Certainly not for everyone, but a smart reminder that we haven’t got the whole scene covered—look at quantum mechanics—and...
Radin (Entangled Minds: Extrasensory Experiences in a Quantum Reality, 2006, etc.) combs the scientific, peer-reviewed literature—and much yogic lore and historical anecdote—to find evidence and validity for the claims of mysticism, miracles and the supernatural.
Has our sophisticated scientific society developed blinders when it comes to reports of the supernormal? This is the question the author asks in this mostly levelheaded investigation into precognition, telepathy, psychokinesis and clairvoyance. The author’s aim is not to dismiss mechanistic materialism, but to recognize that its strengths have to be weighted against the prejudices and taboos of its adherents. Radin writes with an easy hand and a sense of humor, but readers may sense that part of the problem of the general population's being accepting of the supernatural may not be religion or materialism, realism or determinism or reductionism, but simply its language: “exalted states of intuitive awareness,” “ontological reality of the mystical realities,” etc. The author references historical yogic texts for instances of illuminated, unmediated reality, and then he describes the scientific research into transcendent experiences that has been published in respected journals, which shows that evidence of precognition, telepathy, psychokinesis and clairvoyance have statistical merit. Radin is careful to ask what is coincidence, what is a hallucination, a psychiatric problem or a sham, and for range and alternative visions, he delves not just into the yogic tradition of supernatural mental powers, but also into Catholic, Judaic and Tibetan Buddhist traditions. By the end, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that “some of the supernatural abilities found in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras are real.” The Dalai Lama, ever the politician wrapped in his spirituality, as quoted by Radin, maybe put it best: “it would be wrong to deny that some Tantric practices do genuinely give rise to mysterious phenomena.”
Certainly not for everyone, but a smart reminder that we haven’t got the whole scene covered—look at quantum mechanics—and that openness is more fruitful than seclusion in dogma.Pub Date: July 16, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-307-98690-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Deepak Chopra Books/Crown
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.
A teacher and scholar of Buddhism offers a formally varied account of the available rewards of solitude.
“As Mother Ayahuasca takes me in her arms, I realize that last night I vomited up my attachment to Buddhism. In passing out, I died. In coming to, I was, so to speak, reborn. I no longer have to fight these battles, I repeat to myself. I am no longer a combatant in the dharma wars. It feels as if the course of my life has shifted onto another vector, like a train shunted off its familiar track onto a new trajectory.” Readers of Batchelor’s previous books (Secular Buddhism: Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World, 2017, etc.) will recognize in this passage the culmination of his decadeslong shift away from the religious commitments of Buddhism toward an ecumenical and homegrown philosophy of life. Writing in a variety of modes—memoir, history, collage, essay, biography, and meditation instruction—the author doesn’t argue for his approach to solitude as much as offer it for contemplation. Essentially, Batchelor implies that if you read what Buddha said here and what Montaigne said there, and if you consider something the author has noticed, and if you reflect on your own experience, you have the possibility to improve the quality of your life. For introspective readers, it’s easy to hear in this approach a direct response to Pascal’s claim that “all of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Batchelor wants to relieve us of this inability by offering his example of how to do just that. “Solitude is an art. Mental training is needed to refine and stabilize it,” he writes. “When you practice solitude, you dedicate yourself to the care of the soul.” Whatever a soul is, the author goes a long way toward soothing it.
A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-300-25093-0
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Yale Univ.
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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