A More Ardent Fire: From Everyday Love to Love of God

Sri Easwaran continues the quote by Mechthild of Magdeburg (13th-Century Christian mystic), which forms the title for this book review: "...and must ever strive to return to love. Therefore, it can never find rest nor happiness in other things. It must lose itself in love" [8]. Easwaran interprets the the quote to mean: "Once we grasp the sense of these quiet statements, they can change our lives forever. They mean that being able to love fully, unconditionally, is our native state" [9]. He directs attention to Mechtthild, because she is part of a large group of mystics who Easwaran considers the best sources to teach us love and how to love rightly. However, Easwaran acknowledges that many people turn to sources with far less first-hand knowledge than the mystics to learn about love. Perhaps people turn on the television set to learn about love on a soap opera. One must wonder if this source of information "can change our lives forever" when it comes to practicing "love fully, unconditionally." The mystics, on the other hand, tell us that we could learn how to love fully and unconditionally, if only we were to connect with our true nature in God. The steps to reconnecting with God, according to Easwaran, involve a process of looking within ourselves [24]. "Far from being an otherworldly activity," speaking of the work of the mystics and of the journey within, "living in the awareness of God is the most practical goal a human being can pursue" [11]. Sometimes called inner purification, Easwaran meditates on passages from an ancient Vedic conversation, between a young warrior named Arjuna and Lord Krishna, in the 'Bhagavad Gita.' Each chapter begins with a passage, followed by the author's reflections. What a reader discovers is that Easwaran speaks from his own experience about the same foundation of human consciousness and being as revealed in the 'Gita.' Characteristic of his own love for the reader, Easwaran veers a course through treacherous waters. The danger of these waters for his course on love are evident. Sunken ships that were filled with treasures of greed and mistaken ideas about love can damage the hull unless a master mariner takes the wheel. Anticipate reading simple stories about love in this book. These stories are simple in the sense that they address immortal truths about (1) what it means to be human, (2) why human beings lose track of who they are, and (3) what human beings can do to get back on track. His experience guides readers to imagine their own lives consumed by love. In the fourth part of his collected meditations about passages from the "Gita," Easwaran lays out his 8-point path of meditation to teach how he learned to steer the course of life according to "our native state." Having recovered his own native state, he joins the choir of mystics to love fully and unconditionally. Indeed, readers may practice his suggestions and discover for themselves that their native condition will also be filled with an e

Much like his other books: gentle, humorous, succinct, and clearly written. Here, he analyzes Chapter 12 of the Bhagavad Gita where Lord Krishna explains the Way of Love (as opposed to the Way of Knowledge, which is an impersonal way to achieve union with the more abstract form of God). Both Ways will take you to God, but the Way of Love is much more practical for your everyday person to follow to eradicate self-centeredness and sense of separation. The lines from the Bhagavad Gita are beautiful, and Easwaran lingers on them, chapter by chapter. A good, thought-provoking read.

In A More Ardent Fire: From Everyday Love To Love Of God, Eknath Easwaran presents love between individuals as a training ground for developing a unified love that will lead to the changeless reality beyond time or death. Easwaran draws inspiration from the lives of lovers of God from many religions to show that it is by deepening and strengthening our capacity to love people around us that we travel the most direct route to a love of God. A More Ardent Fire is enthusiastically recommended reading for anyone seeking spiritual growth, improved personal relationships, and a closer connection with God.

If you've read Sri Easwaran in the past or are a student of his work, you're already well aquainted with the content and style of "A More Ardent Fire." In this, his last book, he uses the 20 verses of the 12th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita as jumping-off points to expand upon his method of meditation and the allied disiplines. But mainly, and most importantly, this is a book about learning how to put others first. As Easwaran says in the intro, "Love is a skill that every one of us can learn - not merely for personal enrichment, but so that deepening and strengthening our relationships becomes a sure, swift path toward making God a reality in our daily lives."Easwarn may well be the most practical spiritual teacher to ever put pen to paper. His methods will appeal to and can be practised by people from all traditions as well as those from none. For better or worse, I have read countless books on spirituality(Buddhism, Vedanta, Esoteric Christianity, etc.) and the more I read and study the more I am amazed at how comprehensive Easwaran's program really is. Though I no longer follow his method of passage meditation - having been called or led as it were to a simpler approach - I still draw heavily from this and his other works for inspiration. One can do no better for sheer practicality and applicability of the material. Other's may be more well-known or flambouyant, but Sri Easwaran was a truly unique spiritual giant and we are all lucky to have access to his wisdom. Hesitantly I would add, that while I've gained much from Easwaran's and other commentaries, I've come to believe that it's far more important to let scripture speak directly to your own heart. Find translations you enjoy and open yourself to them. Let them hit you where you are. The Gita itself says it is far better to follow one's owm dharma, calling, Ideal, than to follow another's. Or as the Buddha put it: Be a light onto yourself.