The Supreme Self

by Swami Abhayananda and S. Abhayananda

The dramatic story of one man's mystical experience of unity. With uncommon erudition and skill, Swami Abhayananda, an American-born monk, communicates a clear and consistent philosophy of unity based... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0914557017
• ISBN13: 9780914557012
• Release Date: January 1984
• Publisher: Atma Books
• Length: 188 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

The bhakta view

A very readable book offering valuable information on the topic of bhakti, which the author seems genuinely qualified to provide. The first part describes the author's own spiritual search and `enlightenment experience', and reads very much like a modern-day `Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna'. The second part, and for me the most interesting, draws parallels with other non-dual philosophies, showing how they all differentiate between the transcendent, non-dual reality and a manifest world which is simply an appearance of duality, created as it were through a divine power. The third part looks in greater depth at the philosophy and highlights particular aspects such as the problem of evil, the nature of grace and the question of free-will. The last part addresses the apparent conflict between the paths of j~nAna and bhakti and provides the best rationale I have encountered to explain the essential non-difference of these approaches. I have to say that I would quibble over a few points of exposition of the philosophy but I would definitely recommend this book for anyone whose outlook is more oriented to the heart than the mind and also for those who have difficulty reconciling the two paths. It should also be noted that the author is a firm believer in astrology and in addition to mentioning this in the body of the book he provides an extensive appendix containing charts. If, like me, you believe that one's personality/destiny is affected or revealed more by the passing of a truck in the street outside than by a planet in the outer reaches of the solar system, you should note that this idiosyncrasy in no way affects the quality of the rest of the book. (I do also know of other Advaitins who believe in Astrology.) Dennis Waite, author of Back to the Truth: 5000 years of Advaita