God without Religion: Questioning Centuries of Accepted Truths [Hardcover]

Sankara Saranam (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2005

In a groundbreaking approach to today’s tough spiritual and social dilemmas, God Without Religion, with a foreword by Arun Gandhi, offers an intelligent and compassionate bridge from dogmatic belief systems to progressive spirituality. Sankara Saranam shows why organized religion has long been the cause of humanity’s worst wars and most acute suffering—then guides us beyond our divisive history into more expansive perceptions capable of creating a unified, peaceful future. Through a series of penetrating inquiries and practices, readers are invited to examine their beliefs, explore the nature of the divine, and develop personal knowledge of God.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A powerful book [that] could liberate the world of religious strife and lay a sound foundation for a global ethic." -- —Ingrid Shafer, PhD
Professor of Philosophy and Religion
University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma

"A spiritual masterpiece." -- —Rev Dr Michael Ellner
President, HEAL (Health Education AIDS Liaison-NYC)
Co-author of Quantum Focus and winner of the IMDHA Pen and Quill Award

"Beautifully articulated. . . . A work appropriate for anyone in search of spiritual meaning." -- —Michael Shermer
Publisher of Skeptic magazine; columnist with Scientific American; and author of Why People Believe Weird Things and The Science of Good and Evil

"One of the most extraordinary books of our time . . ." -- —Hank Wesselman, PhD
Anthropologist and author of The Spiritwalker Trilogy and
The Journey to the Sacred Garden

"Perfect for anyone who is dissatisfied with organized religion in its many guises. . . . a well balanced, non-reactionary approach . . . Exceptional." -- Jaye Beldo, freelance reviewer, July 2005

"Saranam presents timeless techniques—meditation, affirmations, energy work, relaxation exercises and tips—to develop spirituality and bring God closer." -- Ode Magazine, July 2005

"This book’s bold message is vital." --—Larry Dossey, MD
Author of Healing Beyond the Body and Reinventing Medicine

From the Inside Flap

Disillusioned with organized religion, some people escape into New Age movements and others retreat from their spiritual moorings altogether. A more satisfying and transformative option is to embark on a quest to discover God on your own. Using time-tested tools of spiritual investigation, it becomes possible to examine your present beliefs, explore the nature of God and sense of self, and ultimately expand your identity. God Without Religion introduces this age-old approach to spiritual inquiry for modern-day readers. Step by step, it offers a bridge between organized religion and mystical spirituality for anyone questioning traditional dogma or its legacy of divisiveness. It also assists in overcoming limitations and notions of exclusivity promoted by New Age movements. Included are seventeen universal techniques for developing personal knowledge of God and broadening your view of yourself, others, and all of life.

"The genuine seeker must utilize both the critical mind and the generous heart. God Without Religion honors both." —John J. McGraw Author of Brain & Belief

"A provocative challenge . . . to the smug assertions of those who would claim to know the truth." —Robert S. Alley Professor of Humanities, Emeritus University of Richmond

"This practical as well as theoretical volume encourages people to have direct, firsthand experience of the divine, unmediated by the trappings of organized religion." —Mary E. Hunt, PhD Codirector of WATER (Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual)

"Extraordinary, elegant, beautiful, informed, practical. . . . It is good medicine in a troubled world." —David Carson Coauthor of Medicine Cards

"God Without Religion offers, through exquisite prose and profound substance, a way out of religious shackles and abuse — a direct path to God." —Alon Ben-Meir, PhD Professor of International Relations The Center for Global Affairs, New York University

"This thoughtful and insightful book will help increase the spiritual literacy that is a necessary part of our true higher education. . . . I heartily recommend it." —Lama Surya Das Author of Awakening the Buddha Within and founder of the Dzogchen Meditation Center

"A treasure, a pearl of great price . . . a worthy companion on anyone’s path." —Robert Ransom Odom Internationally published author, columnist, and spiritual teacher

"An inspiring, positive, wonderful book . . ." —Joseph Dispenza Author of The Way of the Traveler and Live Better Longer

"A breath of fresh air . . ." —Hal Zina Bennett, PhD Author of Writing Spiritual Books

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pranayama Institute (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972445013
• ISBN-13: 978-0972445016
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #619,490 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

135 of 140 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Confronts the narrow religious identity, July 1, 2005

By 

Hector - See all my reviews

This review is from: God without Religion: Questioning Centuries of Accepted Truths (Hardcover)

This is a terrific book that takes on all religions in their various disguises. Sankara Saranam gives tools that assist the reader to examine his or her narrow and exclusive religious identity. He then provides simple and effective lessons for building a more expansive sense of self. They say there's nothing new under the sun, but I've never read anything like this in my life, and I am an overeducated person whose hobby is reading.

We can expect that everyone will find this book challenging to their individual spiritual path, but such challenges offer great opportunity for growth. (Full personal disclosure: I do not particularly identify with any religion or ism).

We can also expect that many people, threatened by the book, will not want you to read it. There's a reason, after all, why the only negative attacks I've seen anywhere against this book (and there aren't many!) are from people -- some of whom had clearly not read more of it than its title -- that strongly identify with a religion (priests, seminary students, etc.) They don't disparage this book, becaue they can't. What they really disparage are the ideas it represents in their minds that threaten their narrow religious sense of self.

Don't let anyone stop you from reading this incredible book. If you are ready to confront and expand your own personal sense of spiritual identity, I highly recommend God Without Religion.

124 of 135 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Awesome, September 20, 2005

By 

Amy Anderson "Lover of Philosophy" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: God without Religion: Questioning Centuries of Accepted Truths (Hardcover)

I don't buy books online, and I certainly never review books on Amazon. I consider Amazon's customer review system a bit of a mess, made largely so by the people who misuse it, clearly have not read the book they are reviewing (there are a few of those here, which I will obliquely point out), or decide to attack the author for no other reason than their myopia was triggered by the book, a review of the book, or just the book's title. This is especially the case with controversial books like God Without Religion.

After reading the book and being utterly taken by it, I was curious to see what others were saying, and not saying, about it. After doing so on this page, I decided I had to chime in. I hope my review makes my reasons clear.

God Without Religion is not simply an incredible book. It is perhaps the consumate treastise on human existence, to date. Before the atheists out there write it off by telling themselves they don't believe in God, they might care to read the first few pages to discover that the "God" of God Without Religion is not the God of religions. Its God is not a noun up there in the sky, not a monotheistic creator, nor an anthropomorphic mother or father. It is a question. It is THE question of human identity, selfhood, and awareness. In philosophical terms, this book exposes the ultimate ontological quandry and our corresponding epistemic limitations. To say, for example, that this book's discussion of Buddhism is misplaced since Buddhism is nontheistic would only reveal utter ignorance of the material in this book.

In this age of publishing, where nearly 200,000 new books are published every year in the United States alone, I feel that if a book contains one new idea or approach, it is noteworthy. God Without Religion contains a dozen marvelous insights, a few of which being downright earth shattering. Some have rightly noted that its treatment of time (as in "Being and Time") is exceptional. Others are wonderstruck at its exploration of mysticism. Still others are floored by the book's deconstructive process, as applied to everything from religious ritual to ontic planes, penetrated as the world's divisional misperceptions are undermined. The list goes on...

For me, the most mind-blowing discovery exposed in this book is, ironically, the one I missed on my first reading. Perhaps like other readers, I didn't quite get the section on ethics on my first pass. The whole book was breathtaking, so to read a section that didn't strike me profoundly was rather odd. I read the whole book again, paying close attention to that section. I then got it, with a little help from some italicization inserted by this book's world-class editor. (By the way, I found God Without Religion to be a page turner no less than the most engrossing fiction.)

The discovery concerns the mechanics behind knowing right from wrong, how ethics is inherent in the atoms, so to speak, and why no words or book can possibly contain any absolute declaration of these truths, realized through a developing intuitive capacity. Though the whole book is empowering, this initially hard to fathom section is absolutely liberating. I challenge anyone to find me such a revealing explanation of ethics in any book. Before you start looking, be sure you understand the full implications of God Without Religion's declaration. You'll know you're there when you find your jaw dropped, and you keep repeating "Oh my God".

The author's familiarity with world history is phenomenal. You'll wonder how one person can know the histories of so many religions and cultures, not to mention the progress of science and modern predicaments, in such intimate detail. Further, you are left with the impression that you've been given only the tip of the iceberg -- just enough to bring the point home and the right questions to the fore of your mind.

There is absolutely no gloss over in this book in any subject it touches upon. It is not afraid to tackle the most difficult of questions -- the questions astute readers know that so many authors avoid. For example, its treatment of end-times is masterful. It would shake the belief of the truest true believer.

Further, it does not involve itself in useless information that so many writers these days delve into, but ultimately proves nothing. I am especially thinking of the modern craze to biochemically explain mysticism. God Without Religion responds to this plainly: No material science can comment upon the sense of self because the self is not within its purview. We could hook up a Buddhist meditator and a Kamakaze pilot, and conceivably get the same result. This book explains why.

Instead, it focuses on the knowledge and power that must emerge if human beings are actually capable of traversing a nonfinite avenue to knowledge. Again, this is a subject most spiritual teachers avoid like the plague, because it leaves them personally lacking in the most vital area. Returning to my previous example, no biochemistry can possibly explain the ability of masters of sense-introversion to immediately withdraw the nervous energy feeding the breath and heart, simply by lifting the gaze. God Without Religion shows that instead of explaining this with a slow moving metabolic or biochemical reaction, we must look for a fast moving electromagnetic force. (Why the author and editor chose to add clarification to this point in a footnote, as opposed to the body of the book, is beyond me. There aren't many notes in this book, but the ones it does have are very necessary.)

Some might be tempted to note that God Without Religion is an exposition of the same ontology found in a book titled The Holy Science. I have read The Holy Science, many times, and can say unequivocally that I could have never written God Without Religion, even had I read The Holy Science a hundred times more. The Holy science is an intellectual joke in comparison to God Without Religion. It attempts to parallel Western Judeo-Christianity to ancient Indian sutras using specious and facile interpretations of the former. God Without Religion is not limited by East and West, clarifies and expands upon ontological discourses of both ancient Indian and Greek philosophers, and shows the similitudes with more recent Western scientists and philosophers, grounding its theory in present day language and exigencies. Where The Holy science is brief and simplistic, God Without Religion is penetrating and comprehensive. Indeed, aside from the most obvious similarity, one that could be made with a dozen other philosophical essays, the very comparison between The Holy Science and God Without Religion is specious and facile.

God Without Religion's exposition concerning Western religions is superb. However, its critique of the Western approach to Eastern religions and philosophies is priceless because these ideologies are becoming more and more widespread in the West without sufficient examination. Briefly, an exotic dogma is still a dogma. A mind-numbing meditation method is no better than a mind-numbing belief system. A priesthood is a priesthood, no matter what color the robes are or what religious identity presumes self-proclaimed authority. These are forms of centralization of power, asking us to distance our power from ourselves. Note how clergy of all denominations would say we should be afraid to learn meditation or realize the infinite from a yoga master and extraordinary philosopher like God Without Religion's author, who asks for no centralization of power in himself, and instead should go to them because...what? They are the keepers of regurgitated platitudes and unscientific methods of spiritual investigation? No thank you. "Moving Past the Dark Ages", an important section in God Without Religion, never made more sense.

Is this a biased book? Definitely. Of course, all authors have their bias, and that bias their own sense of self. This books's bias is in favor of reason, the scientific method, and the use of many disciplinary methods to arrive at more general truths. It is the same bias of every great philosopher and scientist, who have all proclaimed it to be a difficult yet worthy bias to aspire toward. It is an inclusive bias that does not cater to any narrowing conditioning or identity. It is ruthless with the little ego. In fact, the past successes of reason and the scientific method reveal that they are the only biases worth entertaining.

Far from being a book for curiosity seekers, God Without Religion is for serious thinkers, readers who truly are not afraid to question everything, and those determined to perfect the disciplined life of the ascetic and mystic. It is for those who are not afraid to test their knowledge. In the bigger picture, it is for those who want to understand religion's role in global conflict, dehumanization, and disempowerment. It exposes the political and economic underbelly of our religious identities. Only the blind, deaf, and demented would say humanity is not at a crossroads, with its past religious dogmas barring the way to a less violent and divisive future.

This is Saranam's debut book, but I don't expect a God Without Religion II. Really, this book leaves little more to be said. The consumate universal spirituality, undeniably, is presented for your consideration in the conclusion, and the final pages, illustrating this vision, read like poetry. While I hope God Without Religion will not be his last book, I suspect that Saranam's publishing career will follow Heidegger's, the last notable ontologist prior to him. I expect poetry, perhaps a silly dalliance with etymology, and a manifesto on tribalism. As one reviewer wisely put it, if this was the only book on spirituality you had, you'd be more the just fine. God Without Religion is the only book you'd ever... Read more ›

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A poignant must-read for the inquiring mind, June 25, 2005

By 

Ingrid Konupek (California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: God without Religion: Questioning Centuries of Accepted Truths (Hardcover)

I picked up this book, not necessarily seeking answers to any spiritual questions with which I might be grappling, but simply because its title immediately resonated with me. That resonation only intensified as I read each of the book's four chapters. It reminded me of a time when I was ten in Sunday school when fellow students ceaselessly chastised another classmate for questioning our teacher about how we could know with any kind of certainty that the accounts described in the Bible actually took place. I did not speak up in support of him for fear of facing the same fate, but I recall sympathizing with his honest inquiry. Because, as an adult, I have found myself not holding to the beliefs of any religion, and no one bothers me about that fact, that memory of my classmate's "inquisition" was buried for many years. However, the recent rise of religious fundamentalism in America and around the world has stirred that uncomfortable memory and many others from my childhood religious education. Saranam's book, with all of its admirably lofty goals, is must-reading for the inquiring mind, if for no other reason than to provide an extremely useful paradigm for understanding, dealing with and even thriving in the starkly polarized world in which we live.