Customer Reviews

Mysteries of the Sacred Universe

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Simply stated, this book was not at all what I had expected. It far exceeded my expectations. I had expected another treatise on the mythology and belief systems of Puranic literature mixed with some way of tying it to today's understanding of life and the cosmos. Instead it was a very scholarly work that delved into the knowledge of ancient India and how it was expressed in terms of mythology. The author's interpretation of this mythology brings it into focus and ties it to what we have learned in the field of modern astronomy. Instead of viewing the Puranic literature as being composed by those who were less knowledgeable and limited in their understanding and superstitious in their ways, his interpretations shows that they had a very advanced understanding of the universe around them. A little complex and confusing at times, it required rereading of several sections before I really understood how they were tied together. Not a work that I would recommend to a new-comer to the Puranic literature but a highly recommended volume to anyone with an intermediate knowledge.

The "Bhagavata Purana" is one of the classical scriptures of Hinduism. In Mysteries Of The Sacred Universe, Richard Thompson draws upon his considerable research and expertise to show that the cosmology of the "Bhagavata Purana" is a sophisticated system with multiple levels of meaning encoding at least four different astronomical, geographical, and spiritual world models. Thompson shows how ancient scientists expressed exact knowledge in mythological terms. He also compares the ancient traditions of Egypt and the Near East to reveal early cultural connections between India and these regions. Mysteries Of The Sacred Universe is informative and thought-provoking reading, which offers an insightful understanding of how the spiritual dimension was integrated into ancient Indian cosmology. Also highly recommended is the Mysteries Of The Sacred Universe Interactive CD ... which is enhanced with 250 color pictures, 23 computer graphics animations, 13 interactive picture sequences, and a 48-minute video of all topics covered in the book edition.

Mysteries of the Sacred Universe is a book for lovers of the arcane, long-forgotten or unknown past history and/or myth. But not only - as the author is a mathematician with a Ph.D. in theory of probability - he takes us, the readers, for a breathless ride with a no-nonsense driver, firmly established and most comfortable in the field of logic, reason, theretical scientific thinking and sound research.

If this is not enough and we crave the drama and theater of this vast and baffling universe - be ready for multiple quaint stories. Like with all mysteries - flying machines with wooden wings and automatic door openers designed and built in 6 000 B.C., if not before, might amuse one, startle another - amaze some? We have had it all before - no scientific enigmas here.

The author's mind most acutely yet humbly and with just the right dose of reverence addresses the timeless universe and its historical and cyclical repeatability. Short of telling us how and where the continuity came from - the reader is elegantly dispatched on a solitary mission of further research and personal confirmation of the author's detailed findings. Where is one to turn if not in search of the arcane schools of the ancient past, as R. Thompson leaves no stone unturned in his serious and orderly presentation of available data.

If you are an avid seeker for and/or feel at home in the elusive world of akasha - don't forget to pack a copy of Mysteries of the Sacred Universe for your trip, as well as "A Dweller on Two Planets" by Phylos the Thibetan and E.C.Prophet's "The Lost Years of Jesus" - happy trails and hold onto your hats, as you will surely need several . . .

Eva Victoria Tame, www.tslpl.org

The cosmological system described in the Fifth Canto of the Bhagavata Purana, or Srimad Bhagavatam (or simply Bhagavatam) as it is also known, has been a source of confusion to Indian and non-Indian thinkers alike for many hundreds of years, and this bewilderment goes back to way before Western thought had had the chance to exert any significant influence on India's intellectuals. Whilst many theories and counter-theories have been written on the uselessness or validity of the astronomical and other information contained in the Bhagavata, for me, the work of the late Sadaputa dasa (Richard L. Thompson - (1947 - 2008)) is, to date, the most convincing and scholarly position ever developed on this whole subject matter. That I myself broadly share a sliver of Dr. Thompson's metaphysical susceptibilities matters little in the end, for, in my estimation, it is axiomatic that credit should be given where it is due. And Sadaputa was one man who simultaneously combined the sympathising sensibilities of a devotional practitioner and the rigorous scepticism of a professional mathematician, both of which he of course was.

During the course of his productive years, Sadaputa dasa published two books on Hindu cosmology: (i) Vedic Cosmography and Astronomy, and (ii) Mysteries of the Sacred Universe. I own copies of both and have read each more than once; with no hesitation, I would recommend these works to anybody interested in this fascinating theme. In Mysteries..., which came out more than a decade after the first of these publications, Thompson postulates a basically cogent and soundly developed thesis which in broad terms goes as follows - in the 5th Canto, Vedavyasa (the traditionally held author/editor of the composition) describes the universe by resorting to the use of a composite structure, in which different elements depict a number of possible models. This is indeed in line with something that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (a 15th/16th century Bengali mystic saint) is understood to have said, namely that in practically each and every verse of scripture, several valuable, and occasionally conflicting, meanings can be extrapolated. After over two decades of sustained academic research dovetailed with religious practice, Sadaputa posits in Mysteries... that the cosmology of the Bhagavata Purana is essentially amenable to at least four major interpretations, all of which, to him, maintain the sanctity and sacredness of the text as a whole, while at the same time preserving the informative value of the fifth division of it. These are:

1. a polar projection map of the earth globe;
2. an accurate map of the solar system as determined from a geocentric point of view;
3. a topographical map of a large region of South and South Central Asia; and,
4. a map of the otherworldly realm of the Rishis, Devas, Upadevas and other putative superhuman, subtly-embodied celestial beings described in the Vedic literatures.

Sure, there are some fanatics who have come down hard on Sadaputa/Thompson for "daring" to interpret the Sanskrit of the Bhagavata rather than, in similar fashion to themselves, accept a bland, sterile literal rendering. For my part, I would enjoin those seriously interested to actually study this particular book as well as the other one aforecited, and discover what a committed metaphysician and no-nonsense academician Sadaputa was. In any event, one would be hard-pressed to find somebody simultaneously well-educated in the modern scientific method and well acquainted with the Vedic worldview, to have devoted half as much time, effort and energy in comprehending Puranic astronomy and cosmology, as did Thompson - logically, deferring to the latter's findings, if only in part, does constitute a rational course of action. Evidently, in the absolute sense, understanding reality, in the fullest manifestation of it, amounts to nothing less than a mammoth task and the tallest of orders. True to the dramatic intellectual honesty that was his, Thompson does not fail to impress upon his readers that this research no doubt approximates the meaning that Vedavyasa may have originally intended when tradition claims he was penning the Bhagavata, but that ultimately, the cosmos is essentially limitless and largely indescribable, particularly from our earthly vantage point, hence that it would be sheer naivete to expect anything more advanced than a general, rudimentary depiction of the configuration of astral bodies in the firmament, in some antique, mystically-based poem of the Bhagavata Purana's genre.

The book started out with good, clear descriptions of Indian Sacred Literature; and fooled me into thinking this was worth reading... then things started to get flakey. If you like UFO's, New Age Spiritualism, and Grand Cosmological Conspiracy Theories you may like this book. If you are interested in the actual culture, history and relgion of India you won't find it here.