Clear, unpretentious and honest. Tim Rowe

"Colin has a passionate love affair with Truth. This has culminated in him writing, simply and clearly, what has been revealed to him. His writings are an invitation to those with a similar interest, to explore and discover for themselves. Enjoy." Isaac Shapiro

Enjoyed Colin Drake's new book. Clear, unpretentious and honest. Tim Rowe

I bought Colin Drakes book off the internet . He has to be congratulated on the most clear and succinct book on the subject that I have read. He has managed to distil the essence. A must read for beginners and for seasoned travellers. -Garry Booth

~ ~ ~

Beyond the 'Separate Self'
The End of Anxiety and Mental Suffering

A Simple Guide to Awakening

Based on the Meditations, Contemplations, and Experiences
of Forty Years of Spiritual Search and Practice

by Colin Drake

Contents

Introduction 5

1 The Problem 9

2 Investigation of Experience 17

3 Simply Free to Be 26

4 The Perceiver Not the Perceived 40

5 Nothing to Achieve, Find or Get 46

6 On 'This' and 'That' 52

7 Nothing Special 58

8 Home Is Where the Heart Is 62

9 Nothing Matters 66

10 Relax into Self-Realization 71

11 Mantra as a Vehicle of Revelation 75

12 Every Thought and Sensation Reveals Reality 80

13 Nothing to Do, No Problem to Solve 84

14 So What? ... What Now? 88

15 All or Nothing 97

16 The Full Potential 102

17 The Best of All Worlds, Humanity at its Peak 112

18 Purpose and Meaning 117

19 The Absolute Reality 124

20 The Essential Self 150

21 Self-Liberation Through Naked Awareness 172

Appendix - Spiritual Experience 180
Glossary 190
Bibliography 194
Index 196
Biography 207

View the book's Index as a Word document

Introduction

This book is designed to help its readers go 'beyond the separate self'; that is to free oneself from obsessive thinking and worrying about one's self-image, health, wealth, status, achievements, lack of achievements, past, future and ultimate survival. These are all caused by
identifying oneself as an individual object in a universe of multiple objects, and also by comparing oneself with like objects (other people). How we identify ourselves is at the heart of
how we view the world and our place in it. If we fail to correctly identify 'what we are' (in essence) then this leads to an unfulfilled life, with its consequent frustrations and mental suffering.

The discussions that follow are concerned with coming to a valid conclusion regarding self-identity, and then learning to operate from this level of being. This is to be achieved purely by investigating our existence, which comprises an unending stream of moment-to-moment experiences from birth to death. Even during sleep there is experience of dreams and sensations. If a sensation becomes strong enough it will wake one up. This investigation requires no dogma or belief systems, and these need to be put aside for the investigation to succeed.

The author, who had spent over thirty years in various Christian, Hindu and Yogic practices, only progressed (had the first real 'awakening') when he abandoned these and entered a deep
investigation of the question 'Who am I?'. The appendix contains an account of this questioning, the experiences that it produced, and the insights that it revealed. The appendix also shows how the experiences, which resulted from the direct recognition of true self-identity, related back to the preceding belief system of the author. However, although these beliefs colour the experiences that follow the direct recognition, they are of no use in the investigation itself.

This is not to say that the religions of the world do not point to this same realization and chapter 19 attempts to show how they all do this in their own way. The problem is that the truth of this realization is so incredibly simple, one could say obvious, that the various religious traditions have been unable to accept such simplicity; so their followers, and commentators, have overlaid this simplicity with many levels of dogma, beliefs and philosophical systems.

Chapter 1 is devoted to a general discussion of the various problems associated with misidentifying oneself as an object, such as: self-obsession, self-loathing, selfishness, self-aggrandizement, self-importance, etc. The list is almost endless. This chapter also sets the framework for the investigations of those that follow, many of which read as if they are meditations or contemplations, which is exactly what they are. These stem directly from the author's direct investigations over a twelve year period since his first 'awakening'. They are given as pointers and aids for the reader's own investigations into, and contemplations on, the problem of self-identity. There is necessarily some duplication between them as what is being discussed is so simple. They are different 'takes' on the same simplicity, presenting the material in various ways whilst building upon what has been discovered, so some repetition is unavoidable. It should also be noted that each of these are, as far as is possible, stand-alone meditations or contemplations, thus needing to make sense by themselves. Therefore some sections of each will contain similar passages, so that they are relatively complete when read in isolation.

Chapter 2 gives the basic format for investigating one's direct moment-to-moment experience and is the basis for the chapters that follow. Chapter 3 was written on a seven day solitary retreat of investigation, meditation and contemplation in 2000. It represents the author's first attempt to discuss, in writing, the problem of self-identity, and has been published as a stand-alone pamphlet. Chapters 4 to 13 are further meditations and contemplations, each delving deeper into the nature of self-identity and 'reality'. Chapter 14 details how to live from the level of self-identity that has been discovered and the benefits of this. Chapter 15 highlights the importance of committing to this level to access the full potential of 'awakening'. Chapter 16
discusses this 'full potential' and shows how this truly is 'the end of anxiety and mental suffering'. Chapter 17 shows how humanity could live together in perfect peace and harmony by the realization of this deeper level of self-identity and the nature of reality, which have been revealed by one's investigations. Chapter 18 considers how living from this deeper level of self-identity makes life so enjoyable that no extra purpose or meaning is necessary. Chapter 19 studies how the religions of the world describe the Absolute Reality and compares this with what is discovered through direct investigation into the nature of moment-to-moment experience. It also shows how mystics of each religion have arrived at the same conclusion.

Chapter 20 shows how two seemingly opposing concepts of self-identity - 'essential self' and 'no essential self' - can ultimately lead to the same conclusion that is discovered by direct investigation of experience. It is a fairly detailed discussion of the Hindu and Buddhist concepts of self-identity, and it compares the various ideas that these religions contain. In simple language it offers an introductory insight into these two major world religions and may be useful for 'non-dualists' who regard the word 'Self' as the 'essential self' and are somewhat unhappy about the phrase 'separate self'. Chapter 21 shows how the discoveries made by direct investigation of experience tally with those given in the fourth chapter of The Tibetan Book of the Dead , 'Self-Liberation Through Seeing with Naked Awareness'.

Chapter One

The Problem

A general discussion on the problem of identifying oneself as an individual object in a universe
of multiple objects. It also sets the framework for the investigations that follow which reveal a deeper level of being than that of thoughts and sensations.

For most of us much of our waking time is spent in obsessive thinking about 'ourselves' and our relationships with other people. This is especially true when we are not working, using our minds in a productive activity; or when we are not relaxing in such a way that engages the mind
such as reading a book, playing a game or watching a screen. For the mind is akin to an onboard-computer which is a wonderful tool for problem-solving, information storing retrieval and processing, and evaluating the data provided by our senses. However, when it is not fully utilized it tends to search for other problems to solve, and if these are not presently available it tends to speculate about the future, delve into the past, or imagine in the present, creating non-existent problems which it then tries to solve!

Most people tend to identify with their mind, rather than seeing it as a tool, which creates myriad problems. This causes everything to be seen through the filter of the mind: its opinions, judgements, and self-interest. When this happens we cease to see things as they really are which lessens our ability to relate to the world in a natural healthy way. Imagine the problems it would cause if your computer decided that it was 'you' and coloured all the information it retrieved from the internet with its own arbitrary opinions and judgements. In this case you would be unable to rely on any of this information, and if you did then any decisions made using
this would be liable to be faulty.

In the above example 'you' are obviously not the computer but the perceiver of the data provided by the computer and all of its multimedia functionality. In the same way, we have a deeper level of being than the mind (thoughts and mental images) and body (physical sensations), which is also the perceiver of this 'data'. However, when we identify at the surface level of mind/body we are unaware of this and tend to suffer due to the shortcomings of our mind/body. This is akin to suffering because our computer is not the most up-to-date, fastest attractive model available.

This is exactly what most of us do, worrying about our body-image and mental capacity and ability. We tend to expand our concept of self-identity to include an imaginary self-image consisting of our physical appearance, mental ability, status, occupation, position in society, family situation, achievements, lack of achievements, ambitions, hopes, fears, memories and projections into the future. Not only do we consider this to be who or what we are, and continually obsess about this, but we also spend large periods of time comparing this with the equally erroneous images we have formed of other people we relate to.

So we have identified ourselves as an imaginary object, in a universe of separate objects, which we then compare with other imaginary objects! This is bound to lead to confusion, suffering and an increased feeling of separation, which is exacerbated by the fact that we do not even see these other objects as they actually are, but as we imagine them to be through the filter of our mind's opinions, judgements and self-interest.

To free ourselves from this nightmarish scenario and the continual obsession with the 'separate self' we imagine ourselves to be, we need to connect with the deeper level of our being as the 'subject' rather than an 'object', where we are the perceiver of our thoughts and sensations. This level is ever-present as there is continual awareness of our thoughts and sensations. Whilst we identify with the mind this level is overlooked; the mind continues the vicious circle of obsessive thinking by processing these thoughts and sensations and relating them to the imaginary self-image that it has concocted.

However, we can easily escape from this vicious circle by simply investigating the nature and relationship of these thoughts and sensations and our awareness of them. When this is fully accomplished we discover that, at the deepest level, we are the perceiver of these thoughts and sensations. These are just ephemeral objects which come and go, leaving the perceiver totally unaffected, in the same way that the sky is unaffected by the clouds which scud across it, or the ocean is undisturbed by the waves and swells that appear on its surface.

This is what this book is designed to achieve, to take one beyond the 'separate self' we have imagined ourselves to be. In this we discover that most of our worries have no foundation for they are just the mind projecting into the future, wallowing in the past, or obsessing over the imaginary self-image it has conjured up. Once the mind is put in its place - as the servant and not the master - we start to see things as they truly are, and to recognize not only the deeper level of being within ourselves but also to recognize this in those around us. Then we see that our self-image and the images we have created of other people are all just illusions. At this deeper level we relate to others in a much more loving, wholesome way, for it becomes clear that there is in fact no separation between ourselves and others, as at this level we share the same constant conscious subjective presence.

This is not a question of belief or imagination but of discovery by direct investigation, and for this to be effective we need to put aside all belief systems and acquired knowledge concerning who we are at the underlying level beyond thoughts and sensations. The only knowledge of this that is valid is that which is revealed to each one of us by direct experience. The easiest way for this direct experience to occur is by enquiring into the nature of experience itself, and for this enquiry to be effective we need to start from the position of believing and knowing nothing.

The chapters that follow are aids to this enquiry, and as such should not just be read and intellectually considered but need to be taken slowly, step by step, not moving onto the next step until one fully 'sees' the step that is being considered. This does not mean to say that one needs to agree with each statement, as any investigation is personal, but one needs to understand what is being said. They map the author's own investigations, over a twelve-year period, and are given in the order in which they occurred. They each stem directly from a prolonged period of meditation and contemplation, and chart a growing understanding, through
experiencing and seeing, of the nature of reality and our place within it. As such they need to be taken in the order given, as each one builds on what has been 'seen' in the preceding chapters. Also to get the most out of each chapter one needs to spend some time contemplating it until one 'feels' what it is pointing to; if a chapter is just read without due attention then its significance may well be missed. If, however, the reader becomes somewhat impatient because they truly feel that they have 'got' what is being offered, then they can go on to chapter 14, 'So What … What Now?', and return to the earlier unread chapters, when and as they wish. It would be unadvisable to do this until one has finished chapter 4 'The Perceiver Not the Perceived'.

Before starting we need to discuss the nature of awareness itself. It is obvious that we would not 'know' (be aware of) our own perceptions without awareness being present. This does not mean that we are always conscious of each one of them, as this is dictated by where we put our attention, or upon what we focus our mind. However, all sensations detected by the body are there in awareness, and we can readily become conscious of them by turning our attention to them. It is also true that our thoughts and mental images immediately appear in awareness, but these require less attention to be seen as they occur in the mind itself. So awareness is like
the screen on which all of our thoughts and sensations appear, and the mind becomes conscious of these by focusing on them. Take, for example, what happens when you open your eyes and look at a beautiful view: everything seen immediately appears in awareness, but for the mind to make anything of this it needs to focus upon certain elements of what is seen. 'There is an amazing tree', 'wow look at that eagle', 'what a stunning sky', etc. To be sure, you may just make a statement like 'what a beautiful view', but this does not in itself say much and is so self-evident as to be not worth saying!

The point is that the mind is a tool for problem-solving, information storing, retrieval and processing, and evaluating the data provided by our senses. It achieves this by focusing on specific sensations, thoughts or mental images that are present in awareness, and 'processing' these. In fact we only truly see 'things as they are' when they are not seen through the filter of the mind, and this occurs when what is encountered is able to 'stop the mind'. For instance we have all had glimpses of this at various times in our lives, often when seeing a beautiful sunset, a waterfall or some other wonderful natural phenomenon. These may seem other-worldly or intensely vivid, until the mind kicks in with any evaluation when everything seems to return to 'normal'. In fact nature is much more vivid and alive when directly perceived, and the more we identify with the 'perceiver', as awareness itself, the more frequently we see things 'as they are'.

However, as long as we identify with our imaginary self-image we are always trying to better ourselves, achieve more - knowledge, possessions, power, fame, etc. - polish this self-image and generally build ourselves up. This tends to make us live in the future and stops us living fully
in the present moment. The other side of this coin is to live in regret as to what might have been, self-loathing, melancholy or nostalgia and yearning for the past. This, once again, stops us seeing 'what is' here and now, either by making us live in the past or by the mind spinning on our failures and lack of self-worth.

The following chapters are aids in the investigation of one's moment-to-moment experience. These are designed to enable you to discover this deeper level of being where you are truly the
'perceiver' not the 'perceived'.

The Author – A short spiritual biography

I was born into a strict, but joyful, Methodist family. From the ages of 11-17 I was sent to a Methodist boarding school, which I left with the conviction that organized Christianity was not for me. I could see that what Christ said about living was wonderful, but that the church did not really promote his teachings rather concentrating on him as our ‘saviour’ and on the purportedly ‘miraculous’ facets of his life. It was also very apparent that many so called Christians were not interested in practicing what he taught. This was now 1965 and living in central London during the years of flower-power  I experimented with various hallucinogens, finding them very beneficial for opening my subconscious which allowed years of conditioning to pour out. This left me feeling totally ‘cleansed’ and unburdened, ready to start life anew in a spirit of investigation as to the nature of reality. The psychedelic states also presaged, gave a glimpse of, mystical states which I suspected were attainable through spiritual practices. I then embarked on a study of Gurdjieff  and Ouspensky which I found absolutely fascinating and was convinced that self-realization was the purpose of life. However they made the process sound so onerous that (being young, foot-loose and fancy-free) I decided to shelve the whole project temporarily.

It was not until eight years later that I resumed the spiritual search when Janet (my partner) introduced me to my first yoga-teacher, Matthew O’Malveny, who inspired us by quoting passages from the Upanishads, Dhammapada, and other scriptures during the class. He also emphasized the importance of relaxation and meditation. There followed a few years of investigating various spiritual paths including a prolonged dalliance with the Brahma Kumaris (Raja Yoga) whose meditations were wonderful, but whose dogma was very hard to take. We then moved into the country to start a pottery and immersed ourselves in Satyananda Yoga, an organization which had no dogma but taught a wide range of yogic practices. We were both initiated into karma sannyas by Swami Satyananda and adopted a yogic lifestyle consisting of asanas, pranayama, yoga nidra, meditation, kirtan and vegetarianism.

During this time I was at a silent retreat when I happened to pick up a volume entitled The Gospel of Ramakrishna which introduced me to this amazing being who practiced many spiritual paths, within Hinduism and also Islam and Christianity, discovering that they all lead to the same result. He was then approached by many devotees from these various paths all of whom he was able to teach in their own path, whilst emphasizing the harmony of religions. A few years later I was lucky enough to find an erudite nun in the Sarada Ramakrishna Order, based in Sydney, who initiated me into the worship of this amazing being. This entailed two to three hours of daily meditation, japa (mantra repetition) during daily activities, reading every word said by or written about him, including daily readings of The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, and chanting. I continued this sadhana quite happily for ten years. I then encountered a disciple of Sri Ramana Maharshi, Gangaji, who said ‘Stop! Be still, you are already That’. The message being that the effort and search were masking that which is always present; all that was required was to ‘stop’ and see what is always here. After many years of struggle and effort this news came like a breath of fresh air and I glimpsed the essence, that undeniable ever-present reality. This was followed by a seven day silent retreat which resulted in my first ‘awakening’, and also in an ecstasy that slowly faded over the following year.

This book came about from the realisation that occurred then and has matured over the following 12 years. During this time I wrote a series of articles, for an e-mail news group, based on my meditations and contemplations, around which this book is based. At the same time I have also completed an honours degree in comparative religion and philosophy, using the insights gained by my spiritual practices to inform my essays. Some of these essays have been adapted to include as chapters in  this book.

View the book's Index as a Word document

Beyond the 'Separate Self'

The End of Anxiety and Mental Suffering


A Simple Guide to Awakening

Based on the Meditations, Contemplations, and Experiences
of Forty Years of Spiritual Search and Practice

by Colin Drake

Copyright 2009 by Colin Drake. All rights reserved.

Nonduality.com Publications
www.nonduality.com/publications.htm

ISBN: [978-0-646-52907-3]

Humanity: Our Place in the Universe
The Central Beliefs of the World's Religions
by Colin Drake

Download and read the Index

Examines how the five mainstream religions conceive of 'our place in the universe' by considering their beliefs concerning: God, the creation, the nature of man, the purpose of life and the afterlife.

A clear, succinct and expanded edition of the author's Honours thesis. Here are some of the examiners' comments:

A well collated and analyzed selection of relevant scriptures. Clearly set out, well written and carefully considered, showing his understanding. It is an informative encapsulation of the material for any reader. A thesis of tight construction and careful categorization of the evidence. Ex. One

I read your thesis with great interest. I enjoyed reading it and think you have taken on a huge and important project. The established categories help enormously in making the subject comprehensible and your methodology is a good technique for exploring the complexities of religious thought. I think that your conclusion, that each religion posits that one must go beyond one's individual ego in order to attain higher realization, is valid. Ex. Two

This is a very interesting thesis, covering a vast topic area. The author's willingness to tackle such an involved and challenging task is to be commended. His ability to come to grips with many of the key tenets of each religion is commendable. A most fascinating discussion of the various religions. Ex. Three.

The streams examined are Judaism/Kabbalah, Christian Fundamentalism/Catholicism, Islam/Sufism, Advaita Vedanta/Vaishnavism, and Theravadan/Tibetan Buddhism.

~ ~ ~

Introduction
to Humanity: Our Place in the Universe, by Colin Drake

This book considers the place of humanity in the universe according to the world's major religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. This is accomplished by exploring the correlation between self-identity and world-view in each of these in turn; that is to say, the interaction between the way in which adherents of a particular religious viewpoint see, or define, themselves and the way in which they see and relate to the world. This exploration requires examining the central beliefs of these religions, for it is within the framework of these beliefs that the concepts of self-identity and world-view become apparent. There are many different forms of self-identity, examples being materialist, dualist, monist, universal and even that of no-self (anatta) in Buddhism. These inform and are informed by one's view of the world and one's place in it, and a change in either, by religious conversion for example, may radically change the other.

This analysis highlights the similarities and differences of the place and function of the individual in the world's five major religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. It also shows why some religions stress participation in the world and human affairs, whereas others are more focussed on the personal journey towards enlightenment and considers the relationship between self-identity and the belief, or lack of belief, in the afterlife. The world-view of each religion helps explain the different lifestyles adopted by its adherents, some seemingly centred on material acquisition and enjoyment, others on being 'good' so as to gain entry to heaven, others on devoting oneself or submitting to a chosen deity and finally the path of detachment and spiritual practices to attain enlightenment.

The world-view to be considered is the purely religious view of an adherent to a particular religious system and not the political, legalistic, or cultural view which may be imposed by the authorities of this system in different parts of the world. This religious view would be common to adherents of each system worldwide and is primary to the shaping of a sincere follower's world-view, whereas the local political, legalistic and cultural mores of that system are variable and would be of secondary importance in the formation of a devotee's view of the world. The laws, rules, rituals and practices specified in the system's scriptures are part of the framework in which an adherent can achieve life's purpose, as specified by that system, but are not to be considered here, as this part of the framework lies outside the scope of this book.

In order to study this religious view, consider five elements, that is to say, the way that religious systems answer the five big existential questions:

1. God: Is there a God, or an Absolute and if so what is its nature?

2. Creation: How was the universe created and what is the nature and purpose of this creation?

3. The Nature of Man: What is the essential nature of a human being - are we ephemeral material beings or do we possess some kind of indestructible essence?

4. The Purpose of Life: What is the purpose of life?

5. The Afterlife: What happens upon the death of the human body? Does this entail annihilation or is there some kind of afterlife and, if so, what is its nature?

As can be clearly seen, the world-view based on the answers to these questions contain the notion of self-identity such that a sudden change of one's conception of self-identity by a religious experience or sudden conversion will lead to a significant change of one's world-view.

In each religion is presented the orthodox or fundamental view, based entirely on that religion's scriptures, and at least one other view that has developed since these scriptures were written down. However, this book does not consider how or when these developments came about, for it is the present day view of the world and self-identity within these religious systems that is being studied. For instance, if you are a Catholic and thus believe that you possess (are in fact) an immortal soul, this is what is important to you, and not how this idea developed from the interaction between early Christianity and Hellenistic philosophy. This brings up an important point: what is being studied is the interaction between world-view and self-identity in the religious system itself, and therefore only applies to someone who accepts and believes what that system says. A once a week 'Sunday' Catholic, or a sceptic born into Catholicism who uses it as an 'insurance policy', may find that her life is only marginally influenced by the Catholic world-view.

It is already becoming clear that discovering the answers to these five questions and thus the religious world-view within any religious system can only be done by studying that system from the inside out. That is to say, finding out what that system itself says and believes, either by studying the scriptures themselves with informed comment from those within that system, or by studying the writings and teachings of prominent leaders and commentators within the system. External commentators can be useful only where they are entirely sympathetic to the system in question and are thus unlikely to distort the views of that system based on their own views and prejudices. To ameliorate the effects of my personal bias, I have attempted an empathetic approach to each system studied.

The book is divided into five chapters, one on each of the religions being studied. In the Western tradition, Judaism is considered first, then Christianity and finally Islam, as they developed in that order, the latter two with the preceding religion(s) and their scripture(s) as a base. With regard to the Eastern religions, Hinduism is considered first, as the older Upanishads predate the birth of Buddha.

The following scriptures are the primary sources used extensively in the sections on Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism: The Bible, The Qur'an, The Upanishads and The Bhagavad Gita. When the first three are quoted, two translations were checked against each other, and where there were substantial differences the alternate translation is provided in brackets. In the section on Gaudiya Vaishnavism, all quotes from the Bhagavad Gita are from the translation by A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who is the foremost authority of this sect of Vaishnavism. In this case no other source was used as it is the world-view of this stream of Vaishnavism which is being studied. In all of the above cases each quote is not individually footnoted, but the chapter and verse numbers are provided and the translations of the scriptures used are given in the bibliography. In the section on Buddhism all quotes are individually referenced as there is no single major scriptural source.

With regard to secondary sources, I relied on experts from within each system being studied, for these are the ones that enunciate the world-view of that system without any external interpretation. This means that books by, and websites of, such people as rabbis, theologians, priests, imams, Sufi masters, Swamis, gurus, Buddhist monks and Tibetan lamas, were all useful. External commentators were only accessed where they either quote such sources or where the writer is either a follower of, or obviously sympathetic to, the system in question.

Each chapter considers the five elements, that is, answers the big questions of world-view, from the scriptural and a later viewpoint. Within this enunciation of the world-view the concept of self-identity of the religious adherent becomes clear. These elements are studied in the same order within each religion: God, creation, man's nature, the purpose of life and the afterlife. There is then an analysis of the correlation between this view of self-identity and each of the elements within the world-view to show how they interact with and help form each other. Finally there is a chapter which sums up and shows the similarities and differences between the religions discussed.

About Colin Drake…

I was born in London in 1948 and, after a happy childhood, attended Kent College in Canterbury from 1959-65. I then took a degree in mathematics at London University before gaining a job as a trainee computer programmer and working on large mainframe computers until 1972, when during a visit to East Africa I met Janet who was to become my life-long partner. After some time living in London together and travelling to Canada and the USA, we came to live in Australia, which was Janet's homeland. We lived worked and studied in Sydney for seven years before buying an old run-down macadamia farm in the mountain range on the NSW/QLD border where we established a pottery, Janet having qualified as a studio production potter. Here we have lived happily ever since, having two fine sons who have now left home, and being deeply involved in yoga and spiritual life. Janet is now a qualified yoga teacher and I have recently completed an honours degree in comparative religion and philosophy.

This book, Humanity: Our Place in The Universe, is a direct outcome of my honours year at The University of New England, comprising my thesis and coursework essay on Ramakrishna, who was chosen to highlight the themes examined in the thesis. This is, to my knowledge, the only book published that directly examines the central beliefs of the world's religions within the same framework, which allows for straightforward comparison of these beliefs.

I have also completed another book entitled Beyond the Separate Self, The End of Anxiety and Mental Suffering which is a 'simple guide to awakening' based upon over 40 years of spiritual search, practice and experiences. This book contains meditations/contemplations written over a twelve year period since my first 'awakening' in 1996, and also contains relevant essays from my university days which have been modified to highlight the themes explored in this book.

Download and read the Index

Humanity: Our Place in the Universe
The Central Beliefs of the World's Religions
by Colin Drake

Copyright © 2010 by Colin Drake
All rights reserved

ISBN: 978-0-646-53376-6
Nonduality Publications