Volume 1, Preface

Spiritual Warrior 1: Uncovering Spiritual Truths in Psychic Phenomena consists of lectures given by His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami to a wide variety of live, radio and television audiences around the world, over a period of several years. Because the topics were originally presented in spoken form, the style is conversational and informal. In the editing process, we have modified the text to enhance readability, yet sought to preserve some of the verbal nuances that would maintain the mood of the original presentations. By so doing, we hope to create an atmosphere that literally makes you part of the audience, where you can experience the powerful presence of the speaker as he shares essential nourishment for the soul.

We would like to mention a few other stylistic considerations. In the course of his discussions, Bhakti Tirtha Swami includes perspectives from many different spiritual philosophies, however because his audiences are composed mainly of people in the Christian and Vedic traditions, he makes the most extensive references to these scriptures. At times he uses Sanskrit terminology from the Vedas, a vast body of ancient scriptures originating from the area of the world known today as India. We have translated and removed these terms wherever possible, but where the use of the terms seemed important to the point, we endeavored to explain them within the context of the discussion. Also, the end of each chapter includes a few of the many questions and answers exchanged during the original lectures. We hope that these will respond to some of the concerns that may arise in the course of your reading. These discussions between Bhakti Tirtha Swami and the audience may also give you different angles from which to view the topics presented.