'Global Face of Indian Spirituality'
Times of India, news article, Bombay edition, 2nd October 2002. Times News Network.
NEW DELHI: Roy Eugene Davis, an American kriya yogi and direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, is in India to hold a series of lectures on meditation, yoga and holistic living. Organised jointly by the Times Foundation and the Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd. (MLBD), the lectures will be held in New Delhi, Pune, Bombay and Bangalore.
Davis' guru, Paramahansa Yogananda, brought Indian spirituality international popularity with his classic 'Autobiography of a Yogi. He was once hailed as the 'greatest realised master of teh 20th century.' In 1925, Yogananda set up a centre in Los Angeles, California, where he lived and taught for three decades. It was here that Davis, like many other young people attracted by his autobiography, met him.
"Yogananda accepted me as a disciple and initiated me into kriya yoga, which is largely based on the second chapter of Patanjali's Yoga sutras. Over the next couple of years, I got the benefit of personal instruction from him," says Davis, describing their relationship as a father-son one. Davis soon began teaching kriya yoga and set up his Centre for Spiritual Awareness in 1973.
In the half century since Yogananda's demise, Roy Eugene Davis has continued to teach yoga exactly the way his guru used to. "This parth is realy for the serious spiritual pratitioner. Even though relaxation and relief from stress are the natural outcome of meditation, the actual goal is to remove the layers of acumulated conditioning and reveal our true Self," says he.
Davis has been teaching Indian spirituality to Westerners for almost fifty years. Are there any issues that crop up due to cultural differences? "Most people who come to learn from me are serious students. They study the texts and practice diligently. But when it comes to accepting the guru unconditionally, many Westerners have a strong sense of individualism. That I think is a major cultural difference," he says.
This is Davis' sixth visti ti India. Many of his books, such as A Master Guide to Meditation, The Path of Light, The Eternal Way, among others, are published here by MLBD. Apart from the lectures, Roy Davis will also be signing his books at select outlets in the country.
In New Delhi, Roy Davis will hold lectures from October 2 to 7. For further details, contact MLBD at 3932747, 3974826, 3918335.