"East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet" might have been true in Kipling's day, but in a matter of a few decades East and West have become closer than Kipling could have ever imagined. Part of the reason for this is unique individuals whose lives bridge both cultures. One of these extraordinary people is John Harricharan.

Born to East Indian parents in Guyana, South America, in a village with the unlikely name of "Bush Lot," Harricharan distinguished himself by winning scholarships, first under the British school system and then in the United States. He became a self-made millionaire by the time he was in his thirties, but he was to know both luxury and hardship. The dissolution of his financial empire is chronicled in his first book, When You Can Walk on Water, Take the Boat, which rather than being a story of loss and sadness, is an inspiring tale of courage and strength.

His second book, Morning Has Been All Night Coming, begins with the death of his beloved wife Mardai, and follows his efforts to care for his two children and rebuild his life from its lowest ebb.

I have been friends with John for a number of years, during which his faith and perseverance have frequently amazed me. While dealing with his own struggles, he has always given help and encouragement to everyone around him. To me he represents the best of the mystical East and pragmatic West, and I was delighted to have an opportunity to ask him some questions about his work.
--Carol Kramer

Body, Mind & Spirit: There are a lot of people writing metaphysical books these days who claim to have real time/space relationships with mysterious teachers. There are so many, in fact, that readers are beginning to seriously question the truth of these stories. You have called your books "parables." What do you mean by that exactly?

John Harricharan: Actually, my books are "extended allegories" or stories that illustrate spiritual principles. These stories are a result of the human experience and, therefore, of necessity, reflect a part of my personal experience. One question asked most by readers of my books is, "Is it true?" The answer to this question was given in the introduction to my first book. I ask the age-old question, "What is truth?" I imagine that at some level my books do become "living parables" and convey a timeless message.

Spirit: Then who is Gideon?

Harricharan: You are, of course, referring to one of the main characters in the books. Gideon represents that other, higher aspect of ourselves. He symbolizes the Teacher Within. Some may prefer to refer to him as an angel, a guide, or an advanced Master. I think that Gideon is our true potential reaching out to show us our true selves.

Spirit: Do you teach, lecture or write from a particular religious tradition? What is your personal spiritual training?

Harricharan: Naturally, one's upbringing and traditions play a great part in one's life and so, yes, I am influenced by religious traditions, but no particular one. Born to Hindu parents in a small village of Christians, Hindus, Moslems and others, I quickly learned the benefits of tolerance toward all religious philosophies and beliefs. I later became a Christian and found that the Bible was perhaps the greatest "Manual of Life" ever written. Yet, I never forgot the beauty, truth and wisdom contained in the ancient Vedic writings, the Upanishad, the Koran and others. They all seemed to point the way to the mountaintop.

I spent time with advanced yogis, swamis, and masters of the Far East as well as with Western teachers and saints. From them, I learned much and was able to blend their wisdom into an extremely practical method for living. Then, too, I learned from the trees and the sky, the oceans and the wind, the fisherman and the farmer, and certainly from my experiences in various lands and cultures. I was fortunate in this respect, but I discovered at an early age that one does not need any special spiritual training, only an open mind and the willingness to learn from all that surrounds us. It is my firm belief that no institution, no government, no anything is more important than the humane treatment of one human being by another.

Spirit: Your background also includes a summa cum laude degree in chemistry and mathematics, an MBA, and Fortune 500 company experience. You are entrepreneur, poet, teacher, author, parent, business consultant, philosopher - do you find yourself in conflict sometimes in trying to fill all of these roles?

Harricharan: Each is a part of what I am. My background and training work together in harmony to produce the concert which is me - a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. The conflicts I experience are actually the conflicts of everyone else - how to deal with one's own fears and doubts, how to stay centered and achieve balance in body, mind, and spirit. It is an ongoing task.

Spirit: Speaking of tasks, your books are very different from the happy-all-the-time New Age-type of message in that you recount your own struggles very openly. How do you respond to those who criticize the problems you encounter as some kind of spiritual defect?

Harricharan: I am glad you asked this question. My life has been a mixture of glorious successes and heartbreaking losses. There were times of great affluence followed by extreme scarcity. There was a fairy-tale marriage to the princess of my dreams only to be followed by her brave battle and subsequent death from cancer. I believe that we all choose our experiences at a deep subconscious level for purposes even we may not fully understand. And thus, there are adversities and triumphs, tears and laughter in what can truly be called the human experience.

Some, looking from the sidelines of their own perspective, tend to judge from the "physician, heal thyself" syndrome. Still others ask, "If you are so spiritually advanced, how come you have suffered so greatly? If you have lost so much, how can you teach prosperity?" And then there were those who, like Job's friends, thought of my situation as a "spiritual defect." Yet, I always felt that there was a deeper meaning, a far "diviner" plan than I was able to see as I was experiencing it. And so, rather than reacting to criticisms, I responded to the truth as I knew it. I developed a close relationship with my God and an overwhelming compassion and love for my other, less fortunate brothers and sisters of this world.

I studied the lives of great leaders and teachers and I found that their gifts to our world were not in spite of the hardships they suffered but precisely because of their experiences. Perhaps I chose this way so that, instead of just "talking the talk," I could say I also "walked the walk," It has given me the ability to help my fellow human beings by showing them that if we keep on keeping on, and we do not let anyone steal our dreams, we will be victorious, we will overcome, and the vale of tears will finally lead through the darkness of fear and doubt into the brilliance of the mountains of light.

Spirit: How do you deal with your own doubts and fears?

Harricharan: Our worst enemies are the twin battalions of doubt and fear. Each one has his or her special fears and doubts lurking within, ready to pounce at a weak moment. How do I handle this pair? I face them. It was written,"Face the thing you fear and it will flee from you." I realized a long time ago that it isn't the thing we fear that causes us the most problems, but our thoughts about the thing we fear.

Spirit: I've seen you help a lot of people in ways that might seem miraculous, yet to them often appear to be "lucky coincidence." How would you define a miracle?

Harricharan: I think that what we refer to as miracles are actually the result of Universal Law and Principles. Because we do not understand the workings of the "Law," we refer to the result as a miracle. To the natives of a lost tribe in the remote reaches of the Amazon, a television or radio would be a miracle. Today we have what we call "miracle" drugs which seem ordinary to us. As we become more aware of spiritual laws and as we understand how to use them, we will, as Emerson said, "Live with the license of a higher order of being." We will then create effects around us that might appear miraculous to some. Know what the magician knows and it is no longer magic.

Spirit: Your intuitive insights are remarkable in their precise grasp of a situation with little more than a name for you to go by. Can you explain the process you use?

Harricharan: It is no special gift that I have. We are all heirs to limitless abilities. If we use those abilities and we practice constantly we will become experts at what we do. I have been called a "Pragmatic Mystic, and I do feel that description comes closest to what I am. I simply use my intuition and trust it. The more I trust and the more I practice, the better I get. It's like anything else - the more you do it the better you get.

Spirit: A number of people have commented to me on your charisma and the enormous spiritual presence you project. What are your personal spiritual practices or meditation techniques?

Harricharan: For me, prayer and meditation are a way of life. Not the type, of course, where one sits in a church and formally prays for hours, nor even the kind where one sits in the lotus pose and "OMs" away every day. Mine is more informal and spontaneous - like breathing. I have a very private, personal relationship with my God and I find that when I am aware of this relationship, I am happy, fulfilled and peaceful. When I permit appearances in the outer world to shake my confidence in myself and my God, I start losing balance and must seek immediately to come back to center.

Spirit: Is that what you are essentially trying to teach or do for others?

Harricharan: I am, above all else, a "bearer of hope." I do not seek to teach anything that has not been taught before. I prefer not to just "do for others" but to help them and teach them to "do for themselves." I try to do this by example, living what I believe and expressing compassion, joy, peace and the other fruits of love in a spontaneous manner. I feel that my mission here on earth is to live life gloriously to the fullest. It is my firm belief that all people are shipmates on the common voyage of life and one cannot sink one's shipmates without sinking oneself.

Spirit: The last chapter of your new book, Morning Has Been All Night Coming, is profoundly moving, I would even say cathartic. What were you experiencing as you were writing it?

Harricharan:It was a case of the message and the messenger becoming one. At some level, I suppose, an aspect of myself was experiencing the events being chronicled by my writing self. Writing the last chapter was certainly one of the most exhilarating experiences I have had. For a moment in time I was able to catch a glimpse of what may be called the larger picture. Those feelings are still with me today. In moments of great turmoil I close my eyes and go back to that time and gather strength and courage to keep on keeping on. I trust it has the same affect on my readers.

Spirit: Are you planning other books?

Harricharan: There are some things which must be accomplished before other books are written. I always intended a trilogy. Following When You Can Walk on Water, Take the Boat, and Morning Has Been All Night Coming, there will be a third and final volume. And then, who knows? I hardly ever plan my writing. I start the process and the books write themselves. I, too, am curious to find out what will be in the next book or books!