Odyssey of Enlightenment by Thompson

I finished Berthold Madhukar Thompson's book The Odyssey of Enlightenment. It is a fascinating read. At first I thought the book was too full of new age stuff. I did not believe the first two gurus (Osho and Papaji) were truly enlightened. Rather, I felt that these two that Madhu had spent the most time with were more like cult leaders. They wanted devoted followers and their money. Although they did speak of some well-known wisdom, they were very ignorant and unresponsive of Madhu's burning questions. I became worried for Madhu in his search, even though he felt he had benefited from these two teachers. He was in a deep trap, a trap in the desire for enlightenment--something he only had heard of. He wanted permanent happiness and bliss because he could not face the negative emotions in his daily life, and he wanted escape. He did not have a conscious knowledge or an intuitive knowledge of what enlightenment was. However, his sincerely and honesty saved him. He never gave in to half truth. When he left Papaji and started on his journey looking for other teachers, I too enjoyed meeting the teachers along his way. Many of the teachers had insightful wisdom to share with him. However, Madhu was not ready to receive some of the teachings, and the teachers were again ignorant of the ineffectiveness of their words. I could feel Madhu's frustration when the teachers seemed to go around and around the questions and never gave a straight answer. Either these teachers were very inflexible in their teaching, or they had limited understanding of Reality, or maybe they and Madhu were not good match. Sometimes I felt the guru would say things just to show how special and advanced they were on the path of enlightenment. Sometimes when they tried to point out the opposite, they appeared like Zen masters, but was Madhu ready for such teachings? I thought not. When we met UG Krishnamurti the anti-guru, I felt he was arrogant and unkind toward Madhu. I don't know why he would do this. His book on the Myth of Enlightenment has been on my wish list for a while and clearly he has important insights into spirituality. I might read his book and see for myself. Toward the end, I like Andrew Cohen for his responsiveness and coherence (moral integrity, clarity of intention, and open-hearted humility). In the end Madhu met D.B. Ganolli and found his peace in the teaching of Advaita Vedanta, the spiritual scripture. It seems that Madhu had found his own path, his own way of spiritual search. When he was ready, his new guru appeared. From Madhu's journey, I believe more firmly that there are infinite ways to reach one's destiny in life, and each person has to find his own way.

This book gives me a new urge to write my own story. At times I feel I want to write because I want to show off, because of the ego in myself that wants to tell everyone of my accomplishment. I would like to contact Madhu and see if he could help me with it.

From Gagolli:

A refined, discriminative, purified mind is strong and steadfast.

The absolute reality of our innate, innermost Self is to be of the very essence of pure essence of being (sat), pure consciousness of knowledge (chit), and pure bliss or happiness (ananda).

Cultivate introvertedness, forbearance, a steadfast dedication to spiritual pursuits, and mental quietude.

The main aim of life is to experience the nondual transcendental reality of one's true essential nature.

The expression 'balanced life' in vedanta signifies a way of living not given to excessive or extreme indulgences either at the sensual level or the mental level.

Vedanta is based on three fundamental ancient texts: the Brahma Sutras, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Upanishads. The Gita Bhashya is a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita written circa 800 AD by Sri Adi Shankara, the founder of Advaita Vedanta.

spiritual psychology and odyssey of enlightenment

I was having lunch in Santa Monica earlier this week and was right next to University of Santa Monica. They were advertising for graduate program in spiritual psychology. I decided to check it out. I got some brochures, then went to the reception desk and talked to a woman. Later another administrator came out to talk to me. I asked them several questions, and found out more about the school and the program.

It is a real university, not one of those enrichment programs for continuing education. They offer only graduate degrees in the area of spiritual psychology. They don't know of any other schools that offer similar program. The school admits about 240 students each year. After graduation, some students become certified counselors, some become public speakers, while most continue to do whatever they were doing before, and use the knowledge in their personal life and their work. The faculty are part time faculty from other schools. I could not find from them a list of the faculty members and their qualifications. They gave me a package of information including a CD and DVD, and encouraged me to listen to what the graduates have to say about their experience. I told them I would like to become a guru and wondered if the program could help me. "Wow, that is an interesting idea. Nobody have said that before," they were surprised. But I was even more surprised.

I thought maybe they would be interested in asking me questions and make me a subject of their study. Or maybe they could teach me vocabulary to be a guru, or a spiritual teacher. Or maybe I could meet some fellow seekers and awakened ones to share my experience. Apparently I was wrong.

I am having a strong deja vu feeling suddenly. Right now. I feel I have written exactly the same topic before on this blog.

My recent interest in the spiritual exploration again is prompt by my current reading of "The Odyssey of Enlightenment: Rare Interviews with Enlightened Teachers of our Time" by Berthold Madhukar Thompson. As I continue to follow Madhu's odyssey, I am becoming more and more intrigued by the interviews. The most valuable thing of this book is the author's complete sincerity and truthfulness, as well as his generous heart. Only a record of his actual path could lead to revelations and discoveries. Now I am at the chapter of the "anti-guru". I am yet to decide if this bitter anti-guru is disillusioned or really has something to offer.