The Teachers of One by Paula Marvelly: This is the kind of book that is a real time-saver. Ms. Marvelly interviews fourteen of the best known neo-advaita teachers and thereby saves you the trouble of seeking out them. You will be quite grateful, as she has unwittingly written an expose of the shallowness of this crop of teachers.
Most of this weedy situation is the result of the now-deceased Poonjaji. He apparently had the habit of making vague pronouncements that certain students were ready to teach. These students, steeped in a tradition that they were already enlightened and there was nothing to be done, were quite happy to go out and preach the new gospel. Among these, Marvelly reveals Pratima, Mira, Bharat, Catherine Ingram, Gangaji, Isaac Shapiro, and Pam Wilson. Vartman also falls into this "lineage" as a student of a student of Poonjaji. Every one of these folks, comes across as quite underwhelming.
We are also treated to other voices. John de Ruiter (whose foibles I discuss elsewhere) reveals his secret line for attracting women, "Just look and see what happens inside you when you hold a baby -- that is truth." Vijai Shankar duels with logic while sounding quite magnanimous, "So go ahead, my child. I shall not be speaking about the truth. I shall only tell you things as it is -- illusion, the maya, which in reality appears as this unreality. It is a reality that appears as this unreality. Unreality is the appearance of the reality. But it's not the reality."
One of the more amusing stories is that of Ramesh Balsekar. He ascended to guru-hood upon the death of Nisargadatta Maharaj. On his deathbed, Maharaj shouted, "Why don't you talk!?" and Balsekar took this as an authorization to begin his new career. When some folks showed up looking for the now-deceased Maharaj, Balsekar stepped up to bat.
Only two people stand slightly above the crowd: Tony Parsons and Francis Lucille. Tony because he has found his own language. Yet his message boils down to there being nothing to do, and that message is of little help. Francis for an interesting description of his moment of realization. His "handlers" insistance that there be no questions about his personal life is somewhat suspicious, as if he had something to hide.
The book is also instructional for seeing how easily were are duped by the cloak of authority. Marvelly feels humble in the presence of all these teachers and laps up any little words of encouragement they throw her way. She doesn't doubt that they are what they claim to be, and her acceptance of the various messages leaves her more confused at the end of her journey than at the start.
Read this book. Buy a used copy if you can, then sell it or pass it on to someone else. Spread the news of what to avoid.
How We Die by Sherwin Nuland: An intensely realistic look at the most common ways people die and what happens in the body that leads to death. This book brings home the reality of your mortality. It also helps dispel the fantasy of many spiritual seekers that their death will be a serene moment in which they gracefull pass on while performing some spiritual practice which brings them enlightenment or other spiritual goodies. As this excerpt tells:
"My mother died in agony," she said, "and no matter how hard the doctors tried, they
couldn't make things easy for her. It was nothing like the peaceful end I expected. I thought
it would be spiritual, that we would talk about her life, about the two of us together. But it
never happened -- there was too much pain, too much Demerol...."
My patient needed a great deal of reassurance that there had been nothing unusual about the way
her mother died, that she had not done something wrong to prevent her mother from experiencing
that "spiritual" death with dignity that she had anticipated.... I tried to make clear to her that
the belief in the probablility of death with dignity is our, and society's, attempt to deal with
the reality of what is all too frequently a series of destructive events that involve by their
very nature the disintegration of the dying person's humanity. I have not often seen much dignity
in the process by which we die.
I have written this book to demythologize the process of dying. My intention is not to depict
it as a horror-filled sequence of painful and disgusting degradations, but to present it in its
biological and clinical reality, as seen by those who are witness to it and felt by those
who experience it. Only by a frank discussion of the very details of dying can we best deal
with those aspects that frighten us the most.
The Essential Rumi by Coleman Barks: Okay, so this one is probably no surprise, but I had to include it. Rumi's poems bring out one's hunger to know the Truth. Immensely inspiring, Barks' free translations capture the essence:
All day I think about it, then at night I say it.
Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing?
I have no idea.
My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that,
and I intend to end up there.
This drunkenness began in some other tavern.
When I get back around to that place,
I'll be completely sober. Meanwhile,
I'm like a bird from another continent, sitting in this aviary.
They day is coming when I fly off,
but who is it now in my ear who hears my voice?
Who says words with my mouth?
Who looks out with my eyes? What is the soul?
I cannot stop asking.
If I could taste one sip of an answer,
I could break out of this prison for drunks.
I didn't come here of my own accord, and I can't leave that way.
Whoever brought me here will have to take me home.
This poetry. I never know what I'm going to say.
I don't plan it.
When I'm outside the saying of it,
I get very quiet and rarely speak at all.
The Experience of Insight by Joseph Goldstein: This is a record of a thirty-day retreat led by Goldstein and is a straightforward introduction to the practice of Vipassana, or insight meditation. Although couched in the worldview of Theravadin Buddhism, the meditation instruction provides an excellent technique for observing the mind. Abundant advice is offered on dealing with the hindrances and distractions to meditation. Insight meditation will strip one's identification down to bare awareness. This is a significant discovery on the way to revealing our true nature.
Two Short Stories to Make You Ponder
The Door in the Wall by H.G. Wells is a poignant reminder to not let opportunities slip by.
The Seven Who Were Hanged by Leonid Andreyev puts us in the minds of seven people about to be executed. Some find transcendance in their final moments, while others only find misery.
Articles
"What is enlightenment, no, I mean really, like what is it?" by Steven Norquist is a plain-spoken view of enlightenment clearly based on experience.
"Neo-Advaita Demystified" by an anonymous author is a harsh critique of this popular teaching.