The Way of A Pilgrim

I recently bought the book "A Way of a Pilgrim" ( and it's sequel "A Pilgrim continues his Way"). What a wonderful book it is. It is an autobiography of an anonymous 33 year old Russian man who learns the art of  continuous remembrance of God.

He does this by continuously repeating in his heart, the Jesus prayer "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me". He learns how to do this from his spiritual master ("Starets") of the Greek/Eastern Orthodox church. He is asked to use a rosary initially, and advised later to repeat the prayer with every breath. With time, he discovers that the prayer repeats itself effortlessly in his heart, and he experiences the bliss of the Presence of God.

He gains inspiration in his prayer and meditation from The Philokalia, a sublime book of spiritual teachings given by Saints of the Eastern Orthodox church. These spiritual masters lived ascetic lives on Mount Athos in ancient Greece, and the teachings were compiled into a book in the 8th century. He learns the secret of "interior prayer" or direct experience of Christ/God through the guidence of his Teacher and the book.

The book is inspiring because it shows how an ordinary man transforms himself from a simple seeker into a man who experiences spiritual truth for himself. He says practice of prayer is most important- reading is good if it inspires practice.

I am still halfway through reading this book and am so glad to have discovered it. It is an inspiration for anyone wishing to learn the art of ceaseless remembrance of God.

Salutations to the great Spiritual Masters of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

I am struck by how similar their teachings are to those of all other mystical traditions. It goes to show that Truth is One. And that it cannot be bound down or constrained by any number of "isms" or "religions" or dogmas. Not by Hinduism, Buddhism, Sufism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam or Zoroastrianism. All the "isms" contain Truth in them, and the heart of the Teachings is clearly the same.

Prostrations to all the great Spiritual Teachers of all traditions who have always taught humanity the same thing- to love each other and love God. It is humans who have confused themselves with dogmas and ended up fighting in the name of religion. It is good to see that increasingly the 'different' religions are beginning to respect each other.

Hope we can all discover the secrets of "interior prayer" as the Pilgrim did. 

Hari Om Tat Sat