The Path of the Masters: [Hardcover]

Julian Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1985

Radha Soami Satsang Beas, (Punjab) India, 1965 Hardcover, First Published 1939, Sixth Revised Edition 1965

Product Details

• Hardcover: 451 pages
• Publisher: Radha Soami Satsang Beas; Thirteenth Edition (Revised) edition (1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1199613274
• ISBN-13: 978-1199613271
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #401,868 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great source of spiritual insight, December 6, 2006

By 

Kildred (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Path of the Masters: (Hardcover)

Brief and accurate description of the content of this book (from another site):

"This book presents a comprehensive discussion of Sant Mat, also known as the Path of the Masters. After living in India for nearly seven years in the 1930s at the home of his Master in India, the author gives an outline of Surat Shabd Yoga, the yoga of the sound current, which is the scientific system through which the Masters attain the highest degree of spiritual development.

Considered a classic of twentieth century spiritual literature, the book covers many fundamentals of the spiritual path, including: the purpose of human life, the Masters and their duties, the audible life stream, the outer and inner universes, karma and reincarnation, death, and the inner journey back to God.

The author also gives a thorough analysis of the workings of the mind, and a review of world religions. He explains that at the heart of the book is `a scientific method of entering and realizing the kingdom of heaven while still living in the human body.' "

My thoughts as a seeker:

This book is packed with spiritual insight intended for an adamant seeker of Truth. Like a lot of spiritual literature I've read (eastern and western), there is a heavy dose of repetition used to drill home core ideas. But like most spiritual texts, it requires an intense longing for the Truth to be able to wade through the vast pool of spiritual information. I must admit that this book will chase away most people that aren't truly seeking and I believe that Julian Johnson intended for it to be that way. I remember thinking that Julian Johnson was a little rough around the edges, but looking back on it now, I believe I was the one that was rough and I believe the book is intended to smooth people out.

The first half of the book has an intriguing assessment of the world religions; Julian Johnson was quite a seeker and this book is the culmination of all that he had found. The second half of the book contains a great summary of various spiritual philosophies and some details on the mystic path. After having read plenty of other Sant Mat books (because of this book), I think this particular Sant Mat book lacks some of the beautiful devotional and loving aspects that the Saints tend to emphasize (or at least in this book it was overshadowed by the scientific approach). But as a source for spiritual and mystic information, it's a true treasure trove (-the reason for my 5 stars)

As for dogma (an authoritative assertion of truth to be believed without support or proof): Julian Johnson presents the information as a science, or a hypothesis, that must be experienced; he says throughout the book that one simply cannot come to know the Truth by reading books. So yes, he does not provide quantitative data for the existence of the mystic aspects of the path, but I thought it seemed clear that he had experienced at least some, if not all, of the mystic aspects for himself, in addition to recording what he had learned from his Master. If one goes on to read other Surat Shabd Yoga writings, like some of the writings of the Sikh gurus or other Sant Mat books written by the Masters, I think one would gain an appreciation for, or at least additional insight into, what might be the Truth... to know for sure requires one to stop seeking and to switch one's efforts towards experiencing.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you are actually on the path described by this book, then you know it's fantastic..., June 7, 2006

By 

J. Collins - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Path of the Masters: (Hardcover)

The first half can be a little dry, but it is very informative in it's overview of worldly religions. The second half describes the outer layer of the "secret of secrets" beautifully. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Quan Yin or Sant Mat Light & Sound Meditation Path. The information contained within is most important-the way it was written is secondary to the message it gives.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An introduction to Radhasoami, May 1, 2006

By 

Thomas Mlynarski (Fairfax, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Path of the Masters: (Hardcover)

I offer this review because of the lack of any others. I hope that others may pop up to further refine the analysis of the book offered here, or at least to share their experience with it.

The book starts out with an introduction, goes into a commentary about world religions, and then goes on about Surat Shabd Yoga, including what is necessary to follow the path, what the path offers, how to find and identify a true master, what masters are capable of, what can be expected of them, and finally what masters do for the world.

My first impression of the book was good; the ideas seemed refreshing and hopeful, universal in a sense. The reader is constantly reminded of the scientific nature of this spiritual movement, and encouraged to come and verify it for themselves, the presence of a master being indispensable in that endeavor. But as Dr. Johnson went on, the dogmatic beliefs began to increasingly show themselves, more on this later.

Also, the book seemed very repetitive, and this may be from Dr. Johnson's missionary zeal in driving his point home, something that didn't change even after his faith did. He continued to espouse the truth contained in his new revelation, the way it could be supposed that he did when he spoke to the targets of his missionary work prior to his conversion to this movement.

This is where the book began to break down for me. Dr. Johnson writes with absolute faith what constitutes the spiritual world of the masters. He describes them, but the descriptions leave one wondering if they are simply ideas revealed to him by his master, or if he had direct personal experience of them. My interpretation was the former.

This is particularly more troubling after the revelations by Baba Faqir Chand, a recognized master in the movement who later spoke out against the idea of an all-knowing master. He claimed to have no knowledge of the after-life (among other things) despite having the ability to enter altered states of consciousness at will through devout practice of their meditative techniques. Dr. Johnson, on the other hand, does offer descriptions, going so far to say that entering death for the master is no different than entering their meditative state, the difference being that they won't have to suffer coming back to this world again.

I believe the book deserves credit for being the first to bring Surat Shabd Yoga into the open in the west. Finally, and unfortunately, I don't know if this review would be complete without mentioning the striking similarity of Paul Twitchell's work, a testament to the appealing quality of the ideas that run through this book.

I give the book 3 stars, rather than 2, because it still achieves its goal of giving the reader an understanding of the topic, even if it is verbose at times. More information on Dr. Johnson and the book is available through a google search for "path of the masters".