Awareness (Anthony De Mello)
Superficial Advaita/Gnosticism 101
[My 2-star Amazon review (NDA) of “Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality” by Anthony de Mello.]
If you've never read any of the following traditions/authors--Pali, Zen, or Tibetan Buddhism; Hindu Raja Yoga, or Advaita Vedanta; Christian Mysticism; Daism; J. Krishnmurti; Gurdjieff; Ouspensky; Eckhart Tolle--then this book is worth a read only because it's in the public domain and available for free on the web. Consider it "Superficial Advaita/Gnosticism 101."
I've devoted the last forty-five years of my life to practicing, studying, and teaching esoteric spirituality and meditation, and I consider this book second-rate gnosticism for the following reasons: 1) It is poorly written. The author does not "write to the point" and is guilty of long, rambling paragraphs. 2) The book is mainly "storyized" psychology rather than serious philosophy and spirituality. 2) The author says nothing that has not been said before and said better. 3) It is bereft of depth. The author fails to elaborate on what "waking up" is and never broaches the subject of Spirit, or Light-Energy, in the awakening process. This is surprising because de Mello was a Jesuit priest, and receiving the Holy Spirit (Shakti in Hinduism, the Sambhogakaya in Buddhism) is an essential element of the en-Light-enment (or Self-realization) process.
Because the book is free, there's really no need to read reviews of it. Just download the PDF and check it out for yourself.
[My 2-star Amazon review (NDA) of “Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality” by Anthony de Mello.]
If you've never read any of the following traditions/authors--Pali, Zen, or Tibetan Buddhism; Hindu Raja Yoga, or Advaita Vedanta; Christian Mysticism; Daism; J. Krishnmurti; Gurdjieff; Ouspensky; Eckhart Tolle--then this book is worth a read only because it's in the public domain and available for free on the web. Consider it "Superficial Advaita/Gnosticism 101."
I've devoted the last forty-five years of my life to practicing, studying, and teaching esoteric spirituality and meditation, and I consider this book second-rate gnosticism for the following reasons: 1) It is poorly written. The author does not "write to the point" and is guilty of long, rambling paragraphs. 2) The book is mainly "storyized" psychology rather than serious philosophy and spirituality. 2) The author says nothing that has not been said before and said better. 3) It is bereft of depth. The author fails to elaborate on what "waking up" is and never broaches the subject of Spirit, or Light-Energy, in the awakening process. This is surprising because de Mello was a Jesuit priest, and receiving the Holy Spirit (Shakti in Hinduism, the Sambhogakaya in Buddhism) is an essential element of the en-Light-enment (or Self-realization) process.
Because the book is free, there's really no need to read reviews of it. Just download the PDF and check it out for yourself.
