Synopsis:
When asked for the essence of hospice and palliative care, renowned author, teacher, and innovator Dr. Porter Story responded, "Focus on the spiritual--that is most important." Life's Final Exam does exactly that, standing, in the words of one scholar, "at the crossroads where the wisdom of spiritual tradition meets real human need." Through essays, interviews, and spoken addresses by patients, loved ones, caregivers, medical professionals, and spiritual teachers, Giriraj Swami reviews the field of death and dying from the perspective of a tradition that has its roots in the ancient Vedas of India. "All of us can benefit from reading Life's Final Exam," Story writes. "Its contents can fuel our own spiritual search, help us better understand our brethren from the Vedic tradition, and teach us much about life's great mysteries."
About the Author:
Giriraj Swami was born Glenn Phillip Teton, the only son of a respected Chicago lawyer who was later appointed judge. In March of 1969, while studying at Brandeis University in Boston, he met His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), from whom, he felt, he learned more in one brief exchange than he had learned in his many years of academic education. After graduating from Brandeis cum laude, he accepted formal initiation from Srila Prabhupada and received the spiritual name Giriraj das. Giriraj quickly became a leading member of the Boston center, and he was soon given the opportunity to go to India with Srila Prabhupada and helped establish Prabhupada's mission there.
In 1972 Giriraj was appointed by Prabhupada to be president of ISKCON Bombay and trustee of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Since then, he has made many significant contributions, most notably overseeing all aspects of the development of Hare Krishna Land in Juhu, Bombay. He has directed the society's activities in Bombay, Mauritius, South Africa, Spain, Portugal, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, was instrumental in the acquisition and development of the Bhaktivedanta Ashram in Govardhan, and led the development of Bhaktivedanta Hospice and the Kirtan Ashram for women in Vrindavan.
In the year following Srila Prabhupada's departure in 1977, Giriraj was awarded the renounced order of life and appointed president of ISKCON's board of trustees in India. He is an initiating guru in the society and an emeritus member of its Governing Body Commission.
Giriraj Swami has also taught at the Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education and continues to lecture and to give presentations at spiritual retreats and workshops around the world.
He is the author of Watering the Seed and Many Moons and is currently working on a book about Srila Prabhupada's monumental efforts in Bombay.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
