The Light of the Self

A Memoir of a Spiritual Awakening

By: Kenneth Rose Ph.D.

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

"A great spiritual autobiography, a worthy companion to books like The Seven Storey Mountain and the Autobiography of a Yogi. The book is so vividly and poetically written that I felt as if I was reading a kind of spiritual ‘On the Road.’ It sits well with Kenneth Rose's scholarly work on mysticism, as it contains so many beautiful descriptions of his own mystical experiences. I hope that the book gains the wide readership it deserves." Steve Taylor PhD. author of The Leap and The Calm Center.

" . . . will resonate with readers who are interested in and struggle with the search for divinity . . . . fans of Thomas Merton and Alan Watts might enjoy Rose’s tussle with multiple religious traditions and intense spiritual episodes"—Publishers Weekly

Dr. Kenneth Rose is a rare bridge between the rigorous world of Ivy League academia and the raw, unpredictable path of the global spiritual seeker.

With an M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School and a Ph.D. in the Study of Religion from Harvard University, Dr. Rose spent thirty years teaching philosophy and religion at the university level. A former Fellow at Harvard’s Center for the Study of World Religions, his scholarly depth earned him a $215,000 Templeton Foundation grant to develop the "Wisdom from World Religions" curriculum.

However, Kenneth’s most profound lessons didn’t come from the library.

Impelled by a sudden spiritual awakening at age nineteen, he spent fifty years zigzagging across three continents. His journey took him through Hare Krishna ashrams, fundamentalist Bible colleges, and silent Catholic monasteries, eventually leading to a decisive audience with the Dalai Lama and the radical non-dual teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi amd Papaji in India.

In his acclaimed spiritual memoir, The Light of the Self, Dr. Rose discards the persona of the "expert who has arrived." Instead, he writes as a fellow traveler, offering what Steve Taylor PhD calls a "spiritual On the Road"—a wrenching, honest, and poetically written account of the struggle to find an ultimate path among the world’s great traditions.

Today, Kenneth continues to explore the "tussle" with divinity, helping a new generation of seekers navigate the space between scholarly inquiry and mystical experience.