Quest Magazine

Ehyeh: A Kabbalah for Tomorrow

By Arthur Green
Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights, 2003. Hardcover, 192 pages.

Despite its subject-the ancient and mystical tradition of Kabbalah-this book is not about the past but about the future. Ehyeh, a Hebrew word that may be translated "I will be," is one of the biblical names of God and by its very tense it points toward what is to come. Arthur Green, a professor of Jewish Thought at Brandeis University, emphasizes this name in order to introduce his view about how the Jewish mystical tradition, so long deemphasized among "modern" Jews, should become more mainstream and develop in the future. What he emphasizes above all is the oneness of the universe and the image of God as the divine in the human.

Ehyeh: A Kabbalah for Tomorrow was written by a Reconstructionist Jew for Jews. Nevertheless, because Green seeks to develop a postmodern, mystical attitude, much of what he says will appeal to a wider audience. Indeed, his comments on many issues, including the environment, prayer, and the community could be easily accepted by liberally minded members of many other traditions. Although he speaks about the Jewish tradition and urges his readers to learn Hebrew, the values of the book seem to arise as much from postmodernism as from Judaism itself. Some Jews, I suspect, will find that a major problem.

I myself approached the book hoping for a more detailed account of the Kabbalah. For instance, I would have liked a fuller examination of the sephiroth and how they may be used in meditational practice. What is offered is evocative, but does not go far beyond some basic thoughts, particularly about sephiroth six through nine. Nevertheless, this is a beautifully written and informative work that surely breaks down stereotypes of what is Jewish. Forelocks have been replaced by foresight. The work concludes with an epilogue containing, among other things, a helpful discussion of recommended works about the Kabbalah. Green offers here a good beginning in Kabbalah for those who know little about it. He has shown that this Jewish esoteric tradition, in some ways so foreign in thought and expression, can be adapted to the postmodern world. Whether old-time Kabbalists would agree is, of course, another question.

-JAY G. WILLIAMS

July/August 2004

A Walk with Four Spiritual Guides: Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, and Ramakrishna

By Andrew Harvey
Woodstock, VT: Sky Light Paths, 2003, Hardcover, 240 pages.

If you are not familiar with the work of Andrew Harvey, this book offers a wonderful way to meet him. He begins by recounting his 1992 conversation with the mystic monk Bede Griffiths. "You know of course, Andrew, that we are now in the hour of God ... Very few people are prepared to look without illusion at our time and see it for what it is-a crucifixion on a worldwide scale of everything humanity has expected or trusted or believed in every level and in every arena. To look like this requires a kind of final faith and courage, which few have as yet. You and others like you will have to live and write in such a way as to help people to such a faith and trust."

"Do you think humanity can get through?"

"Of course, ... but it will cost everything, just as Jesus had to go through death into the new world of the Resurrection, so millions of us will have to go through a death to the past and to all old ways of being and doing if we are going to be brought by the grace of God into the truth of a real new age. The next twenty years will unfold a series of terrible disasters, wars, and ordeals of every kind that will reveal if the human race is ready to die into new life or not."

Always, Harvey's words, spoken or written, echo the conviction of Griffiths's words, while filled with his own broad and deep wisdom and passionate urgency. Here his reflections illuminate selected texts about Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, and Ramakrishna, assuring that "we will learn priceless and practical lessons, inspiring us to become warriors of love and knowledge and servants of that one transformed future that could enable us to survive."

A helpful page-facing commentary accompanies each text's English translation. In addition, insightful essays from others invoke a zone of consciousness to help us connect more deeply with each guide and selection.

For example, "one moment in the company of an enlightened master is more valuable than a hundred years of sincere worship .. , even a written account ... can impart to us the fragrance of their divine companionship." And, "always read a (mystical writing) as if it had just been written ... referring to what is going on in the world right now. If you do, you will find that its power to initiate and inspire is constantly astounding ... each different cycle of world civilization will find in it new truth, expressed with permanently fresh urgency."

Harvey begins his discussion of probably the most revolutionary mystic of the past 150 years with this assertion: "If I had to choose one book to take with me to a desert island to contemplate for the rest of my life, or pick one book to give a seeker today to help guide him or her into the joys and mysteries of the mystical life, it would be The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna."

For Harvey, nevertheless, "the world's supreme mystical revolutionary" is the teacher known as Jesus, and the Gospel of Thomas is the clearest guide to his vision of each person finding the truth and power of human divinity within themselves.

This volume is a very satisfying “sampler” of the other books in Skylight Paths' spirituality classics collection, which present the work of one guide in more detail.

-DAVID BISHOP

July/August 2004

I Ching: An Annotated Bibliography

By Edward Hacker
Steve Moore, and Lorraine Petsco. New York: Routledge, 2002, Hardcover, 336 pages.

The I Ching (The Classic of Change) is an ancient Confucian classic that has shaped Chinese thinking for millennia. One of the oldest books in the world, it dates back to pre-historical times. Although frequently used for divination, the I Ching is also a book of metaphysics and early mathematical theory. Based upon a binomial system of broken and unbroken (yin and yang) lines, it foreshadowed the whole cybernetic world in which we now live. The great philosopher and mathematician G. W. Leibniz perceived the significance of the I Ching in the seventeenth century. Unfortunately, no apparent reference to his work is included in this compilation.

In recent years, particularly since the 1960s, the I Ching has become very popular in the West as a tool for self-reflection and divination. As I Ching:  An Annotated Bibliography attests, such interest has led to innumerable books and articles about this ancient classic. The authors group these materials, which range from voluminous books to one-page broadsides, into three basic categories: (1) books and unpublished dissertations, (2) journal and magazine articles and reviews, and (3) I Ching devices and equipment. The latter category includes audio and video tapes, computer programs, I Ching cards and kits, and so on.

All items are annotated. There will, of course, be disagreement about whether each annotation does justice to the item at hand. Some of the comments are extensive, others very brief; most of them were helpful and to the point. Although there may be omissions (for example, any mention of Leibniz, surprisingly) the listings seem quite exhaustive. For anyone wishing to do research on the I Ching, this volume will be highly useful.

Nevertheless, some limitations should be noted. First, although the title does not reveal it, this bibliography refers only to works written in English. The user should be aware that there is a vast array of works in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and several Western languages that should be consulted if one is to do full justice to the subject.

Second, the title should also have indicated the time span covered. Like any other bibliography, this one is already out of date. Only a few moments of internet research uncovered a significant number of books about the I Ching published since 2001 that are not included. This, of course, is not the fault of the compilers, for every bibliography will be dated even before it is published. Nevertheless, a clearer indication of the bibliography's cut-off point would have been helpful.

Given these limitations, however, this is a very useful tool for anyone with an interest in this ancient classic. The compilers should be congratulated for their monumental achievement.

-JAY G. WILLIAMS

May/June 2004

Yoga Hotel: Stories

By Maura Moynihan
New York, NY: Regan Books, 2003, Paperback, 304 pages.

Although The Quest generally reviews only scholarly non-fiction books, every so often a remarkable work of fiction comes along, that not only conveys various spiritual messages by the characters in the stories, but does so with meaning and feeling that goes far beyond the fiction genre. These books can convey a message that has more depth than any academic study could ever hope for. Maura Moynihan's Yoga Hotel is such a book. It is a "must read" for Theosophists who desire a more balanced view of the "mystical" East and the "materialistic" West.

When Moynihan was fifteen, she moved to New Delhi, India, where her father, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, took up his U.S. ambassador duties. After numerous years in India and Nepal, she has become a spokeswoman for developing an improved East-West cultural relationship. Her many experiences are reflected in this book.

Hotel Yoga is composed of six stories; most are short except one which is a novella. As she explains in a blurb for the book, "I wanted to write about the India I know ... a place where worlds and people collide, with unpredictable and complex results." As we shall see, when the Indian household tradition meets the lure of Western novelty, it can lead to some interesting stories. Sometimes it is spiritually healthy to be reminded of what happens when the ancient religions are found amid urban chaos.

No matter which story you read, we find an underlying theme: Visitors from the West are most of the time “high maintenance” travelers. More often than not, they can be self-centered, and we, as readers, see this long before the people in the stories can. It's not surprising to sometimes find a Westerner's spiritual ways shallow. While, on the other hand, their Indian host often takes advantage of the Western's traits and exploits them as best they can.

In one of the stories an Indian manservant helps his British boss escape a prearranged wedding. The real intrigue of the story is the motives and scheming of the people involved; all done with a touch of the mysterious Indian culture. A good contrast of East and West is found in another story involving an American embassy worker who becomes disillusioned when her married lover uses her to get a visa. Yet another story brings to light the ultimate test, when a group of wealthy Westerners at a Himalayan retreat are asked to buy dowries for a poor Indian family.

My favorite story was about a dying guru called Masterji, whose disciples, followers, and hangers-on start vying to be his replacement. Among them was a young woman named Sam, who was my choice for his replacement, Her strengths and weaknesses, reminded me of the French philosopher and mystic Simone Weil, who was always looking out for the disenfranchised. Imagine my surprise when I found out that Sam was based not on Simone Weil but on the author at that particular time of her life!

There is a Yoga Hotel CD that can be ordered as an accompaniment to the book, on which the multi-talented Moynihan, who is also a musician, sings songs in English, Hindustani, and Tibetan exploring the East-West theme.

-RALPH HANNON

May/June 2004