The Goddess and the Guru

Nearly four decades ago, an intense series of spiritual visions led one of Indias top nuclear physicists, until then a religious skeptic and man of science, to walk away from his prestigious post at the heart of the countrys missile-defense complex. Retreating into the remote jungles of eastern India, he discovered the remains of a centuries-old Tantric Mother Goddess shrine and embarked on a life-altering quest to revive and expand it eventually attracting tens of thousands of followers from across India and around the globe. Part biography and part spiritual guidebook, this book chronicles the astonishing, inspiring and yet deeply human life of Dr. Nishtala Prahlada Sastry (later best known as Sri Amritananda Natha Saraswati, or simply Guruji); his triumphs and disappointments, public successes, and personal crises. In addition to Amritanandas life story, the book also offers a generous selection from his writings, lectures, ritual guides and poetry a treasure trove for those who wish to significantly deepen their spiritual practice while remaining fully engaged with the world.