Volume 4, Preface

The Spiritual Warrior series 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. Since 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 and maintain the mood of the original presentations. By so doing, we hope to create an atmosphere that literally makes you part of the audience so that you can experience the powerful presence of the speaker as he shares essential nourishment for the soul.

We would like to mention several other stylistic considerations. In the course of his discussions, B.T. 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 endeavored to keep many of these terms and have tried to explain them within the context of the discussion. When coming upon such terms, if one needs additional information and clarification, we invite you to consult the glossary.

However, there are some terms we would like to initially clarify:

• When His Holiness B.T. Swami refers to the one God that we all know of, he uses different terminologies. Sometimes he says the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Mother-Father God, or Krishna.

• He often uses the word “devotees.” He is drawing attention to those spiritualists who are connected to the Vedic tradition as well as to all aspiring spiritualists who are embarking on the spiritual journey.

• He also uses the term “nine-fold process”, which refers to various activities that a person engages in during his or her spiritual practices of devotion to God, such as hearing about the Lord, speaking about Him, remembering Him, praying to Him, serving Him, fully surrendering, and so on.

Furthermore, the end of each chapter includes many of the questions and answers exchanged during the original lectures. We hope that these will respond to some of the concerns that arise during 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.