Despite being labeled Volume 1, a robust resource of Indian spiritualism all on its own.
In this debut book, a woman recounts her life-changing experiences during three visits to India, using her time spent with several gurus to introduce the culture and lessons of Indian spiritualism.
At age 22, Ejlertsen was seemingly just starting her life as an electronics engineer in Copenhagen, but she already found herself struggling with depression. Then two separate events occurred—a never-before-experienced moment of clarity and a trip and fall that seemed somehow to occur in slow motion, outside her understanding of time and space. These incidents, along with meeting a guru in Denmark, led Ejlertsen to India in 1994. There, she studied under four gurus and saw a palm leaf astrologer, who, using her thumbprint, found a scroll that purported to divine the happenings of her life. She would discover her spiritual Master Chariji in 1995 and return to India on two more occasions. There, she gleaned much about the subcontinent’s rich history and Chariji’s specific form of transmission-based meditation, lessons she recounts in this, her second English edition of the book. Taking place over her 20-plus years of exploration of India’s spiritual culture, Ejlertsen’s work is not strictly a memoir. The first three chapters act as a thorough primer, introducing the ancient texts known as the Vedas, their supplementary Upanishads, the yoga sutras, and their connection to Hinduism, from its history to its practice. Palm leaf astrology is heavily examined, with the author’s own firsthand experiences giving a stirring and intimate view of the fortunetelling process. Much of the rest is made up of quotations from Chariji, and from his master, Babuji, charismatic gurus the author is clearly passionate about even if some of the breakdowns of their words seem dry in comparison. This is mitigated somewhat by the book’s own contention that its content need not be taken linearly. The work brims with useful supplemental resources, including extensive citations, black-and-white photographs and illustrations, locations and contact information for many of the gurus Ejlertsen encountered, and, most impressively, links and QR codes for a full multimedia experience.
Despite being labeled Volume 1, a robust resource of Indian spiritualism all on its own.Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5246-6656-9
Page Count: 290
Publisher: AuthorHouseUK
Review Posted Online: June 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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