Customer Reviews

Halfway Up the Mountain: The Error of Premature Claims to Enlightenment

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I found this a rather messy collection of quotes from various spiritual teachers, (many of whom have books promoted in the back pages of the book) rather than a continuous narrative. The 'quote' aspect of the book makes for an uncomfortable stop/go kind of a read. This uncomfortability however could well be my fault as opposed to the author's. However in truth there isn't much authoring going on here. This book is more like a collection of pieces by other folk. I read many spiritual texts for inspiration but didn't pick up much in this volume apart from a general feeling of negativity. A similar theme is tackled with much more (ahem) insight in Jack Kornfield's 'After the Buddha, the laundry' which is a terrific read and very inspiring.

This is an insightful book, well written, well documented and easy to understand.
I only give it a 2star rating because, ironicly, some of the experts who are quoted, in fact the one who is quoted the most happen to be abusive, halfway up the mountain guru's themselves. With this the book's credability is undermined.

[Note on the rating given: although the book has redeeming qualities, its implicit endorsement of Andrew Cohen makes it not merely flawed, but dangerously misleading. I would hate to see any reader of this book become another casualty of Cohen's abusive narcissism. Thus I have given it the lowest rating possible, as a warning - Caveat Emptor!]

Ironically, given the title, I abandoned this book less than halfway through. Although competently written, I found it tediously dogmatic, a polemic rather than an exploration. Mariana seems to have strong feelings about the lack of validity of paths other than her own, and apparently intends to beat her readers over the head until they share those same opinions.

One of the primary themes of the book (apart from its vendetta against neo-advaita paths) is the potential for abuse when teachers are elevated to the status of gurus. Unfortunately, while the author's intentions may be noble, her judgement on this topic seems highly questionable. She presents Andrew Cohen as an authority on the integrity of other spiritual teachers - which is deeply ironic, as he could be held up as a classic example of exactly the kind of teacher this book purports to warn against. Cohen has been the subject of numerous exposes by ex-devotees (including his mother!), attesting to his own abusiveness, narcissism, megalomania and cult-like behavior. Along with many available online, some have been published:
American Guru: A Story of Love, Betrayal and Healing-former students of Andrew Cohen speak out
The Mother of God
Enlightenment Blues: My Years with an American Guru

Despite this exhortation to caution in what she refers to as the "spiritual marketplace", the author seems congenitally unable to follow her own advice. In addition to her her long professional relationship with Andrew Cohen, Mariana is currently the "life-partner" of Marc/Mordechai Gafni, a new age Judaic teacher facing criminal charges in Israel for sexual abuse of multiple women, as well as similar accusations by several women in America (including sexual abuse of a minor). Despite a previous written confession by Gafni (since retracted), his expulsion by the community he co-founded, and the official rescinding of his ordination as a rabbi, Mariana has publicly denied the credibility of the accusations, a stance arguably at odds with the professed ideals of this book, given the number and stature of Gafni's critics.

The desire to warn against the potential for abuse by charismatic guru-figures is certainly admirable. Unfortunately, the tendentious tone, the bizarre provision of a platform to abusive guru Andrew Cohen, along with author's poor personal judgement in this arena, suggest a lack of self-awareness which drastically undermines the book's credibility on a spiritual level. As a political diatribe, this might be less serious; however, one expects spiritual opinion-makers to walk their talk - or leave the talking to others.

If you have spiritual aspirations (or pretentions!) this book will smoke out the inner work you have yet to do! At the same time, it provides a revealing glimpse into the hearts and spirits of some hearteningly honest and modest spiritual teachers worthy of our attention. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to advance spiritually -- and particularly for those who want to (or watch out!) are already teaching!

If you're a person craving for spiritual experiences and looking for the hand of God in your life, you will not enjoy the head blow your ego with get from this book. Even better than John of the Cross does, it will point out within yourself what Thomas Merton called: "the birds of appetite", which is the ego circling and searching for spiritual experiences so that it may prove its false existence to God. This is book shows in great detail how spiritual people, even humble and well-meaning spiritual people, fall to the conscious and subconscious tricks of the ego. The tricks are many and this book seems to hit them all.

A big plus of this book is that it quotes from teachers in all the major spiritual traditions of the past 3000 years. But my "birds of appetite" don't enjoy this, because the book demonstrates that all major religions present a very similar purpose of spiritual practice, which is the removal of the ego. This book, like no other except Scriptures or other public relevation, is merciless in turning over stones in your ego mind, so you can see how false and hollow your spiritual life really is.

A previous reviewer complained that this book was too dark. My view on is: the darker and more hopeless you feel after reading this book, the more your ego has been unmasked.

If you don't have a very qualified spiritual mentor, or even if you do, this book could supply your need for spiritual direction. And if you are serious about your spirituality, you need to buy this book.

There are A LOT of spiritual books on the market, and even more New Age books, but in many ways they are all the same. Halfway Up the Mountain goes straight to the core of the REAL challenges that REAL people who are dead-serious about the spiritual path will face. You only learn these things by complete immersion in the spiritual path...or by being fortunate enough to find a rare book like this one!

Hardly anything in the world is more potentially beneficial - or more dangerous - than "spirituality." How easy it is for the "spiritual seeker" or the religionist to be deluded by oneself or by others! Whatever its faults, Mariana Caplan's book is a cautionary one that belongs in the library of anyone for whom the spiritual quest is a driving force. Whether we like it or not, the sphere of human existence is a dualistic one, and none of us is likely to achieve spiritual maturity without periodic corrections along the path. Unlike some other reviewers, I find nothing negative about this book. It serves to provide a perspective that is generally lacking in a world filled with religious charlatans, narcissistic spiritualists, charismatic gurus, salesmen, politicians, and show people for whom some people are easy prey. If you think you know The Truth, if you imagine God talks to you on behalf of the rest of us, it wouldn't hurt to think twice before your belief turns to fanaticism and bad actions result from "good" intentions. Highly recommended.

for me, for the first time, it was quite amazing to "meet" or be introduced to so many spiritual gurus, thinkers and so forth from all traditions. I found many of them very moving - and very true. I think a book like this that looks at the spiritual marketplace (as its so yukkily called) with a wide and deep vision can only be helpful to those who are seeking and who are / or have encountered problems whether it be false teacher, disillusionment etc. Also, many of the quotes are inspiring and intriguing.

I have been a seeker of the truth for many years now and really found this book very helpful and dare I say it even deeply changed my world view. That is saying a lot for a book but it just really connected with me and perhaps it was the right book at the right time but this really has been one of the most influential books I have ever read in my life and cannot recommend it enough.

It really explains well in how the ego can effect our spiritual path even if we think that we have our ego under control. The ego knows us very well and one of the most powerful delusions and tricks of the ego is to have someone believe they have become enlightened, or awakened, when they have not.

It goes into so many different related topics and if this is a subject that interests you then again you really owe it to yourself to read this book. However, if someone had little or limited interest in this subject it would not be a book I would recommend.

So far I have not found any book that addresses its core point better.

peace

This was the book I needed. It's helped me re-write in view of spiritual reality and turn my own disillusionment into something calmer, and send me back to some more genuine motivations.

There are some problems with the book. Nik Scott is right that the book is messy and swollen with quotes from others (although that is also part of it's value). It's true that worrying so much about enlightenment is beside the point - which is what the book says in fact, but it still never frees itself from the lingering hint of judgementalism implied.

As others have alluded to, this book has an incredible depth. Half of it could stand on it's own as a perceptive survey of different spiritual experiences. I have the feeling I'm talking to someone who has been around awhile, very wise - and cynical, but in a useful way.