No comments about Erasmus.

2 comments about A Vision of the Sacred: My Personal Journey with Krishnamurti.

1. One gets the impression from reading this Wonderfull book that Sunanda was a warm hearted, sincere and intelligent seeker of spiritual truth.

   Since her first meeting with Krishnamurti in 1947 to her death in 1999 she did a lot of work for Krishnamurti and the Krishnamurti foundation in India. This book is a collection af meditation on the Spiritual Search and the influence of Krishnamurti and his Teaching on her. She says that she often got a sense of the Sacred around Krishnamurti and in situations like that it's so easy fo fall into the Guru trap and to stop thinking for oneself and just relying on the words and influence of others, But as Krishnamurti said to her " I can tell you that there is a lovely garden beyond the hill. I can hold your hand, But You have to walk and climb the hill."(p-11).

   This book is inspiring and gives one a lot to think on, and her writing is Poetic and Clear.

   Also recomended are the Krishnamurti Biograpy's by Pupul Jayakar and Mary Lutyens and some of Krishnamurti's books like his Notebook and Freedom from the Known.




2. A VISION OF THE SACRED: My Personal Journey with Krishnamurti By Sunanda Patwardhan Ph.D.

   Reviewed by Satish Telgar Ph.D.

   J.Krishnamurti the peripatetic teacher who ever since his apostasy from the Theosophical Society in the 1930's traveled around the world and talked to thousands of people touched and transformed many lives. Mrs. Sunanda Patwardhan the author of this wonderful little book A Vision of the Sacred had the rare privilege of being his close friend and confidant, records in it in a frank and candid manner the number of conversations and anecdotes that she was privy to. As she says in the introduction to the book the reason to write it was an earnest wish to share with the reader the events, insights and conversations with Krishnamurti and how it helped her face her own conflicts and begin her inward pilgrimage. The book has yet another lofty purpose, which is to communicate the sense of the sacred she witnessed in the remarkable presence of Krishnamurti. She hopes as she says in the introduction that a reader in the next century, which is upon us now, should be able to get a glimpse of this sense of the sacred that radiated from Krishnamurti by reading the book.

   Those of us who tend to think of metaphysical and religious truths as `distant' and `inaccessible' without undergoing rigorous practices of meditation will be surprised to discover that much of it has to do with observation of one's daily life with its attendant conflicts and problems. Time and again the reader is offered with anecdotes and suggestions which point out the need to be aware of what is happening to oneself as the key to unlock the unknown.

   Mrs. Patwardhan refers to an incident where Krishnamurti admonishes her and refers to her vanity and the need to be aware of it. Through careful observation one can see the self as it is instead of resorting to speculation. Speculative thinking brings into play in its wake the deeply encrusted thought process and distorts our perception. Intellect is the main instrument of speculative thought. Krishnamurti urges us to transcend the intellect as he is quoted saying, " You have sharpened your intellect. It is capable of analysis, clear thinking. That's enough. Now turn to other direction, the unexplained part, an explosion of silence in the mind". Silence and solitude are an essential part of Krishnamurti's teaching. One is reminded here of what the Buddha said that despite the fact that he had taught for nearly forty years yet he was in silence.

   Every now and then as one reads the book one gets a glimpse of Krishnamurti's probing mind. In one such revealing conversation, in response to a query from Krishnamurti, Mrs. Patwardhan refers to how in her own life through perception she was able to negate formation of things in her mind and accomplish this in a successive manner with other perceptions as well and thereby gaining insight into the ending of time. Krishnamurti points out that by going from one act of perception-negation to another it becomes a process and so it is still in the realm of time. He goes on to add through an exhortation, "....... Stop saying, ` I know, then the process ends'". To someone like me, who teaches philosophy, that statement resonates and reverberates with an ever-deeper meaning. In the Apology of Plato one of the great texts of philosophy in the western tradition, Socrates says that all he knows is that he does not know. Plato's dialogues may be seen as an attempt to understand this great utterance of Socrates.

   There are many interesting anecdotes and passages in the book, which will hold the attention of the thoughtful reader. One such passage is Mrs. Patwardhan talking about her many miscarriages and her failure to attain motherhood. This leaves a great sense of void. Talking about it to Krishnamurti she says that she has accepted her inevitable fate of not being a mother and in a sense made peace with herself. Krishnamurti's response to this is very revealing. He raises many interesting questions all calculated to expose the deep lingering desire to have a child and the consequent frustration of not having one. He asks if she has observed very clearly her inner reactions when she sees photographs of lovely children, sees a mother being tender to her baby etc,. The moral of this story is clear; it is not a matter of acceptance or rejection but deep and careful observation. It is only through deep and careful observation that the hidden and buried content of our consciousness can be eviscerated to clear view.

   The book is divided into convenient sections covering a wide array of topics ranging from Mrs. Patwardhan's first impressions of Krishnamurti and her own brahminical background to the subject of social change, tradition, education, living and dying, inner revolution, and theosophy. The language of the book is simple, direct, clear and straight from the heart. Some of us who are fortunate enough to have known Mrs. Patwardhan personally will immediately sense the gentleness and openness that was so characteristic of her personality as we read the book. The fact that Mrs. Patwardhan was a fine stenographer as well and kept scrupulous notes makes the quotations from Krishnamurti all the more authentic. The book is a great contribution not only to those who are discovering the teachings of Krishnamurti anew, but to others as well who have been familiar and who cannot afford to lose the ever renewing challenge of the vastness and depth of a great body of teachings that Krishnamurti has left behind for posterity.

No comments about Confucius: His Life and Thought.

2 comments about One Foot in the Stars: The Story of the World's Most Extraordinary Healer.

1. I really wanted to like this book, and it was interesting because of the subject matter, but I felt it got bogged down in the respect that the author was constantly running around from one "controlled experiment" to another to prove his abilities to everyone. Yes, he probably does have these amazing psychic and healing abilities, but he should stop trying so hard to prove it with one "test" after another.........enough already! Another thing that bothered me was his obvious jealousy toward Uri Geller, another PSI gifted fellow, who was very popular during that time. This shouldn't be about who is better or more amazing at their gift.......the gift alone is enough. The writing style was also a little stiff. He needed to loosen up a little and enjoy life and his gift a little more. Don't be so uptight and competitive! Would anyone like to buy my copy?



2. As I am a receptive reader in psychology and psychic material, I guess it is fairly likely I will write a favorable report on a book like One Foot in The Stars, but this is quite an outstanding biography I believe on many levels. It began with Matthew Manning's early life as a teenager at home and school experiencing extreme Poltergeist activity, which is the subject of an earlier best selling book, called "The Link" that Matthew had published in 1974 that began his life in the media. The poltergeist activity formed a dramatic and highly interesting section at the beginning of this book. Matthew progressively finds he has the ability to channel the energy in many forms such as automatic writing and painting He later goes through a period of his life very similar to that of Uri Geller, where he produces quite startling results under laboratory conditions. Eventually Matthew finds this life is not totally fulfilling, due to the reluctance of the scientists mentality and of having to prove it over and over to each group while all the time looking for reasons after experiments to discredit results when he himself does not understand how he does it? Basically no matter how good the laboratorial results this does not prove conclusively to the world that psychic ability exists, and Matthew thinks he is not producing any thing really positive with his powers. He tries to find him self and with a peak experience finds his path as a healer. Matthew takes us through his life in healing and explains his technique telling of many startling results accompanied by letters from his patients but also at the same time he gives us his inner feelings expressing his humanity in his doubts about life and pointing to failures as well to give balance. The aspect that is refreshing is that Matthew is human just like the rest of us and he tells it as it was for him at that time in his life going through relationship and drinking problems, and he has all the doubts that every one has about life in some ways. In my personal opinion the guy deserves a slap on the back, because taking an overall view he has produced so much good from his psychic talents and his mentality I think is admirable, as he only wants to promote something in a positive fashion that produces results through whatever means. Many scientists and doctors close the door when it cannot be explained "how"?, but Matthew point out it works that's surely good enough and should be used along side traditional medicine for patients that want benefit from healing. The book is intelligently written and extremely interesting coming as it does from the horses mouth, a must read for any open minded readers interested in the subject, buy it. Alan

No comments about The Letters of George Santayana, Book 3: 1921-1927 (The Works of George Santayana, Vol. 5).

4 comments about Erasmus and the Age of Reformation.

1. Johan Huizinga writes great history. I do not think many contemporary historians can match his prose. He does an excellent job of providing the reader a unique perspective of certain events, and the people involved with them as they unfold.
   
   In this book, Huizinga writes about Erasmus, a man who is arguably one of the great thinkers of the 16th century. I did not know a lot about Erasmus before I read this book, but now feel like I have a much greater understanding about the man, his ideas, and the era in which he lived.
   
   A word of warning about this book - it helps if you have a pretty good understanding of 16th century European history. If you are a novice, like me, you may struggle through some sections. It is well worth the effort though, in the end.
   
   The best thing about Huizinga's book is that you get more than just the history of Erasmus. The author includes a lot of analysis and his perspective into Erasmus' life, which are fascinating.
   
   I highly recommend this book to anyone who is familiar with 16th century European history, and wants to learn more about Erasmus. If you are new to this era of history, or do not know much about Erasmus, I would consider reading a more general history before making your way through this book.



2. Of all volumes of study which concern the learned scholar Desiderius Erasmus, it must be said, quite simply, that Johan Huizinga's work stands out among the greatest. Huizinga skillfully and colorfully weaves the many aspects of Erasmus' life together into one intimate portrait which places the man respectfully within the setting of his time. In this work, the reader will find that Huizinga always seems to surface the inmost sentiments of Erasmus, even amidst all the triumph, turmoil, and controversy which marked the age he lived in. From Erasmus' early years as an Augustinian canon, to his final days as an accomplished and conscientious scholar, the same underlining genius will be discovered by anyone who comes to grips with this classic work. Huizinga's, Erasmus and the Age of the Reformation, is a work worthy of praise, even eighty years after its first publication. Also, found here are several valuable letters of Erasmus', which display his dutiful correspondence with individuals like St Thomas More and Martin Luther. Any study of Desiderius Erasmus is not complete without Huizinga's timeless masterpiece at hand.



3. Of particular value to the reader is the preface of this work, penned in 1952 by the then Provost of Oriel College, Oxford, G.N. Clark. The brief preface introduces not only the work but the author, Johan Huizinga, perhaps as a halting effort at rehabilitation. Clark reminds the readers that Huizinga had suffered through two world wars and was imprisoned by the Nazis, and died in February, 1945, literally days before his beloved Holland was liberated: an apologia of sorts for a most controversial scholar.

   Huizinga had shaken the European and American historical and religious establishments with the publication of his most famous work, "The Waning of the Middle Ages," in 1919. In that work Huizinga introduced a novel gestalt for interpreting the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, upsetting historians of his day who still clung to the traditional strictures of epochs, and Churchmen, notably Catholic, for his candor in debunking ecclesiastical mythology of that era. ["The Waning" was actually placed on the Index of Forbidden Books for a time.] Clark argues that the Erasmus text is a companion piece to "The Waning," a useful point to remember in assessing this biography.

   For all the energy generated by their respective forces, neither the Renaissance nor the Reformation was particularly rich in seminal philosophical inquiry. In fact, the sixteenth century was in many respects quite conservative, with its veneration of Classical thought, Aristotelian scientific method, and religious interest in primary sources. Erasmus's lifespan, 1466-1536, was an age of application, where orthopraxis was making a run at orthodoxy. Erasmus has always enjoyed reputation as the consummate "Renaissance Man," literary giant, man of letters, humane reformer, diplomat. In this work he is still the preeminent Renaissance man, but in the Renaissance of Huizinga's making, when being a "Renaissance Man" was a dicier proposition than popularly held. He was after all, a friend of both Thomas More and Henry VIII. Huizinga's Erasmus is brilliant, though not particularly original, and he was often broke, sick, insecure, unemployed, displaced-at the height of his reputation, no less.

   The original literary works of Erasmus demonstrate scholarship, mastery of the pen, satire, wit, and synthesis. As Huizinga observed, Erasmus wrote less from piety than from humanistic reasoning. Despite the fact that his "Praise of Folly" is his best remembered original work, Erasmus had little patience for folly, which he would have defined in real life as extremism, violence, or pretension. His satire could be pointed, but he was never mad at the world per se, only those who would deface it needlessly. Theologically, he espoused "low church Catholicism" stripped of both spiritual and practical indulgences. His satire poked fun at Church excess, but this was hardly earthshaking at a time when many intellectuals laughed down their sleeves at ecclesiastical pomp.

   His major gift to the Renaissance and subsequent ages, in my view, is his application of philology to the Sacred Scriptures, an effort that would also cause his greatest friction with Catholicism. With the reverence of antiquity so common to his age, Erasmus mastered Latin and Greek to the point where he was able to discover major linguistic flaws in the official Catholic translation of Scripture, St. Jerome's Latin Vulgate edition. Erasmus, an eminently reasonable man, assumed that his Church would tolerate-in fact, welcome-a cleaner, more accurate rendering of the Bible, and he proceeded to edit the Vulgate with available Greek manuscripts. Pascal was yet to be born, so perhaps Erasmus can be excused his shock that the loyal faithful remained devoted to the Vulgate "for reasons of the heart." The Vulgate translation in 1500 enjoyed an almost sacramental reverence; it was the official text for the sacraments and, in fact, for all of the great body of scholastic medieval theology that synthesized orthodox Catholicism and the cosmos.

   As every contemporary Scripture scholar is painfully aware, every translation is in fact an interpretation, a point not lost upon the Roman Curia. Given his known temperament, one would have to concede that Erasmus, who routinely fled from confrontation, was rather innocent of the charge that he was undermining things sacred. But worse, Erasmus had opened the door to doubts regarding the credibility of a sacred work which was in its own right a part of antiquity, having been composed around 400 A.D. He had given fuel to Protestant reformers and added Jerome's masterpiece to the growing list of accretions that needed purging. Luther, a scripture scholar himself, recognized the value of Erasmus's work and courted him for years, mostly by mail. The winning of Erasmus's hand by Protestant suitors would have been a major symbolic victory.

   But Luther came to discover that even the most rational "Renaissance Men" have reasons of the heart. The reasonable Erasmus was traumatized by the irrationality of division. Perhaps the executions of his friends Thomas More and John Fisher or the general polemic and bloodshed that accompanied religious revolution led him to do the unthinkable for a humanist: make a decision. He threw his lot with Roman Catholicism. The reaction of both sides tells the stakes: Luther excoriated Erasmus in the choicest terms of his rich vocabulary. The Curia forgave Erasmus his translations and offered him a red hat shortly before his death. Both gestures indicate that we may never capture, at this distance, the reasons of the hearts of those who admired Erasmus as a man, a writer, and a symbol. But Huizenga makes a noble effort.




4. In the preface, G. N. Clark tells us of Johan Huizinga that his "great success and reputation came suddenly when he was over forty. Until that time his powers were ripening, not so much slowly as secretly."

   Huizinga starts his history of Erasmus with his childhood. He was born in Rotterdam, Holland in 1466. His years in the monastery are covered in the second chapter. We're told he was well read in Jerome. Furthermore he was consumed with the works of St. Augustine. In the summer of 1495 his studies carried him to the University of Paris. It was on this campus that a struggle of ideas was occurring. The story continues as Erasmus goes to England.

   Erasmus was a true wandering scholar at times with no home of his own. In describing his travels, his studies, his love of God, his calling, the modern Christian scholar can sense the continuity of the personalities who went ahead to pave the way for our contritutions.

No comments about Confessions of a Confirmed Extensionalist and Other Essays.

No comments about The Disenchantment of Art: The Philosophy of Walter Benjamin.

No comments about Larva Legis Aquiliae: The Mask of the Aquilia Torn Off the Action for Damage Done : A Legal Treatise by Christian Thomasius (1655-1728).

No comments about Una vida presente/ A Present Life: Memorias, 1 1914-1951.