Book

The attractive boxed calligraphic case housing this weighty two-volume biography feels like it might contain a stash of gold bars. However Dinatarine devi’s elaborate 1000+ page chronicle of Yamuna devi’s life is even more valuable than gold. From the charming account of her birth as Joan Campanella in a remote Montana mining town to the poignant details of her saintly demise, this story of a rare devotee who unswervingly imbibed and promulgated ancient India’s revered bhakti yoga tradition amidst modern society is a compelling and life-changing read.

Indeed, the exquisitely crafted pages of this masterful work embellished with filigree and artistic border designs presents much more than insightful memoirs from Yamuna devi’s personal journals, recollections of friends and family, as well as an expert narrative of her sanctified journey, for this colorful composition also captures a magical slice in time from America’s cultural revolution when youthful seekers were searching for genuine spiritual gurus and philosophy. Initiated on March 7, 1967 in San Francisco by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Yamuna not only grew up in the newly formed International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) but also catalyzed significant media and popular exposure for the fledgling Hare Krishna Movement through lead recordings with George Harrison at Apple Studios, key meetings with international dignitaries such as Indira Gandhi and her award-winning vegetarian cookbooks.

Since Yamuna was a very dear disciple of Swami Prabhupada, this book offers priceless vignettes of both herself and her charismatic Guru, along with an enchanted band of starry-eyed spiritual revolutionaries who inaugurated a worldwide explosion of love and devotion for the Supreme Lord Krishna. It also portrays the amazing disparity between a woman of bold conviction who pioneered the infrastructure for Swami Prabhupada’s Bhakti Yoga sect amidst male-centric societies, both in India and the West. Although Yamuna endured endless physical and mental austerities during her travels throughout India, her greatest triumph was to maintain full surrender to her guru while simultaneously managing challenging projects amidst extreme social pressure from her male-bodied peers. What emerges is victory over seemingly insurmountable odds, crowned by glorious forgiveness of and selfless love for the very ones who tried to sabotage her divine odyssey.

This excellent personal history depicts the depth of Yamuna’s devi’s soulful absorption in the loving mellows of devotion juxtaposed against her adroit interactions amidst contemporary society. Even though never ordained as an initiating guru herself, it is obvious that she was a beloved teacher and guide for countless persons of diverse ages, genders and dispositions throughout the globe.

Yamuna’s blessed legacy lives on at:

www.unalloyed.org

I didn’t know Yamuna at all before designing and laying out this book. But I quickly grew to know her style, her voice, her genuine Krishna consciousness. At times I would get so intrigued learning her story that I would be reading the text to see what happened next instead of focusing on the text formatting and style application tasks I needed to do.

It is inspiring reading the personal details of her association with Srila Prabhupada and seeing her impact on so many devotees in her life. The blend of Yamuna’s words, Dinatarini’s narration, memories from so many other devotees and photos on almost every single page makes for a rich and dynamic reading experience. Not to be missed.

While reading the end of Volume 2, I couldn’t stop tearing, so much so that I had to take a break. Mother Yamuna has touched my heart in incredible ways. Just reading about her mood and service has inspired me to improve my Deity worship, start reading Srimad-Bhagavatam again, go deep into the songs of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur and also greatly forced me to think about my future days on this planet and how I wish to spend them. She was and will always remain an inspiration.

On so many levels, reading the book from start to finish, it is exactly right. Somehow the combined efforts of both Yamuna Devi’s own words and Dinataini’s writing manages to be both beautiful and practical; mystical and historical. Yamuna truly lived an incredible life.

The book made Yamuna devi accessible and human in all the ways I remember her to be, whilst at the same time incredible beyond belief and a true Vaishnavi on an incredible spiritual path. An inspiration to followers of any path.

In practical terms the book creates a harmony that that balances the story of her, by her, and about her. Yet, it was less about Yamuna Devi and more about the passions she felt through her example. I found myself appreciating Srila Prabhupada her guru, and Radha Banabehari her deities, or the joy of japa and deity worship and the process of a devotional life through her at a deeply heart felt level.

There is a tangible story, the shared history of ISKCON for instance, or her achievements with an award for her cook book and her recording with George Harrison, but it is not written to critique or glorify, but rather to establish a platform to leap and inspire the future with an understanding of the past and how to overcome and achieve on the human spiritual path.

I read the books avidly and there is an excellent balance in the chapters between establishing something to remember and moving forward in the story. The inclusion of many more voices as the books progress augments the overall story and gives it great reach.

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this deeply wonderful experience. Dina prabhu, you have written so wonderfully, so poignantly; I laughed and I cried, and so often felt embarrassed by my own lack of Krsna consciousness. So thank you Dinatarine and Yamuna prabhus, for your association and your encouragement on the path of Krsna consciousness. Hare Krsna.