Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji (June 2015) is a book written by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the 11th President of India and a pioneering scientist. Co-authored by Professor Arun Tiwari and published by HarperCollins India, the book describes Kalam's spiritual experiences with and reflections on Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the guru and spiritual leader of the BAPS Hindu organization. Kalam recounted the spiritual transformation he experienced during his fourteen-year association with Pramukh Swami, described the inspiration he obtained from Pramukh Swami's leadership of BAPS, and expressed his vision for a society in which science and spirituality are fused. Kalam stated that he saw in Pramukh Swami "a true embodiment of transcendence," and titled the book to reflect his belief that Pramukh Swami is gunatit, a term signifying transcendence of ephemeral qualities and the modes of nature.
Authors After training as an aeronautical engineer, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam worked at India's Defense Research and Development Organization and the Indian Space Research Organization as a rocket scientist who was responsible for India's first Satellite Launch Vehicle and India's ballistic missile systems. He was later appointed the principal scientific adviser to the government of India, with the rank of cabinet minister. In 1997, he received India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, and in 2002 he became the eleventh President of India. He is widely acknowledged as the most popular President in Indian history. Kalam had often expressed that he was proud of being an Indian Muslim. During his childhood, his father, A P Jainulabdeen, an imam in a mosque in the South Indian town of Rameshwaram, would have tea every evening with the heads of the town's main Hindu temple and Christian church and discuss local issues. Kalam wrote how this secular mindset broadened his thinking, inspiring him to seek out truth without being hindered by mundane boundaries. This helped lead him to choose Pramukh Swami, the Hindu head of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sampradaya as his guru, with whom he enjoyed a close relationship for the last fourteen years of his life. Just a month after this book was released, Kalam died of cardiac arrest on 27 July 2015 at the age of 83. The co-author of the book, Arun Tiwari, had been working under Kalam since 1982, first as a missile scientist at the Defense Research and Development Laboratory and then as the program director of a defense technology spin-off. In 1999, Tiwari co-wrote Kalam's autobiography, Wings of Fire, which has become a modern classic, selling more than a million copies in eighteen languages. Since then, Tiwari has written twelve books, with this, his latest book, having taken him about a year to write together with Kalam. Tiwari is also an adjunct professor in the School of Management Sciences, University of Hyderabad.
Background The first of eight meetings between Kalam and Pramukh Swami took place on 30 June 2001 at Gujarat Vihar in New Delhi. Kalam and Pramukh Swami struck an instant bond of friendship and spiritual rapport. Kalam commented that he was drawn to Pramukh Swami's simplicity and spiritual purity. After meeting with Pramukh Swami, Kalam reflected on Saint Thiruvalluvar's teaching that when one is burdened by an issue, sitting in the presence of great divinity will free one from these worries. He revealed that he had experienced such a feeling in the presence of Pramukh Swami. Kalam was inspired by Pramukh Swami throughout their numerous interactions. He cites one specific incident, which galvanized him to write the book. The incident occurred on the day following the terrorist attack on the Akshardham, Gandhinagar complex in September 2002. Kalam was moved by Pramukh Swami's equanimity in the aftermath of the attack. Pramukh Swami prayed for and sprinkled holy water upon the sites of all of the deceased, including the terrorists, thus displaying to the world that all human life is sacred. Kalam's resolve to write the book was further strengthened in 2005 during the inauguration of the Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi. Kalam expressed that he wrote the book in order to record his experiences and reflections on Pramukh Swami and his work, and the transformation he experienced whilst in Pramukh Swami's fellowship. The book discusses the correlation between science and spirituality. Kalam stated that he observed Pramukh Swami's life for fourteen years and worked for two years on writing the book along with co-author Professor Arun Tiwari. Tiwari described the book's central message as being centered on purity and integrity. Kalam and Tiwari discussed that they titled the book Transcendence to reflect their belief that Pramukh Swami transcends the ephemeral and the modes of nature. Tiwari, recalls, "Whatever name we thought, we were trying to match it with Pramukh Swamiji. So, we arrived at Transcendence, which is gunatit. After all, one translation of transcendence is gunatit. Somebody who is beyond guna – that is Pramukh Swamiji. So, that gunatit we translated to transcendence."
Contents The book comprises thirty-two chapters, equally divided into four major sections, and an epilogue. The first section describes Kalam's spiritual experiences with Pramukh Swami Maharaj. The second section highlights notable works of BAPS. The third section advocates for a fusion between science and spirituality, and highlights the examples of leading scientists in history who also held spiritual beliefs. The fourth section reflects on the ideals of creative leadership.
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