Lee Lozowick, the spiritual son of Sri Yogi Ramsuratkumar of Tiruvannamalai, died November 16th, 2010 in his own bed in Prescott, Arizona, after a long battle with cancer. They say he died with a smile on his face.
Even though I have been fortunate over the years to meet many saints and holy people at Arunachala, there have only been two to whom I have felt a special connection. The first of these two is my own Guruji, Sri Nannagaru and the second is Lee Lozowick.
Many in Tiruvannamalai used to look forward to Lee’s regular annual visits to Arunachala, which in the last few years had to be curtailed due to Lee’s increasingly poor health. Whilst visiting Tiruvannamalai he would generally stay at his ashram ‘Triveni’ where he would make himself available at open meetings held at that facility. Lee was one of the most amusing and provocative gurus out of the many spiritual teachers visiting Arunachala.
In a famous book entitled 'Holy Madness', the writer Georg Feuerstein dedicates a chapter to Lee Lozowick, exploring his crazy wisdom guru tactics. My own experience was that whatever methods Lee Lozowick used, in personal interactions he was unfailingly kind and gentle. He has had a big impact on my life, and obviously his influence is still upon me, as I am now being inspired to write this tribute.
In 1975 Lee Lozowick was transformed by an 'event" that occurred upon waking up one morning from a night's sleep. Since then he has worked with hundreds of students and disciples in the U.S. and Europe.
He considered himself a "Western Baul," related to the itinerant tantric Baul musicians from Bengal, India. Additionally he was lead singer and lyricist for the rock band ‘Liars, Gods and Beggars’, the blues band ‘Shri ‘and the fused rock band the ‘Lee Lozowick Project’. Go to this link here:
To many an introduction to the teachings of Lee Lozowick is his book, “In the Fire”, which is a powerful look at enlightenment, ego transcendence, and the teacher-student relationship.
“The guru cuts a strange figure in the eyes of society. Indeed, the functional condition of the Divine contradicts all conventional standards. The cherished notions of the world are pointed out as delusions by the guru, and the movement towards union is declared invalid. The truth of existence is so potently simple that once you understand it, it seems totally unreasonable not to expect everyone to acknowledge your obvious grasp of the Divine process that is life. What does happen when you express this simple clarity? Not only are you not lauded, you are ostracized, vilified and attacked. The world does not take very kindly to the guru, because the awakened one is a living challenge to convention itself. The only challenge.”
[In the Fire by Lee Lozowick]
As an author he was very prolific and some of his most read books include; ‘The Only Grace is Loving God’, ‘The Alchemy of Love and Sex’, ‘Conscious Parenting’ and several volumes of poetry written to his Guru, Yogi Ramsuratkumar which communicate the essence of his teaching. His book website is at this link here and his own books are listed here:
Even though by nature he was approachable and easy going, with his devotees he demanded strong commitment and observance of structured sadhana.
In an interview with Andrew Cohen (video posted below), Lee Lozowick explains his attitude to sadhana and the results of skillful living thus::
“I am a firm believer in structure . . . I’m a firm believer in tradition, in the essence of tradition because I think that the laws of consciousness are the same now as they ever were but the world we live in is not the same as it ever was. So, I’m a firm believer in the need for a response to universal laws but not necessarily trying to recreate the old times and the old forms.
Every human being at the level of intrinsic dignity and intrinsic nobility, automatically knows how to live. If we are intelligent and educated, we know how to adjust to the circumstances that we find ourselves in. Obviously different than the circumstances fifty years ago.
So, my whole emphasis is on an instinctual search for that intrinsic dignity and that intrinsic nobility and from that, by definition, to be noble and to be dignified, is to have integrity, practice with impeccability, to live rightly and justly . . . I mean who knows how to? . . . If people don’t make an absolutely fundamental decision, an irrevocable radical decision . . . then they play around the edges . . .”
Interview with Andrew Cohen:
Or go direct to watch at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ6rG38eql8
And by way of inspiration to all of us in our sadhana and journey towards God, I complete this Tribute to Lee Lozowick, with his joyous, inspirational words:
"To ultimately "make it" in this Work of Awakening, of Transformation, you have to embrace the miraculous -- always. And that miracle is you being so much at peace with yourself that you can turn your energy towards welcoming and using the opportunities that are always falling into your lap. To embrace and devour these opportunities will make you free, happy, full of life, full of passion."
