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The Ochre Robe: An Autobiography
Ross-Erikson Publishers Inc.,U.S., Santa Barbara, CA, 1980. Paperback
300 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1980
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About the author
Agehananda Bharati
20 books5 followersSwāmī Agehānanda Bhāratī (अगेहानन्द भारती) was the monastic name of Leopold Fischer, professor of Anthropology at Syracuse University for over 30 years. He was an academic Sanskritist, a writer on religious subjects, and a Hindu monk in the Dasanami Sannyasi order.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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February 13, 2016fantastic book. If people read this book before other yoga books the world would be a better place.
March 2, 2022
What a brilliant work! Should be called 'hot takes' of a monk! As therapeutic as Yoga and Vedanta are, Indians do not have philosophy. Punjabis don't think hard enough. Freud is damn right about a whole lot of things. Vivekananda ruined the religion. Indians lack Critical Thinking. Vegetarianism has nothing to do with Hinduism. MN Roy, the Communist thinks a lot like Shankara. Indians have a knack for hero-worship; it is to be expected from them to love Hitler. Never ever teach Yoga students about God or his nature-- just teach them about meditation they'll discover God if they can. Sanskrit is essential to learn Vedanta. The South in a way preserves Sanskritic culture by not being prudish.
May 3, 2021
Fantastic read - I don't know if it's me, the author, or the subject, but this book felt like it was remarkable paced - I would've read it cover to cover in a single sitting if I didn't have anything else to do. I'm giving it 5 stars for this reason if not for anything else.
The author is comes across as being extremely opinionated - his concepts of "hindu renaissance", "puritanical infiltration", "aesthetic claims" etc., are extremely interesting (reading it as a "Hindu man" of the 21st century), but most of these, I'm afraid, haven't really stood the test of time.
He seems very frantically to try to create an archetype of the "renaissance hindu man" who, owing to his feelings of inferiority (possibly from centuries of invasions, as posited by the author in a later chapter), tries to reinvent Hinduism but chooses to do so in a manner that reeks more of christianity than Hinduism, all the while resorting to secondary english language sources as his sources to the faith. The author seems to be extremely critical of most modern "gurus", who he disdainfully refers to as "hindu apologists", and this includes Swami Vivekananda, Aurobindo, etc. I understand how, in context of the mid-20th century such an archetype might've sounded convincing. There is merit in his criticism of the lack of dependence on primary Sanskrit/Indian language sources, which have been replaced by English translations of often dubious authenticity. But his criticism does not buy us much more than that - the hindu faith is constantly evolving in it's interpretations and presentations, so I'm not as worried as he himself seems to be in this book about the emergence of this archetype. The archetype itself has aspects both that have stood the test of time and those that have not, adding some credence to an opinion that it might not be an archetype at all (Disclaimer: I'm no Jungian expert).
He also uses his disdain for this archetype to make a strong case for Tantra, but that's an argument I did not really find very convincing (or "interesting", to put it in the author's own words).
That being said, the book offers several instances of genuine, critical wisdom that would be very interesting for any one interested in Indian philosophy, not just Hindu religion. Descriptions of his personal life are extremely humorous and are very engaging.
Unlike another review in this forum, I would recommend reading this book AFTER gaining a considerably strong footing in the basics of Vedanta. The reason for this is that it takes some amount of background to observe that the author is extremely opinionated and the book can therefore definitely not serve as anybody's introduction to Indian thought.
The author is comes across as being extremely opinionated - his concepts of "hindu renaissance", "puritanical infiltration", "aesthetic claims" etc., are extremely interesting (reading it as a "Hindu man" of the 21st century), but most of these, I'm afraid, haven't really stood the test of time.
He seems very frantically to try to create an archetype of the "renaissance hindu man" who, owing to his feelings of inferiority (possibly from centuries of invasions, as posited by the author in a later chapter), tries to reinvent Hinduism but chooses to do so in a manner that reeks more of christianity than Hinduism, all the while resorting to secondary english language sources as his sources to the faith. The author seems to be extremely critical of most modern "gurus", who he disdainfully refers to as "hindu apologists", and this includes Swami Vivekananda, Aurobindo, etc. I understand how, in context of the mid-20th century such an archetype might've sounded convincing. There is merit in his criticism of the lack of dependence on primary Sanskrit/Indian language sources, which have been replaced by English translations of often dubious authenticity. But his criticism does not buy us much more than that - the hindu faith is constantly evolving in it's interpretations and presentations, so I'm not as worried as he himself seems to be in this book about the emergence of this archetype. The archetype itself has aspects both that have stood the test of time and those that have not, adding some credence to an opinion that it might not be an archetype at all (Disclaimer: I'm no Jungian expert).
He also uses his disdain for this archetype to make a strong case for Tantra, but that's an argument I did not really find very convincing (or "interesting", to put it in the author's own words).
That being said, the book offers several instances of genuine, critical wisdom that would be very interesting for any one interested in Indian philosophy, not just Hindu religion. Descriptions of his personal life are extremely humorous and are very engaging.
Unlike another review in this forum, I would recommend reading this book AFTER gaining a considerably strong footing in the basics of Vedanta. The reason for this is that it takes some amount of background to observe that the author is extremely opinionated and the book can therefore definitely not serve as anybody's introduction to Indian thought.
March 30, 2023
I read this Autobiography some 35 years back; it has left an indelible mark in my memory. He must be a remarkable Aatma [soul] to obtain The Mother Goddess' vision while he was walking from Kaasi towards Sringeri. He has recorded this in his "Ochre Robe". I cannot write anything more about this book other than recording my respects to the (Late) Swami Agehananda Bharati.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews