To Live Within (Paperback)

by Sri Anirvan (Author), Lizelle Reymond (Author), Jacob Needleman (Introduction)
Key Phrases: brahmin family, ascending law, spiritual existentialism, Sri Anirvân, Great Nature, Sri Ramakrishna (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Originally published in France in 1969 and in America in 1972 and again in 1995, To Live Within is a thoughtful, beautifully written record of Lizelle Reymond’s five years spent in a hermitage in Northern India. Reymond studied with guide and mentor Shri Anirvan, a master of the ancient Samkhya tradition. As presented to Reymond, Samkhya is a source teaching previously unknown in the West and universally relevant regardless of one’s tradition or cultural background. Anirvan’s teachings of this discipline centered on the concentrated purity of silence that nourishes the Self, allowing his pupil to achieve an unfettered understanding of her life and achieve an inner awakening. In five parts, the book covers Reymond’s life in the Himalayan hermitage; lessons for a spiritual life; facing reality; rambling thoughts; and mystic poetry of the Bauls. This new edition contains two additional chapters drawn from Reymond's lifelong correspondence with Shri Anirvan after the retreat.

Language Notes
Text: English, French (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: Morning Light Press; 2nd edition (May 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596750162
• ISBN-13: 978-1596750166
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #741,392 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insights on awakening, March 22, 2007

By	M. Pettit (prairie du chien, wi) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: To Live Within (Paperback)

Lizelle Reymond spent five years in a hermitage in northern India. "To Live within" can be described as a system of ideas that have the energy to penetrate through self-deceptions of intellect and through what we take to be "ordinary" life (the illusion...maya...a matrix...a dream) to realize the Real -- a matter of Perception; of Consciousness.

Reymond writes of struggles, insights, lessons from life -- about the mystical and methods. Just think of the title -- "To live within" -- the title conveys what is contained in this book.

In a world that seems filled with self-help and new age materials of quick-fixes and easy-answers -- this is the Real Deal. This is not a book written to prey on the searching spirits of people who want to be given answers. ... This book is about going on the journey -- "To live within" There are a few books that I find I have to inhabit for quite awhile and return to again and again... this is one of them.

Madame Reymond writes: "Seated around Shri Anirvan one day or another were Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Moslems -- believers and unbelievers -each one carried by his own discipline, his own effort, his own ideal; each one receiving the food he was in need of. We were learning, day after day, how to live within..."

AND as one of many examples that I value in this book --

"About your personal discipline, you are following the right course. What you get through intuition can never fail you. The whole attitude can be summed up in a short sentence: 'I know it, I feel it, I am it.' Let the powers work deep within you. The pain that results is that of a new birth. If inclination for inner work lessens, do not worry. Creation starts in darkness. Out of nothing, Shakti comes. Let yourself flow with the stream; do not struggle. Not that you will reach the shore; your destination is to become the ocean itself."

5 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beware of Gurdjieff propaganda, October 22, 2007

By	John C. Landon "nemonemini" (New York City) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

The reappearance of this out-of-print book by Anirvan/Reymond is perhaps unfortunate, though no doubt inevitable, since it has been used (effectively, for the naive New Ager) for a purpose contrary to its main theme: the relationship of a disciple to a guru, in an Indian context. On that level, who can say. It describes a world of its own. Unfortunately the stray comments of this Indian disciple on Gurdjieff, excessively servile and excessively laudatory, with some completely false promotional passages on the enneagram, Ouspensky, spiritual submission, completely beyond the range of his knowledge and experience, produce a message that can, and has, been used to confuse and lure innocent Westerners into the dangerous exploitations of the bogus fourth way rackets now current. This Anirvan's comments on the enneagram are the usual nonsense, and his musings about Indian gurus, transferred to a deviating sufistic context like that created by Gurdjieff, are highly misleading. The most objectionable and dangerous part of the book is the apologetics for guru domination, to the point of denying the human rights of disciples. This sophistical adherent actually declares that gurus have the right to kill their disciples. At that point, enough's enough, and one must sound the alarm. These gurus are empty will to power types, and have no such rights. There is absolutely no spiritual hierarchy in the gross distortion of meaning produced by these two fawning observers of Indian spirituality, so ignorant of the pickpockets in pseudo-sufism, glad for the free advertising.
Those who are looking into Gurdjieff, confused and nervous about their place in some 'work', should beware of this propaganda for gurus. There is no legitimate basis for guruism, apart form the 'friendship among equals'. These medieval hangover notions of divine gurus and bhakti yogis is complete nonsense transferred to world of 'intelligent devils' like the rogue sufi Gurdjieff. Beware of the whole racket. In fact, this book is a kind of shill for that figure of the last century. Anirvan has a problem with Ouspensky. Not surprising, Ouspensky blew the whistle on what was really going on with Gurdjieff. These interlopers from the Indian tradition should not be used or abused as free legitimation for the sordid slavery tactics of a figure so superficially impressive as Gurdjieff. To those susceptible to the illusions being sold in this book, one should say beware indeed of wolves in sheep's clothing.