Customer Reviews

Pratyabhijnahrdayam: The Secret of Self-recognition (Sanskrit Text with Eng. Trans., Notes and Introd.)

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What a find!!!!

The ancient scriptures hold the secret of creation and unfoldment of all that 'is'. Here is a gem of a book that holds the answers to those that genuinely are looking for answers far beyond the material world and have the curiosity and persistence to pursue.

For the serious, this book will take a life time of dedicated study as it requires contemplation. Although the author has made it easy to read, the content is anything but easy to understand. Unless you have some Eastern exposure to spirituality it is a mind bender at best as it requires a mind shift to fully comprehend what is being presented to the reader.

It is one of the most exciting and mind boggling reads in this lifetime.I higly recommend it.

The 20 aphorisms contained in the Pratyabhijnahrdayam are to my mind the most powerful, intoxicating, profound, lucid, liberating, expanding, amazing collection of teachings anywhere. Not everyone can appreciate them, so I'll include an aphorism here to assist readers in deciding:

Sutra 1: The absolute Chiti (Universal power) of it's own free will is the cause of the Siddhi (manifestation) of the Universe.

Commentary:
It is only when Chiti, the ultimate consciousness-power comes into play that the Universe comes forth into being.

To me, this is such a powerful Sutra it gives me a thrill every time I read it. However, I know others who get no such reaction. If this sutra gives you a thrill, you can with full confidence purchase this book and treasure it deeply, as I do.

I got this as another translation of the Pratyabhijnahrdayam. I am most familiar with that of I.K. Taimni, the Secret of Self-Realization. This book is harder to read because of its organization. Most of the explanatory material is in endnotes at the back of the book, so you have to flip pages a lot. Humorously, in the footnotes, the author bashes a translation by a white guy who apparently got it all wrong. In the main text most explanation of each sutra is via translations of other Indian writings that pertain to the subject of each sutra. This is good for getting a broader view of the Indian literature. Compared to Taimni, Singh's work is more technical. He goes into more detail of a lot of the concepts in Kashmir Shavism, -that is to say, lists of technical terms- whereas Taimni tends to paint in broader brush strokes. To really grasp the material will require several readings and serious attempts to memorize the concepts. While one can see the similarity between Taimni's and Singh's interpretations, Singh's is clearly more technical. If you are interested in a comparative translation, or want a more detailed understanding of technical concepts in Kashmir Shavism, and also a broader introduction to this literature in general, then this is a fine book. If you are a complete beginner to the concepts, I would recommend Taimni's Secret of Self-realization first, it's a lot easier to understand.

if it is this book you need to know about it is fantasticly interesting.However I am studying this with a Professor at LMU in Los Angeles. Shaivism is the oldest philosophy it says and I find it brilliantly written as well.It is sad so few people know or study these books.I am not a computer lover so I do not want to read any responses etc.thanks

Sally Kempton's book "The Heart of Meditation" mentioned this so I got it.
It's not as easy to read as Sally