Beyond Race: The Bhagavad-Gita in Black and White [Paperback]

Charles Michael Byrd (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Xlibris Corp (February 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401043909
• ISBN-13: 978-1401043902
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,287,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Manifesto for the next level of human identity, April 1, 2002

By 

James A. Landrith Jr. "Free Will Agitator" (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond Race: The Bhagavad-Gita in Black and White (Paperback)

Charles Michael Byrd (editor & publisher of INTERRACIAL VOICE) has finally done it! His first book breaks down the walls of "racial" group-think and exposes the extreme "racialism" of the "you must pick a race and be that" crowd to the harsh light of day. This book is highly recommended for those wishing to shed the shackles of "racial" group identity in favor of embracing their right to be an individual. If you're still lost in the prisons of an NAACP-approved mindset, pick up a copy and free yourself.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent - and courageous - piece of work., July 17, 2002

By 

N. Brent Kennedy (Kingsport, Tennessee United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond Race: The Bhagavad-Gita in Black and White (Paperback)

Charles Michael Byrd is to be congratulated on weaving what every man and woman ought to be doing in terms of "race consciousness" with the greater morality of the Bhagavad-Gita. The Melungeons, a mixed ethnic group, have lived with, and continue to struggle with, the issues presented and discussed so thoughtfully by Mr. Byrd. All human beings - not simply those who consider themselves :mixed-race" - owe the author a debt of gratitude.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timely new application of timeless philosophy, July 1, 2002

By 

Belenios Ategnatos (Staten Island, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond Race: The Bhagavad-Gita in Black and White (Paperback)

The primary message of this excellent book is that people must learn to see beyond racial distinctions. The author particularly emphasizes the distortion of truth and the injustive of identifying people with that element of their heritage perceived (by some) as "lowest", especially "black" African heritage. Both "white" supremacists and the "black" movement castigate mixed-race "black"/"white" people who claim an identity other than "black"... meaning that they are apparently supposed to ignore their other heritage.

The author's ideal is that "race" should not matter at all. He makes the excellent point that "races" are imaginary constructs based only on superficial physical similarities. Modern nation-state-based "ethnicities" are similarly illusory, being legal fictions.

As an intermediary measure before a raceless soceity can really develop, the author would simply like to see mixed-race have the freedom to acknowledge what they really are, and not be forced to identify with one or anotehr of the "races" their ancestors may have been.

Mr. Byrd uses the Bhagavad-Gita, an important Hindu scripture, to make this point, as well as to show the real solution, which is to recognize that the real identify of all humans is that of the "race" of conscious beings. According to Krishna, in the Gita, the "soul" or the living being is the consciousness. When we collectively see this as the common characteristic between us, then the superficial characteristics of our, and our ancestors', bodies will cease to have any meaning.

I found BEYOND RACE to be thoroughly enjoyable and very important book. It will benefit anyone who reads it, but perhaps will resonate most strongly with those of us whose bodies are mixed-race. As a mestizo or metis who has studied the Gita for over ten years, I was delighted to find this book which so ably brings out an application of its teachings from this new perspective and remaining completely within the message of the Gita.