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#2820 - Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - Editor: Jerry Katz
The Nondual Highlights - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NDhighlights
One: Essential Writings on Nonduality: http://nonduality.com/one.htm
Book Review of Living Reality: My Extraordinary Summer with "Sailor" Bob Adamson, by James Braha
Review by Jerry Katz
The purpose of this book, the
author says, is "to share nonduality with you. ... to expose
the personal reference point - the `me' - for what it is: a
phantom created by the mind. My hope is to do for readers what
Nisargadatta Maharaj, the great Indian sage, did for my teacher,
Sailor Bob Adamson, and what Sailor Bob did for me. And that is
`to take the seeker beyond the need for help.' If, after reading
this text, you are able to see clearly that the `me' you have
live with your entire life is a false creation of the mind, you
will never need help again. You will know your true nature and
the real meaning of understanding."
There may be other books that share nonduality as satisfyingly as
Braha's does, but probably none surpass it. And perhaps no other
book in the nonduality genre brings a living sage, in this case
Sailor Bob Adamson, so close to you, in a physical and
"real" sense, in the way this book does.
The dialogues are realistic talks with a group of nice people
with Bob Adamson at the center of attention and including Bob's
wife Barb, who contributes sagely to the dialogue as well. The
tone of the dialogues varies from serious, to wildly free, to
nearly silly, but is always kept genuine by the presence of Bob.
Of course the author has to be commended for selecting the most
lively and meaningful portions of discourse, and for revealing
what it was like to be in the company of Bob Adamson.
Numerous topics are covered in the dialogues: Buddha, good
stories about Nisargadatta Maharaj, the Now, Muktananda,
infinity, the mind, thoughts of torture, reality, karma,
religions, desire, reincarnation, and of course nonduality, and
others. But there's really only one topic: "Life is
awareness constantly seeing awareness," says Bob. Other
quotations could be given basically saying that no matter what
topic is addressed it comes down to awareness or present
existence (or nonexistence), or getting the mind to stop.
A very important part of the book is the writing by James Braha
himself. His writings make up about one third of the entire book.
Braha's writings consist of introductory chapters to the book as
well as a conclusion. James's commentary precedes each of the
dialogues with Bob and prepares the reader for them.
In James's chapters he talks about his own experiences with
nonduality, his developing spiritual life, until near the end
when it becomes obvious that there's no point to speak of such
things as a spiritual life or stages of understanding. They are
imaginings. Also in Braha's chapters he talks about Bob's visit,
how it came about, how it progresses, Bob's arrrival. James
brings the reader into the events as they unfold, so we feel we
are with Bob and the rest of the gang when the dialogues are
taking place. James also talks about nonduality itself in the
chapters he writes.
Braha's writings are as significant as Bob's utterances. Thus
this book transcends Bob and Braha and becomes about waking up
itself. As well, this book includes all the elements readers
want: a sage, a seeker or two, the sage's wife, story of a
physical journey, story of a spiritual journey (or two),
dialogues with a sage, a collection of friends and others, color
photographs, a sense of warmth, family, humanity, solid and
identifiable beginning, middle, and end. The writing and editing
are professional. Thus this is a great book. This book must be
recommended along with the very best books on the teaching of
nonduality.
I like the dozen or so clear, color photographs very much,
showing the main people in the book. They make for a special
inclusion, unheard of in other nonduality books. With all the
names, subjects, concepts, themes, this book could use an index.
I wanted to find all the places in the book where Barb, Bob's
wife, was mentioned, because I thought she was so cool, but I
couldn't. On the other hand, I can understand where indexes
enforce searching and encourage avoidance of the message of
nonduality which is found on every page of a book such as this,
and needs no looking up.
~ ~ ~
Read excerpts, reviews, see photos, etc. here: http://www.jamesbraha.com/home.html
Order the book from Amazon.com here: http://snipurl.com/1logu
Read all 30+ of Jerry's reviews here: http://snipurl.com/1loh0.
My next review will be of Deepak Chopra's new novel, Buddha. Chopra's purpose is solidly and perhaps surpisingly nondual. Chopra is a true nondual teacher and at the same time, let's face it, a spirituality industrialist. Hey, he knows how to enjoy his stay here. The story is told in scenes that feel like epic cinema. I'm enjoying the book as much as any good novel. Any spiritual teacher interested in writing a novel might want to invest in this book. But wait till you've read the review. Looking forward to completing the book and writing the review today.
photo: Sailor Bob (L) with James Braha.