Consciousness [Paperback]

Alexander Smit (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 26, 2008

In our quest for the essence in life, interest seems to go out mainly to change and improvement, and many a one has the idea that, by striving for change, a real change may actually take place. But is that so? In the talks with Alexander Smit it is made very clear, that the very urge for self-improvement and change has become one of man's main obstacles for realizing his true nature. On the one hand, this urge is based on ideas and an idea can never contain the reality. On the other hand, self-improvement and the fixation on change are themselves causing man's inner conflict to continue. In the confrontation with a teacher who is not bound by ideas, it is possible to come to an immediate recognition of our original nature, as a result of which the manifestation, i.e. body, mind and feeling, may be accepted completely. Alexander Smit whose final guru was Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj, is deeply rooted in the age-old tradition called 'Advaita'(Non-duality), which has been transmitted from teacher to disciple. At first sight no specific, recognizable method seems to be imparted here - rather, any such method seems to be undermined. But on closer study the authentic Advaita appears to be there, as bright as a diamond. Only a truly original transmittance, not based on memory, can be a help in the realisation of the Authentic within ourselves. The present book 'Consciousness' contains a selection from the numerous talks in which the oral transmission of this Authentic or Original in man takes a central place.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Epigraph Publishing (March 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979882818
• ISBN-13: 978-0979882814
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,456,348 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Full Pantry of Nondual Teaching, September 19, 2008

By 

Jerry Katz "Nonduality.com" (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Consciousness (Paperback)

This heavy and ripe volume consists of Alexander Smit's oral responses to over 500 questions constructed around the meta-themes of what the natural state is, what reality is, what or who the "I" is. These talks mostly took place in the Eighties, prior to the Internet generation.

Smit, who died in 1998, barely 50 years old, was a student of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. Smit speaks from experience and requires his questioners to speak from their experience. This condition keeps the dialogue unfettered by philosophical, theoretical, intellectual distraction. It also keeps Smit free of cultishness.

He says, "Self-realisation has nothing to do with the ideas we may have about it." Same may be said for him and for you. The constant cleaning out of your concepts and your projections upon him, makes for healthy relationship, reason enough for recommending the teaching of Alexander Smit. "Young lady," he says at one point, "please do not project your own situation onto me in order to show me how I am experiencing myself."

Smit's student Philip Renard writes a useful foreword in which he lays out and talks about Smit's main themes. Renard also talks about his relationship with Smit, about whom he says, "I had learned of such expressions as, `I am Consciousness only,' or `This mind is nothing but the Buddha,' but never had I seen anybody demonstrating it."

EXAMPLES OF TOPICS DISCUSSED:

Smit addresses many different topics. I'll mention a few of them along with a brief quotation so that you get a feel for the scope of this book. However many of Smit's responses are discourses, fairly lengthy and full of solid wondrous stories.

The guru: "One condition is that the guru himself must have reached the end, and that he himself has covered the road completely. Otherwise it will be a comedy."

Boredom, loneliness, and the fear of death: "There are but few who are prepared to face these three obstacles, for it requires courage, passion, and intellligence to face your own life."

Hope, belief, and love: "He who builds his life on these ideas will experience their stifling effect."

Self-realisation: "The only problem with Self-realisation is that you insist on experiencing that state as an `I," as a `person,' as an `experiencer.'"

Men, women, and enlightenment: "As soon as a man becomes enlightened, the first thing he will do - he can't wait for five minutes - is to gather at once disciples around him and start explaining things. Whereas a woman will simply sit down and enjoy it, that's all."

CONCLUSION:

In March of 1985, Alexander Smit said, "Advaita [nonduality] will never become very popular." The reason, he explained, is that consciousness or your real nature cannot be located, experienced, or perceived, and there's nothing you can "do" with abstractions.

Advaita or nonduality is popular. What Smit did not see is that people would not be frustrated or frightened by the inability to speak the Truth, or by the non-existence of Truth as an object. People are okay with it, and they know how to prattle about the Truth, which is all Smit, Nisargadatta, or anyone can do.

On the other hand, Smit makes a good point: "You can use advaita vedanta in such a way that you actually won't have to see the truth, just as you can use any religion, any philosophy, any enlightened man as a system of thought in which you will know how to fit your own thinking - your wasted life." Yes, that's true, too.

Smit is as bottom line as any authentic teacher. His book is like a pantry chock full of nonduality. It's more diverse than a lot of the newer books on the topic. With shades of orange on the cover and nearly 400 pages stuffed with very readable teachings, this is an ideal book by which to define your Autumn.

I also want to congratulate Andre van den Brink for translating the text from Dutch.

SUMMARY:

I'll let Smit have the final word here: "A summing-up is to organize anew the confusion, which should be seen and transcended instead."

Jerry Katz

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What is real reality?, October 7, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Consciousness (Paperback)

What is real reality? "Consciousness: Talks About That Which Never Changes" is an examination of consciousness and how it affects our perception of the world around us. With many ideas and concepts that are new and fresh, the book seeks to revamp the reader's world view with a barrage of new thoughts. "Consciousness" is a must for anyone who loves to deeply think about what our world truly is and how humanity perceives it.