Rudi

This is the page description. Swami Rudrananda (Rudi) was born Albert Rudolph in New York City in 1928, the beginning of the Depression. His family lived in Brooklyn in impoverished conditions. Abandoned by his father, Rudi and his mother and two brothers worked long hours for many years just to make a subsistence living. Rudi had to quit high scho... ol to work. His first job was in a pocketbook factory. From a very early age, Rudi felt a special calling toward spirituality. He often talked about his childhood spiritual experiences, and he wrote about them in his book, Spiritual Cannibalism. In the early stages of his life, he had visions of Tibetan masters who gave him instruction. These experiences also shaped his later life. He had a great affinity for art and was one of the first people to become involved in importing Tibetan art into this country and promoting its collection and study. Rudi joined the Army at age 18. He became an instructor for the government teaching ROTC at the University of Washington in Seattle. Rudi began formally exploring spirituality around this time, going to lectures and speaking with people who had spiritual experiences. He began to develop an interest in Asian art, started collecting objects, and read many books about Tibet and China. Rudi served in the Army for 18 months. Upon his discharge from the Army, he returned to his job at the textile company where he attended night school, earned his diploma, and went to North Carolina State College. He received a degree in textile engineering. He planned to stay in the South after he graduated, but his mother became ill and he needed to return to New York. He became an engineering trainee in a textile company, but struggled with the work he was assigned and was eventually laid off. Soon after, he opened his first Asian art store in a small shop on Seventh Avenue in Greenwich Village. He began his business with a few hundred dollars he had and a small collection of sculptures he had accumulated. In 1958, Rudi met Swami Bharati Krishna ...Read More