Awakening To The Dream
Awakening To The Dream
by Leo Hartong
Category: Non-fiction / General
148 pages; ISBN: 0954779215
Rating: 9/10 (Ratings explained)
Review
I have great pleasure in presenting my review of 'Awakening To The Dream', a book on Non-Duality by Leo Hartong.
Get from : www.awakeningtothedream.com and Amazon
Keywords: Advaita, Non-Dual, Philosophy, Religion, Spirituality, Dream, Awakening
'Awakening to the Dream' by Leo Hartong is a good introduction to and exposition of non-dualism, Advaita (not two). It explores the oft-rising questions like 'Who am I?', "What is Liberation?' etc., from the monistic (There is only One) point of view. It gives convincing arguments to reject the concepts of dualism (looking at the world from the point of view of two, (I or mine and You or Not-Mine) or pluralism (I, You and They/Others - a modified form of dualism). The book demystifies the psychic/mystic experiences which are often confused with enlightenment.
The book is extremely readable and after first reading, one can come back to it off and on to find answers, to clear the mental cobwebs. The author, Leo Hartong writes from personal experience and conviction. He doesn't expect you to accept his point of view. He shows you his perception and it is for you to decide whether those concepts vibe with you or not.
Leo is certainly not the first western author to write on non-dualism, which by the way is not a Hindu monopoly. I was pleasantly surprised that more or less similar concepts are found in Hinduism, Buddhism, Zen, Tao etc. Of course, since Buddhism was an off-shoot of Hinduism, that part was not new. But Zen, Tao and many other religions, also share this vision of Unity in Diversity.
The author has nicely brought out the common thread in apparently diverse religions across the world. Spirituality seems to be much more unified than apparent. It is the ritualistic diversity which is probably causing the apparent differences.
The author has rightly listed some of the other leading exponents of non-dualism who have inspired him. So, if the reader is a total novice to the subject, he/she will have not only Leo's point of view but will have the advantage of getting some more leads to read further. And if the reader has already a good grounding in the subject by reading classics of Sri Adi Sankara, Bhagavad Gita, Avadhuta Gita, Ashtavakra Gita etc., or modern non-dualists like Nisargadatta Maharaj, Ramesh Balsekar and others, he/she will find much to confirm the concepts by different analogies. More links are available at the author's website, www.awakeningtothedream.com
It is seen that a Dutch Language Edition of the same book is also available.
All in all, a very good and highly readable book. I recommend it strongly to serious readers who would like to answer the question, "Who am I?" -
by Leo Hartong
Category: Non-fiction / General
148 pages; ISBN: 0954779215
Rating: 9/10 (Ratings explained)
Review
I have great pleasure in presenting my review of 'Awakening To The Dream', a book on Non-Duality by Leo Hartong.
Get from : www.awakeningtothedream.com and Amazon
Keywords: Advaita, Non-Dual, Philosophy, Religion, Spirituality, Dream, Awakening
'Awakening to the Dream' by Leo Hartong is a good introduction to and exposition of non-dualism, Advaita (not two). It explores the oft-rising questions like 'Who am I?', "What is Liberation?' etc., from the monistic (There is only One) point of view. It gives convincing arguments to reject the concepts of dualism (looking at the world from the point of view of two, (I or mine and You or Not-Mine) or pluralism (I, You and They/Others - a modified form of dualism). The book demystifies the psychic/mystic experiences which are often confused with enlightenment.
The book is extremely readable and after first reading, one can come back to it off and on to find answers, to clear the mental cobwebs. The author, Leo Hartong writes from personal experience and conviction. He doesn't expect you to accept his point of view. He shows you his perception and it is for you to decide whether those concepts vibe with you or not.
Leo is certainly not the first western author to write on non-dualism, which by the way is not a Hindu monopoly. I was pleasantly surprised that more or less similar concepts are found in Hinduism, Buddhism, Zen, Tao etc. Of course, since Buddhism was an off-shoot of Hinduism, that part was not new. But Zen, Tao and many other religions, also share this vision of Unity in Diversity.
The author has nicely brought out the common thread in apparently diverse religions across the world. Spirituality seems to be much more unified than apparent. It is the ritualistic diversity which is probably causing the apparent differences.
The author has rightly listed some of the other leading exponents of non-dualism who have inspired him. So, if the reader is a total novice to the subject, he/she will have not only Leo's point of view but will have the advantage of getting some more leads to read further. And if the reader has already a good grounding in the subject by reading classics of Sri Adi Sankara, Bhagavad Gita, Avadhuta Gita, Ashtavakra Gita etc., or modern non-dualists like Nisargadatta Maharaj, Ramesh Balsekar and others, he/she will find much to confirm the concepts by different analogies. More links are available at the author's website, www.awakeningtothedream.com
It is seen that a Dutch Language Edition of the same book is also available.
All in all, a very good and highly readable book. I recommend it strongly to serious readers who would like to answer the question, "Who am I?" -
posted by S.V.Swamy | 6:51 PM
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