Gadadhara Pandit Dasa
Conscious Living, LLC
At first glance, saffron-robed Gadadhara Pandit Dasa, a Hindu monk born in India and raised in America, appears to be the typical monastic hermit. As he regales us with the story of his journey in Urban Monk, we discover that he’s as gregarious as they come. His was a life of emotional highs and lows — a carefree childhood in India to an upper-class upbringing in California, a struggling subsistence in Bulgaria to a high-pressure job in New Jersey — which eventually led him to the doors of a monastery in New York City. With the Bhagavad Gita in hand, he embarked on a personal quest through India and back, where he finally found strength and peace of mind, and in a way, enlightenment.
In his inspiring autobiography, Pandit shares how the ancient Eastern teachings of the Gita can be woven into a modern Western lifestyle. Speaking to the spiritually-curious as well as the skeptical, he covers topics such as vegetarianism, karma, reincarnation, death, and celibacy. He describes how a life devoted to Krishna, combined with street smarts, makes him well-equipped as chaplain at Columbia University. He engages students in lively discussions about the Gita and pop culture. He teaches cooking classes to demonstrate amazingly simple vegetarian delights. In short, he makes conscious living easily attainable by anyone.
Gadadhara Pandit Dasa has taken the mystery out from behind the saffron robes; he is truly a modern monk for modern times.
Reviewed by Joni Yung, who’s been inspired to finally crack open her copy of the Bhagavad Gita and read it.
