Holy Madness: Spirituality, Crazy-Wise Teachers, and Enlightenment [Paperback]

Georg Feuerstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2006

This book explores the religious phenomenon referred to as crazy wisdom - the purposefully outrageous, convention destroying behaviour of spiritual adepts in every great tradition, from Christian Fools for Christ through the Sufi Path of Blame, to the charismatic leaders of new religions. The author explores the core of the spiritual process through eight critical in-depth cameos of holy madness in action in the lives of eight contemporaries, including Chgyam Trungpa, Bhagwan Rajneesh and Aleister Crowley. This revised and expanded edition includes a new assessment of the American guru Adi Da (formerly Da Free John) and the psychopathology of blind faith, using the example of Shoko Asahara (founder of Japan's infamous terrorist sect AUM). The author offers guidelines for choosing a wise, enlightened guide or guru, and tips for avoiding the exploitative.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Georg Feuerstein, PhD is the author of over 30 books, including Yoga for Dummies; The Yoga Tradition; The Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga; Tantra: The Path of Ecstasy, and Lucid Waking. He has specialized in the spiritual traditions of India and is a practitioner of Vajrayana Buddhism.

Product Details

• Paperback: 511 pages
• Publisher: Hohm Press; Rev Exp edition (June 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890772542
• ISBN-13: 978-1890772543
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 27 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #377,716 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Georg Feuerstein (born 1947) is a German-Canadian Indologist. Feuerstein has authored over 45 books on mysticism, Yoga, Tantra, and Hinduism and Buddhism.

Dr. Feuerstein offers distance-learning courses on Yoga philosophy and history through Traditional Yoga Studies at http://www.traditionalyogastudies.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Holy Madness-Wisdom Teachers, January 15, 2007

By 

Mai Bartman (wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Holy Madness: Spirituality, Crazy-Wise Teachers, and Enlightenment (Paperback)

I bought two copies of this book- one to lend out and one as a christmas gift. It is a book which has been well researched and written.It explores the subject of those master teachers who use outrageous methods to bring those they meet to enlightenment. There is a long tradition in every culture of these types of teachers. They teach singularity in a unique way. They take your mind beyond the concepts of good and evil-beyond judgment of yourself and others. This book presents a comprehensive overview of these teachers and their methods.