Urban Monk: Exploring Karma, Consciousness, and the Divine

by Gadadhara Pandit Dasa

From the hills of Hollywood to the sacred soil of India and the chic avenues of the East Village of New York City, Gadadhara Pandit Dasa has found himself at the nexus of the spiritual bridge between East and West. In Urban Monk, Pandit speaks to the loneliness, emptiness and vulnerability of our post-modern society through his remarkable journey into the life of a monk. Through his open-hearted and open-minded exploration of some of the most vital concepts of our contemporary spirituality, Pandit shares the deep wisdom of the East and its intimate and universal connection to our global experience. Urban Monk is the story of a rare and courageous soul who has timeless wisdom to share for the uncertain ways and paths of the 21st Century.

Genres: Spirituality, Religion

264 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 7, 2013

Reviews

[Nodicus]

Urban Monk is a memoir of the Hare Krishna monk Gadadhara Pandit Dasa. In the book, Pandit details his life journey and Hinduism's role in it. From having great wealth and all needs met to losing it all and renouncing the material world, Pandit's story is indeed quite unique. Though few follow the path he has, Pandit still finds himself struggling with basic problems and questions in life that we all face, making the book relatable to the reader. Though I am not religious, I still walked away with helpful advice and perspective after reading this. I also had the pleasure of meeting the man after a lecture/guided meditation he gave at my college. I found him personable and the meditation session more enjoyable than expected. It was that day that I purchased his book and I'm glad I did.

[Chandni]

I absolutely enjoyed reading this book .
Thank you Pandit dasa on spreading positivity

[Lori]

This book caught my attention because I was curious to learn more about customs and beliefs of India. As with any book of this type, I took away what I wanted to and left the rest. I cannot say I believe wholeheartedly in all of it, but I understand some of the views better than I did before and I personally find them helpful.
As a young boy, Pankaj was taught the material world is a temporary world and all they possessed would eventually be taken away. They were taught not to get overly attached to anything because this would lead to pain and suffering. Gain and loss, victory and defeat are the dichotomies of the world of matter. Everything must decay and eventually disappear.

Difficulties teach us patience, tolerance, acceptance and ultimately that we’re not in complete control of our lives. We can do everything perfectly and tings might still not go our way.
The union of the soul and the mantra is called yoga, trying to connect to the divine. Taking care of the needs of the body and ignoring the needs of the soul is like watering the leaves, fruits and flowers of the tree, but forgetting to water the actual root.

“Life is the preparation and death is the final examination.” The death rate is and always will be 100%, but the more we prepare , the better equipped we will be in dealing with the inescapable truth of the situation. Death is not a test we can cram for the night before.

[Tim]

Interesting read. I liked the explanations of Hinduism and the various types. Many thought provoking questions.

[Anne Kadet]

Straightforward and sweet.

[Maritza Plaza Leclerc]

Good

Very good and interesting book. I will definitely read it again because it has many things that people can learn from.

[Brian Goosen]

This book takes you true the true story that brought a once that a once wealthy, material minded individual into the life of worshipping Krishna as the eternal divine (Hinduism) and becoming a Monk.

Not very intellectually written but enjoyed learning a different point of view.