has heard or read of Sri Ramakrishna before, Lex Hixon makes us aware of his presence nad grace in every page of the book. A very rare and enlightening book. Like a blessing.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fragrant, May 29, 2005

By 

John (Somerset) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great Swan: Meetings with Ramakrishna (Paperback)

An extraordinary work which reveals the essence of the most recent Avatar in in a most inspiring way. This is the real thing. A tender and lovable and earthy man. ( one of his disciples once challenged him to a swearing contest). A man of true wisdom who ate and sang and danced and died in complete absorbtion in the Divine. His humour and directness stand in contrast both to the humourlessness and the fantasising of lesser teachers. Lex Hixon did a superb job.