BIOGRAPHY

Refugee

Premodaya was born after the Holocaust, the only child of his survivor mother and father. He spent the formative years of childhood behind barbed wire, where along with his parents, he was an inmate of post-Holocaust Germany's most brutal and squalid refugee prison camp, Fohrenwald. After their release in 1953, the family emigrated to the United States.

"It is my great good fortune to have been born 'a man without a country.' It makes you a 'citizen of the world,' and if you're really lucky, ultimately, a child of the Universe.

Now, all the things I lived through — the beatings, the cruelty, the destitution — all of it — I wouldn't trade one minute of it for a more conventional life. In the end it all turned into a blessing. I feel gratitude for it, even every moment of anguish. How else could I have gotten from there, to here? I don't mean that violence is a good thing, or should be condoned — just the opposite. What I'm suggesting is, that we don't always know what things mean, or what the ultimate outcome will look like. Just the fact that I'm alive today — just that I somehow survived such a treacherous childhood, is simply miraculous. Miracles are everywhere, in the everyday life of ordinary people like me and you. Just that we are alive, living beings, is absolutely a miracle. If you truly get that, it will change you completely."

Despite the brutality and deprivation of his early life, almost from the very beginning, Premodaya showed an insatiable passion for art, music, literature, and all things aesthetic. Mastery of these subjects, along with his fluency in five languages, led to New York University awarding him the largest scholarship ever given out in the USA.

Psychology

In 1978 he began a career in clinical psychology, and ever since, has worked with all levels of mental illness and conscious growth. He holds a Master's Degree in Psychology, and in 1996 was appointed Director of Outpatient Psychiatry at world-renowned Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills.

"I work with the most severe conditions — schizophrenia, psychosis, attempted suicide. I am witness to the worst mental anguish and emotional devastation possible. I have assumed responsibility for the mental and emotional 'deliverance,' if you will, of thousands of people through the years — which is certainly a sacred trust and privilege. And I've certainly paid for that privilege with my own personal anguish, with my own unusual history. How do you truly help people with all the brands of human suffering, with all the different kinds of problems that exist, if you can't find all of it inside yourself?

The list of problems is not endless, by the way. Actually there are only a few major themes — under a dozen — covering all human situations, all possible conditions. I can give you the list, but it won't help you, because even the items on that list are not the REAL problems. The real problem is not knowing who you are, what you are. The real problem is not knowing that you and everyone — and I DO mean everyone — is nothing short of the perfect manifestation of the divine — and I DO mean perfect.

Understanding is the antidote, acceptance is the key, and love is the answer. You can take these words as trite, or you can fully and truly comprehend their real significance. Not as ideas or aphorisms, but as living and organic presence, beyond concepts and interpretations. Then the same words will transport you and transform you — then they will take you closer to where you really are."

Spirituality

Premodaya's initial awakening occurred at age twelve, when he became a "dweej" (a Hindu term meaning "twice born" and denoting an experience of direct awakening to the spiritual dimension). Twenty years later, in a moment of profound relaxation, a series of dramatic and uninvited mystical experiences occurred, including a full experience of death. This torrent of spiritual happenings and insights poured relentlessly into his mind and body for a year. He emerged able to see deeply into others, past, present and future.

These mystic experiences brought him to the feet of his spiritual Master, world-famous Indian guru Osho, who renamed him Swami Premodaya. Two decades later he met his other Master, Gangaji, a spiritual teacher from California known and beloved in many countries. Her presence sparked a powerful energy transformation, culminating three years later in his final sanctification on August 1, 2003, from which he emerged experiencing himself, and all beings, fully as 'Love Incarnate.'

The Bodhi Center

Now when Premodaya works directly with people — within one, two, or three sessions — people report profound experiences of transformation, healing, and even complete awakening. To expand this work and reach out even further, The Bodhi Center was created. Thirty-three years of practice in professional psychology, coupled with thirty years of devoted spiritual practice, have come together in this gifted teacher, this bodhisattva, uniquely qualified to guide and assist others through all levels of seeking and finding.

"You can think of it as a ladder of consciousness. Psychology is the first rung, if you want to climb toward higher consciousness — understanding and overcoming your own psychology, your own unconscious and emotional issues, is the first step. It's completely possible, and in fact, I'm living proof. If I could overcome what was done to me and all that I've been through, then absolutely anybody can. Some try to skip over this stage, and instead fool themselves into thinking they've arrived somewhere. The mind is very powerful. We can convince ourselves of just about anything, even Enlightenment itself. But no step can be skipped. All the rungs have to be traversed. And a competent teacher, a loving guide, is so helpful — can make all the difference in the world.

As Love Incarnate, I am happy to take your hand — and whether you believe it or not, you are Love Incarnate too. So I am happy to offer you all that I am, all that I know, and all that I have to give you — which is nothing more and nothing less than your very own self."