I Am That I Am (Francis Bennett)
Surface-Level Advaita Vedanta Rehash
[My 2-star Amazon review (NDA) of “I Am That I Am: Discovering the Love, Peace, Joy, and Stability of the True Self†by Francis Dale Bennett.]
After the great Zen scholar Alan Watts read Adi Da's first book, "The Knee of Listening," he wrote: "It is obvious from all sorts of subtle details, that he knows what it's all about. And after reading Bennett's book, I say: "It is obvious from all sorts of details that he does NOT know what it is all about." I've studied, practiced, and taught esoteric spirituality (Vipassana, Zen, Dzogchen, Advaita Vedanta, Kashmir Shaivism, Daism, and Christian Hermeticism) for forty years, and of the two-thousand plus books I've read on mysticism (many of which I've reviewed at Amazon), this one ranks closer to the bottom of the barrel than to the top.
The author has nothing new or insightful to offer. Like Michael Singer, (author of the uberpopular "The Untethered Soul") he bases much of his discourse on the great Ramana Maharshi's teachings (see my five-star reviews of "Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi," Sri Ramana Gita," and "Be as You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi"), and like Singer, he reduces Maharshi's ultra-esoteric teachings to simplistic Advaita. Moreover, the author's description of Self-enquiry does not represents Maharshi's, which I have practiced for four decades.
The book is also peppered with poppycock. For example, the author writes that "Enlightenment is the realization that you and everyone else are already enlightened." How can everyone be already enlightened and not know it? The truth is that becoming spiritually enlightened is incredibly difficult and takes great effort. As Ramana Maharshi put it, "The effortless state is not attained without effort."
The author writes, "There is no separation between subject (observer) and object." Yes there is. My computer (the object), for example, is clearly separate from me (the subject). The interrelatdness of all existents is undeniable, but this does not equate to non-separation. But if the author is willing to offer me unlimited use of his credit cards, then I will gladly delete this paragraph. So far, none of the Advaitans or neo-Advaitans who stumps for the inseparable oneness of everything has been willing to share his credit cards with me.
Beyond simplistic Eckhart Tolle-level directives to practice open awareness and be here now, the author offers few specifics relating to sadhana. For example, there is nothing about diet, conservation of sexual energy, or the pragmatics of spiritual practice. And the book is utterly devoid of an esoteric dimension, never broaching topics such as the functions of the Heart, Kundalini-Shakti, and Amrita (or Atma) Nadi in the Self-realization process.
What's most surprising is that Bennett, an ex-Trappist monk, never mentions Spirit-baptism, the Holy Spirit, the Eucharist, or the Trinity. He frequently mentions Jesus and his teachings, but his failure to consider these teachings in the light of the two cardinal sacraments (baptism and the Eucharist) and the Trinity is another black mark on his Dharma.
Based on the review by Uncle Pie, I expected an in-depth description of the author's "enlightened state," but none was provided in the book. I'll say the same thing about Francis Bennett that I said about Eckhart Tolle in my book "Beyond the Power of Now": I wouldn't wager a plugged nickel on his being fully en-Light-ened in the mode of, say, the Buddha or Ramana Maharshi.
If you're interested in a "psychologized" surface-level rehash of Advaita Vedanta, then this book could be your cup of tea. But if you want truly deep Advaita Vedanta, then read Ramana Maharshi himself, not a less-than-impressive interpreter like Bennett.
[My 2-star Amazon review (NDA) of “I Am That I Am: Discovering the Love, Peace, Joy, and Stability of the True Self†by Francis Dale Bennett.]
After the great Zen scholar Alan Watts read Adi Da's first book, "The Knee of Listening," he wrote: "It is obvious from all sorts of subtle details, that he knows what it's all about. And after reading Bennett's book, I say: "It is obvious from all sorts of details that he does NOT know what it is all about." I've studied, practiced, and taught esoteric spirituality (Vipassana, Zen, Dzogchen, Advaita Vedanta, Kashmir Shaivism, Daism, and Christian Hermeticism) for forty years, and of the two-thousand plus books I've read on mysticism (many of which I've reviewed at Amazon), this one ranks closer to the bottom of the barrel than to the top.
The author has nothing new or insightful to offer. Like Michael Singer, (author of the uberpopular "The Untethered Soul") he bases much of his discourse on the great Ramana Maharshi's teachings (see my five-star reviews of "Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi," Sri Ramana Gita," and "Be as You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi"), and like Singer, he reduces Maharshi's ultra-esoteric teachings to simplistic Advaita. Moreover, the author's description of Self-enquiry does not represents Maharshi's, which I have practiced for four decades.
The book is also peppered with poppycock. For example, the author writes that "Enlightenment is the realization that you and everyone else are already enlightened." How can everyone be already enlightened and not know it? The truth is that becoming spiritually enlightened is incredibly difficult and takes great effort. As Ramana Maharshi put it, "The effortless state is not attained without effort."
The author writes, "There is no separation between subject (observer) and object." Yes there is. My computer (the object), for example, is clearly separate from me (the subject). The interrelatdness of all existents is undeniable, but this does not equate to non-separation. But if the author is willing to offer me unlimited use of his credit cards, then I will gladly delete this paragraph. So far, none of the Advaitans or neo-Advaitans who stumps for the inseparable oneness of everything has been willing to share his credit cards with me.
Beyond simplistic Eckhart Tolle-level directives to practice open awareness and be here now, the author offers few specifics relating to sadhana. For example, there is nothing about diet, conservation of sexual energy, or the pragmatics of spiritual practice. And the book is utterly devoid of an esoteric dimension, never broaching topics such as the functions of the Heart, Kundalini-Shakti, and Amrita (or Atma) Nadi in the Self-realization process.
What's most surprising is that Bennett, an ex-Trappist monk, never mentions Spirit-baptism, the Holy Spirit, the Eucharist, or the Trinity. He frequently mentions Jesus and his teachings, but his failure to consider these teachings in the light of the two cardinal sacraments (baptism and the Eucharist) and the Trinity is another black mark on his Dharma.
Based on the review by Uncle Pie, I expected an in-depth description of the author's "enlightened state," but none was provided in the book. I'll say the same thing about Francis Bennett that I said about Eckhart Tolle in my book "Beyond the Power of Now": I wouldn't wager a plugged nickel on his being fully en-Light-ened in the mode of, say, the Buddha or Ramana Maharshi.
If you're interested in a "psychologized" surface-level rehash of Advaita Vedanta, then this book could be your cup of tea. But if you want truly deep Advaita Vedanta, then read Ramana Maharshi himself, not a less-than-impressive interpreter like Bennett.
