Sadhguru (Jaggi Vasudev): A True Guru?

September 28, 2017

[This is my recently posted at Amazon.com two-star review of Sadhguru's book "Inner Engineering." The title of the review is "Pop Inner Engineering."]

This book was pretty much what I expected from a big-name pop Hindu guru – lots of allegorical stories (which will impress and entertain neophytes and the ignoranti) spiced with superficial, error-ridden spiritual Dharma that the cognoscenti will turn their noses up at. The book is a smooth and copacetic read – designed to attract new enlistees to Sadguru’s Inner Engineering program -- but real spiritual “engineers,” those with a deep understanding of the “nuts and bolts” of the en-Light-enment process, will find little of value, and much to be critical of, in Sadhguru’s teachings.

The first turn-off for me was Sadhguru’s description -- or should I say ‘non-description” -- of his Awakening and Awakened state. All we get is a vague, hard-to-believe story about how “he never came down” one day after sitting on a rock, and no details about his putatively Enlightened state.

Sadhguru writes, “As Guru, I have no doctrine to teach, no philosophy to impart, no beliefs to propagate.… Read the full article

A Brief Update

September 9, 2017
My book “The Power of Now Meditation Guide” is finished, but I’m not going to prepare it for publication until I get free of the bird mites I’ve been infected with for the past two years. This is the case, because in a few weeks, I may put everything I have, except my “plastic” (ID, credit/debit cards) in storage (mothballs), including my computers. (I’ll just hit an Internet café twice a day.) I’ll stop using my car, buy new clothes, etc. If you’re interested in knowing about bird mite problems, check out birdmites.org.

If you check my other blog, integralspiritualmeditation.com, you’ll see that I've posted a couple of (raw and unedited) excerpts from the Dzogchen text I’m now working on. I expect to have this book finished and published in late 2018.… Read the full article

A Consideration of Kabbalah/Qabalah Texts, Part 1

August 11, 2017

This three-part article consists of my eighteen Amazon.com reviews of Kabbalah/Qabalah texts. The reviews are in reverse chronological order, with the latest reviews first.

Informationally Interesting, Exegetically Flawed
[“The Hermetic Kabbalah,” Colin Low, 3 Stars]

Colin A. Low, author of the “The Hermetic Kabbalah,” is a serious scholar who has devoted decades of his life to studying Kabbalah (both the Jewish and the non-Jewish, or occult and New Age, traditions). Moreover, he is an excellent writer who seamlessly and agreeably communicates his knowledge and insights. But, unfortunately, this does not translate into an impressive explication of the Kabbalah.

Don’t get me wrong: Low provides plenty of interesting and worthwhile information in this text. But this is overshadowed by his failure to grok and proficiently elaborate the Kabbalah. And this failure pertains to both the mystical-ecstatical and the theosophical-occult Kabbalahs.

Regarding the mystical-ecstatical Kabbalah, the “higher” Kabbalah, he has virtually nothing to say.… Read the full article

Jesus 2.0 Meets His Teacher 

July 16, 2017
[This is an excerpt from my mind-blowing novel "Kill Jesus:The Shocking Return of the Chosen One," which is available in Kindle and paperback and Amazon.com.https://www.amazon.com/Kill-Jesus-Shocking-Re…/…/ref=sr_1_2…]


Later that evening, after the discussion group broke up, Jack followed Mary to Mother Mary’s. As exhausted as he was from the day’s events, he wished he could postpone the meeting for another day, when he would be sharper, but there’s no time like the present, as the saying goes, and besides, he was curious about Mother Mary — what she would say about his hands… and what she could tell him about Mary.

Mother Mary lived in a large, elegant Victorian house with an intricate Zen garden in the front yard. Jack admired the artfully manicured topiary as he followed Mary inside. As they entered the main room, the temple, he sensed a unique presence, a heavy, yet peaceful silence that evoked feelings of reverence that he hadn’t experienced in a long while.

Mother Mary was seated in a throne-like chair at the head of the room. She was slim, attractive, about forty years old and dressed in a white hooded robe that covered her entire body.
… Read the full article

Updating My Spiritual Reading List, Category 9, Miscellaneous

June 28, 2017
In my two nonfiction books (“Beyond the Power of Now” and “Electrical Christianity”), I provide a Spiritual Reading List (of Highly Recommended and Recommended texts in the “Great Traditions”). I made a few changes to the List between “Beyond the Power of Now” and “Electrical Christianity,” and there will be more changes to the List in my forthcoming book “The Power of Now Meditation Guide” (which should be published later this year).

My Spiritual Reading List is divided into nine categories – Advaita Vedanta, Buddhism (Original), Buddhism (Tibetan), Buddhism (Zen), Christianity, Judaism, and Gnosticism, Daism, Hinduism (Yoga), Kashmir Shaivism, and Miscellaneous. In a nine-part series, I will, in turn, consider each category and provide its latest edition.

Herewith is the ninth category, Miscellaneous, followed by my consideration.

Miscellaneous

Highly Recommended

The First and Last Freedom, J. Krishnamurti. (“Must” reading for all mystics. If you appreciate this book and want to read more Krishnamurti, get his multivolume Commentaries on Living.)… Read the full article

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