Customer Reviews

Wings to Freedom

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book ranks right up there with the spiritual classic - "The Autobiography of a Yogi". Yogiraji Gurunath Siddhanath presents a life story that is one of a kind. His book will take readers on their own "wings of freedom" to places within themselves; inspirational, entertaining, thought provoking, and at times, it feels like a voice from the universe itself!

There are few, if any, books out there by yoga masters that have this much knowledge and wisdom. If one is looking for a path, or has their own spiritual practices now - this book will influence and enhance your own spiritual journey. The truths written in this book are transforming for those who are ready to hear this message.

Of course, the stories about Babaji just adds so much more value to the book. I fully recommend this book to all truth seeking souls and thirsty hearts!

This book has been given the highest award possible from "The American Authors Association" - The Founder's Award for 2008!

Wings to Freedom is a spiritual masterpiece that takes over pretty much were Paramahansa Yogananda left off with regard to Autobiography of a Yogi. Yogiraj has an excellent command of the English language and uses that command to delve deeply into the more esoteric layers of yogihood, kriya yoga and the Hindu process. Master Yogiraj uses a much more colloquial tone (when compared to Yogananda) coupled with a feisty, wry sense of humor to inform his students.

While the depth and richness of this book was at times breathtaking, a few minor points need fleshed out. Master insists on using many words from his native language to help make and/or clarify subjects, which for this reader was a bit arduous. Lastly, I think the book could have been laid out a bit better. Sometimes while discussing a particular subject, Master would move suddenly to another discussion only to back track to the original discussion and then maybe a brief meander to an aforementioned concept. All-n-all a wonderful read, I hope to attend one of Master's satsangs one day. 5 stars for the content, 3 & 1/2 for the presentation - over all 4 stars from me today!

This book is profound. It gives the reader an inner view of Beings and realms far beyond our comprehension. The book is a road map for the spiritual evolution of the soul.

Wonderful book.

Our world desperately needs the guidance of True Masters, and how rare they seem to be! For the western mind, it may be difficult to open to the realms beyond the material; those who venture into the spiritual mysteries can attest to the many pitfalls encountered along the way. Who can we count on to guide us? So many teachers have tried and often unwittingly led seekers into confusion. And so many of us have given up hope when finding ourselves at a dead end. We become cynical and resigned to a particularly bitter brand of loneliness and despair. But this book gives the reader an experience of Truth. It is a rare gem, written by a bonafide Master, who shares with us his direct experience of the Divine. Gurunath transports us to that place where sufferers are comforted, where confusion is dispelled, and where we know we are all one regardless of cultural or religious differences. Reassure yourself that there are real Masters working to help humanity, and Gurunath is among them.

Yogiraj's book is clearly within the mainstream of Indian Samadi experience. The complaints that are raised how there are so many unidentified sanscrit names used without explanation only serve to illustrate the high state of Bliss that Yogiraj was in when he wrote it. This masterful attempt to transmit the state that he was in depends on an reader that understands the nature of the bliss experience. It is very hard to tell another person how an apple tastes without giving them a apple to eat. After the apple is eaten and others like it, you can really make comparisons about the acidity enhancing the earthy sweetness, etc.

This book compares favorably to Yogananda's 'Autobiography of a Yogi', and has the same underlying transmission of energy (shaktipat). I titled this response 'A Block of Shakti' to illustrate that transmission. The picture on the front cover shows Yogiraj in that state of freedom. He cannot leave that state even when he is writing. Whatever comes out, comes out, as he says in the book.
When you read this book, you should pay attention to your inner feelings, not so much to what your mind is saying.

i love it,, as some other reviewers stated there is some ego on the authors part,,, but then again, he is discribing something exciting as well, for those who have inner eyes to see and inner ears to hear you may find your next stepping stone to guide you through infinity,,,, a few pargraphs are priceless to me, but then again I am some one who can see auric energy, so i have questians most others would not think of.....soooooo for the author to answer those questians in a general format like that,,, the author is genuine

I watched a number of videos by Yogi raj and was very impressed by his knowledge and understanding of the gurus and his ability to transpose the various key aspects of religions and to find a common ground and explain the universality of all of them.

But this but falls much short of my expectations, there are some pages that are brilliant however some that really fell short of my expectations.

I expected a book of a caliber of "Autobiodraphy of a Yogi" however this fell well short of it. But I am still very intereted in Yogiraj and think he is a realized soud but that does not shine in this book...maybe it was ghost written.

I bought this book so I can refer to it later on, but my first recommendation is to download the mp3 files. Gurunath himself speaks in the audiobook and thus give you more of an experiential study.

I enjoyed this book - the cover's mountain scenery, a review of raja yoga, and the rendering of experience to poetry. But many chapters close with boasting, hardly contained. And that contradicts the overall message, surrender of ego to embrace the divine. Then there was the author's YouTube statement that Babaji is "der feurer" which is to say "the leader." But why that choice of words? Freudian slip? A cultural thing? Is it that the Indian culture is more deferential to authority than the American? What seems harsh or even wacko to me, might be nothing to someone else.

I haven't been impressed with the writings of Hindu ascetics. Like Yogananda and countless other swami's who have spent considerable time isolated in the mountains practicing severe austerities, Yogiraj has a self absorbed writing style. This book is full is full of Hindu words for almost every conceivable hand position and state of mind, the writer refuses to use the corresponding English word because he believes the Hindu is more "Subtle" or "complete." It's this sort of pretension that first turned me off to the Hindu ascetics, who seem to absorbed with the esoteric words and corresponding rituals to glean any insight from their practice.

Yogiraj begins his ascent by contemplating whether or not Babji was the supreme avatar or whatever, it was then when he receives some enlightenment. How can that be a theologically valuable contemplation? It isn't the hierarchical state (i.e. saint, prophet, beautified, etc.) of a given religious figure that matters but their actions in life and meaning in them. We witness many miracles in this book and so called "insights" like visions of Babaji and so on.

It seems that the only quality that makes Babaji a saint is that he can appear anywhere and is "full of love" or a phrase like that -- or perhaps a more "subtle and complete" esoteric Hindu phrase -- which is never fully qualified in the book. He throws around words like "holy," "grace," and "love" without defining them and seeing the light of what they really mean. This guy has the spiritual depth of a thesaurus.

I gave this two stars in respect of those who follow this Hindu tradition (though I've talked to many Hindu's who find these guys as spiritually barren as I do). For fans of religious and spiritual books, check out Thomas Merton's "Seven Story Mountain" -- a powerful and beautiful autobiography, "Conversations With God" -- cheesy but good, or heck "Catcher in the Rye" and "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." Enjoy!