Book Reviews
Gnosis & Western Esotericism Come of Age
Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism
Edited by Wouter J. Hanegraaff with Antoine Faivre, Roelof van der Brock, & Jean-Pierre Brach.
(Brill: $155.00; 1,258 pp., 1 Volume)
"It is only as late as the 1990s that the study of Western esotericism, under that title, has begun to be seriously recognized as an academic field of study in its own right." -- Wouter Hanegraaff
The Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism (DGWE), which would be more recognizable to most Americans as an encyclopedia than a dictionary strictu sensu, represents a ground-breaking accomplishment of potentially great interest to serious spiritual seekers and other lay readers with a cultural and historical interest in the very broad range of subjects subsumed under the book's title.
Though conceived and executed as reference work by scholars for use in a burgeoning new field within both European and Anglophone academia, as well as in related interdisciplinary fields, its interest and usefulness certainly extend beyond the academy to the more serious and educated echelon of spiritual, esoteric, and even New Age students and practitioners. Alas, its price puts it beyond the reach of all but the most dedicated or affluent individuals.
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Some Confusion Found in Going Directly to the Divine
God Without Religion: Questioning Centuries of Accepted Truths
By Sankara Saranam
(Pranayama Institute: $25.00; 283 pp.)
Reviewed by Nan Henderson
The Dali Lama has said, "My religion is Kindness;" Mother Teresa noted, "There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread;" and Gandhi advised, "We must be the change we wish to see in the world." The noted Theosophist Annie Besant remarked that a sign of someone who has truly touched the divine is compassion for all of life.
Sadly a book with such a promising title as God Without Religion offers none of these fruits of a well honed spiritual connection.
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The Jesus Papers: Publicity, exploitation, or compelling reading?
The Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest Cover-Up in History
by Michael Baigent
(Harper San Francisco: $27.95; 273 pp.)
Reviewed by
Helene Vachet
This might be a book for everyone in spite of the fact that the Gnostic scriptures are not like the entertaining Greek Myths or the slightly less entertaining stories of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.
Gnostic scriptures need to be read with an eye for symbolic meaning and with the scholar's fervor to find new ideas. This book, however, offers no really meaningful interpretation of these scriptures. This is more a book for the curious dilettante who wants to know as much as possible about the connection between Mary Magdalene and Jesus.
For here you will discover if there is a basis, in the Gnostic tradition, for the assertions in The Da Vinci Code that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus, a scholar and a teacher.
You will also find out the Gnostic view of the relationship between Mary Magdalene and the Holy Grail.
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Mary Magdalene: Coequal consort of Jesus?
St. Mary Magdalene: The Gnostic Tradition of the Holy Bride
by Tau Malachi
(Llewellyn Publishing: $12.95; 198 p.)
Reviewed by Helene Vachet
This might be a book for everyone in spite of the fact that the Gnostic scriptures are not like the entertaining Greek Myths or the slightly less entertaining stories of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.
Gnostic scriptures need to be read with an eye for symbolic meaning and with the scholar's fervor to find new ideas. This book, however, offers no really meaningful interpretation of these scriptures. This is more a book for the curious dilettante who wants to know as much as possible about the connection between Mary Magdalene and Jesus.
For here you will discover if there is a basis, in the Gnostic tradition, for the assertions in The Da Vinci Code that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus, a scholar and a teacher.
You will also find out the Gnostic view of the relationship between Mary Magdalene and the Holy Grail.
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Book is tool for understanding physical and spiritual worlds
Observing Spirit: Evaluating Your Daily Progress on the Path to Heaven With Gurdjieff and Swedenborg
by Peter Rhodes
(Chrysalis Books: $26.95; 227 pp.)
Reviewed by Jerry Hejka-Ekins
While Peter Rhodes' Observing Spirit might be called a self-help book, it does not use new age formulations nor does it follow any particular school of Western psychology.
Rather, he brings together an approach to self integration developed by Gurdjieff with a spiritual philosophy drawn from the writings of Swedenborg.
Gurdjieff's system, Called "The Fourth Way," offers a practical system of self integration which brings equally into play the body, mind, and emotions, while Swedenborg's system of metaphorical interpretation of the Biblical scriptures makes for the Bible a practical spiritual tool for understanding the relationship between the physical and spiritual worlds and our place in it.
Rhodes further brings his own life experiences into his system, and regularly writes about his own day to day challenges of marriage, family and work.
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