Jim Gilman, the principle teacher at the Silent Way, met Swami Chinmayananda at a lecture series at Stanford University in 1975. Jim says, “I was totally unprepared for the experience of meeting Swamiji. I had studied western metaphysics for seven years and had no real background or understanding of Eastern thought or practices. When I met Swami Chinmayananda, I felt a palpable presence of holiness. It was overwhelming. To this day, he is the holiest man I have ever met."
Jim has taught meditation and Vedanta around the world for over 30 years. For several years he served as an acharya with the Chinmaya Mission, Swami Chinmayananda’s world-wide organization.
Jim’s approach to this work is immensely practical. He has a unique gift to express these subtle and profound truths in a manner that makes them easy for Westerners to understand, even with no background in Sanskrit or Hindu thought.
In keeping with the tradition set by Swami Chinmayananda, Jim stresses that this teaching is open to all, regardless of ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, or walk of life. All may come, and as the Hebrew psalmist says "taste and see the goodness of the Lord."