The Cipher of Genesis (Carlo Suares)
Krishnamurti Meets Qabalah
[My 3-star Amazon review (NDA) of “The Cipher of Genesis: Using the Qabalistic Code to Interpret the First Book of the Bible and the Teachings of Jesus” by Carlo Suares.]
In this unique text, Carlo Suares (1892-1976), utilizing Qabalistic code (meaning “gematria,” the ancient “science” of using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet as numbers to reveal hidden meanings of spiritual texts) seeks to provide the cipher, or algorithmic code, of Genesis and the teachings of Jesus – and fails miserably.
The only reason I gave this book three stars is for Suares’s great idea and bold attempt. Unfortunately, Suares is unqualified for the task. Not only does he exhibit limited understanding of the meaning of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, he also has no real understanding of spirituality. In short, he is in over his head with this text. Moreover, his writing is not agreeable, but rather cryptic, ambiguous, stilted, and “psychologized.”
Anybody intimate with J.Krishnamuti’s teachings, will quickly recognize that Suares “spiritual” analyses and interpretations of the Bible are right out Krishnamurti. And unsurprisingly, Suares, clearly taken with Krishnamurti, wrote a book on his teachings (“Krishnamurti and the Unity of Man.”)
I am an expert on Krishnamurti’s teachings – in the 1970s I participated in various J. Krishnamurti groups—and only an “uninitiated” spiritual philosopher would attempt to marry J. Krishnamurti’s teachings with Qabalah. J. Krishnamurti had great potential, but after “First and Last Freedom” (see my five-star review) and “Commentaries on Living,” he went flat. There is no spiritual (or energetic) dimension to his teachings, which became a repetitive, “psychologized” drone after the aforesaid texts. Simply put, Krishnamurti did not “crack the cosmic code,” and neither does Suares in “The Cipher of Genesis.”
I’ve had “The Cipher of Genesis” for several years, and twice before attempted to read it. But each time I gave up because Suares didn’t impress me, and I didn’t want to take the time to learn the esoteric meaning of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. But a bright young lady who posts at my Facebook group (Electrical-Hermetic Christianity) insisted that I needed to give it another try -- and so I did. And this time I took several hours to figure out the esoteric meaning of the Hebrew letters. (I went to a few websites for different perspectives.)
What did I find? Two important things: First, Suares’s interpretation of the letters does not closely match mine; second, there are four basic gematria methods, so the numbers Suares uses are hardly etched in stone as the right ones.
I really believe that Suares had a great idea with his application of gematria to the Bible and qabalah, and hopefully in the future someone more qualified will carry this work forward.
[My 3-star Amazon review (NDA) of “The Cipher of Genesis: Using the Qabalistic Code to Interpret the First Book of the Bible and the Teachings of Jesus” by Carlo Suares.]
In this unique text, Carlo Suares (1892-1976), utilizing Qabalistic code (meaning “gematria,” the ancient “science” of using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet as numbers to reveal hidden meanings of spiritual texts) seeks to provide the cipher, or algorithmic code, of Genesis and the teachings of Jesus – and fails miserably.
The only reason I gave this book three stars is for Suares’s great idea and bold attempt. Unfortunately, Suares is unqualified for the task. Not only does he exhibit limited understanding of the meaning of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, he also has no real understanding of spirituality. In short, he is in over his head with this text. Moreover, his writing is not agreeable, but rather cryptic, ambiguous, stilted, and “psychologized.”
Anybody intimate with J.Krishnamuti’s teachings, will quickly recognize that Suares “spiritual” analyses and interpretations of the Bible are right out Krishnamurti. And unsurprisingly, Suares, clearly taken with Krishnamurti, wrote a book on his teachings (“Krishnamurti and the Unity of Man.”)
I am an expert on Krishnamurti’s teachings – in the 1970s I participated in various J. Krishnamurti groups—and only an “uninitiated” spiritual philosopher would attempt to marry J. Krishnamurti’s teachings with Qabalah. J. Krishnamurti had great potential, but after “First and Last Freedom” (see my five-star review) and “Commentaries on Living,” he went flat. There is no spiritual (or energetic) dimension to his teachings, which became a repetitive, “psychologized” drone after the aforesaid texts. Simply put, Krishnamurti did not “crack the cosmic code,” and neither does Suares in “The Cipher of Genesis.”
I’ve had “The Cipher of Genesis” for several years, and twice before attempted to read it. But each time I gave up because Suares didn’t impress me, and I didn’t want to take the time to learn the esoteric meaning of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. But a bright young lady who posts at my Facebook group (Electrical-Hermetic Christianity) insisted that I needed to give it another try -- and so I did. And this time I took several hours to figure out the esoteric meaning of the Hebrew letters. (I went to a few websites for different perspectives.)
What did I find? Two important things: First, Suares’s interpretation of the letters does not closely match mine; second, there are four basic gematria methods, so the numbers Suares uses are hardly etched in stone as the right ones.
I really believe that Suares had a great idea with his application of gematria to the Bible and qabalah, and hopefully in the future someone more qualified will carry this work forward.
