Breath of the Absolute (Mooji)
Papaji-Level Advaita Vedanta
[My 2-star Amazon review (May 27, 2014) of “Breath of the Absolute: Dialogues with Mooji: The Mnifest and Unmanifest are One†by Mooji.]
If you’ve read Papaji (see my two-star review of “The Truth Isâ€) you don’t need to read this book—it’s just more of the same. Just as Papaji’s two other noteworthy disciples, Gangaji (see my two-star review of “Freedom and Resolve: the Living Edge of Surrenderâ€) and Andrew Cohen (see my two star review of “Evolutionary Enlightenment: A New Path to Spiritual Awakeningâ€) have failed to produce an impressive Dharma book, Mooji likewise has not produced one. All he seems capable of “writing†are warmed-over transcriptions of his talks, wherein every question is a “softball†from a totally clueless disciple, and every answer is a surface-level Advaita Vedantan response.
When you read Ramana Maharshi—especially “Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi†(see my five-star review), “Sri Ramana Gita†(see my five-star review) and “Sat Darshana Bhashya†(see my five-star review), you get the “real dealâ€â€”esoteric spiritual philosophy from a truly Self-realized Master. When you read Mooji, you get dumbed-down, psychologized pseudo-philosophy from a Guru wannabe.
Reading this book reminded of reading Gangaji’s “Freedom and Resolveâ€â€” Advaita Vedanta reduced to an almost neo-Advaita Vedanta level. Here are a few examples of Mooji’s “insights,†with my response in parentheses:
“Can you see that everything is thought?†(That’s exactly what Papaji says, and it’s nonsense. The computer you’re reading this on is not thought; it’s a real object that exists independently of your mind.)
“Use your Heart, not your head... Show me your Heart.†(One cannot “use†one’s “Heart.†The Heart is the Self, but never in this book does Mooji talk about the Heart as the Self. Moreover, never does he talk about anything deep relative to Self-realization. Nothing about Shakti, Kundalini, samskaras, Amrita Nadi, gunas,  etc.
“Emptiness, your very own Self.†(The Self is NOT Emptiness; it is Consciousness-Energy, or Siva-Shakti. Papaji, infected by the Madhyamika virus, talked about the Self as Emptiness, and this is where Mooji got this mistaken concept.)
The “I Am†is the subtle body.†(No, it isn’t. The subtle body is the pranayama sheath, one of the “coverings†of the Soul, or immanent Self.)
In the final chapter of the book, Mooji describes his “Enlightenmentâ€:
“For twenty or so steps I was still immersed in the agitatedstate of feeling lost. Then the next step! It was as if a dark, heavy cloud lifted, taking with it everything inside my head. There was nothing... There was only Emptiness.â€
Maybe Mooji and I have more in common than I thought—because when I read this book, I find... only emptiness.
[My 2-star Amazon review (May 27, 2014) of “Breath of the Absolute: Dialogues with Mooji: The Mnifest and Unmanifest are One†by Mooji.]
If you’ve read Papaji (see my two-star review of “The Truth Isâ€) you don’t need to read this book—it’s just more of the same. Just as Papaji’s two other noteworthy disciples, Gangaji (see my two-star review of “Freedom and Resolve: the Living Edge of Surrenderâ€) and Andrew Cohen (see my two star review of “Evolutionary Enlightenment: A New Path to Spiritual Awakeningâ€) have failed to produce an impressive Dharma book, Mooji likewise has not produced one. All he seems capable of “writing†are warmed-over transcriptions of his talks, wherein every question is a “softball†from a totally clueless disciple, and every answer is a surface-level Advaita Vedantan response.
When you read Ramana Maharshi—especially “Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi†(see my five-star review), “Sri Ramana Gita†(see my five-star review) and “Sat Darshana Bhashya†(see my five-star review), you get the “real dealâ€â€”esoteric spiritual philosophy from a truly Self-realized Master. When you read Mooji, you get dumbed-down, psychologized pseudo-philosophy from a Guru wannabe.
Reading this book reminded of reading Gangaji’s “Freedom and Resolveâ€â€” Advaita Vedanta reduced to an almost neo-Advaita Vedanta level. Here are a few examples of Mooji’s “insights,†with my response in parentheses:
“Can you see that everything is thought?†(That’s exactly what Papaji says, and it’s nonsense. The computer you’re reading this on is not thought; it’s a real object that exists independently of your mind.)
“Use your Heart, not your head... Show me your Heart.†(One cannot “use†one’s “Heart.†The Heart is the Self, but never in this book does Mooji talk about the Heart as the Self. Moreover, never does he talk about anything deep relative to Self-realization. Nothing about Shakti, Kundalini, samskaras, Amrita Nadi, gunas,  etc.
“Emptiness, your very own Self.†(The Self is NOT Emptiness; it is Consciousness-Energy, or Siva-Shakti. Papaji, infected by the Madhyamika virus, talked about the Self as Emptiness, and this is where Mooji got this mistaken concept.)
The “I Am†is the subtle body.†(No, it isn’t. The subtle body is the pranayama sheath, one of the “coverings†of the Soul, or immanent Self.)
In the final chapter of the book, Mooji describes his “Enlightenmentâ€:
“For twenty or so steps I was still immersed in the agitatedstate of feeling lost. Then the next step! It was as if a dark, heavy cloud lifted, taking with it everything inside my head. There was nothing... There was only Emptiness.â€
Maybe Mooji and I have more in common than I thought—because when I read this book, I find... only emptiness.
