In Search of the Divine Mother [Paperback]

Martin Goodman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2000

Mother Meera is a figure shrouded in mystery and wonder.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Goodman's spiritual link with Mother Meera, a contemporary Indian mystic who connects with her followers by means of her steady gaze and purportedly transformative touch, began long before meeting her in person. Goodman practiced transcendental meditation and traveled through Asia, visiting holy sites, but eventually sought a way beyond systems and communities, a path not predicated on woundedness but that promised wholeness. Encountering Meera at her German base of operations, he met others there on similar pilgrimages (including eventual life partner James) and found the capability within to expose the secret, hated parts of himself to the divine light. An insightful testimony from a onetime devotee of its putative subject, who, whether or not she is, as some contend, God on earth, remains a gifted seer and worth the attention of browsers of the spiritual fulfillment shelves. Whitney Scott --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Martin John Goodman is a novelist and fine prose writer who has written articles for numerous magazines and newspapers, including The Los Angeles Times, The Scotsman, The Guardian, and The Financial Times. He has worked as an actor, teacher, and pianist. His first novel, On Bended Knees, was well reviewed in England and was short-listed for the Whitbread First Novel Award. He has traveled extensively, especially in Asia and Europe, and now divides his time between Santa Fe and the south of France. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Thorsons (February 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0722536887
• ISBN-13: 978-0722536889
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,340,018 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most important spiritual book of the 90's., September 29, 1998

By 

James Broughton (c/o: [e-mail]) (Port Townsend, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Search of the Divine Mother: The Mystery of Mother Meera (Hardcover)

This book is a classic spiritual text, destined to last through the ages.

It is a 20th century Gospel, inviting the reader into a meeting with a teacher......and then into a uniquely 20th century perspective--of being conscious enough to witness the evolution through love, alienation, and growth beyond pain and betrayal. Something the original Gospels are not conscious enough to do.

This is a Gospel of Self-discovery, a unique testament to the harrowing search for authenticity. It rewards re-reading as much as St John of the Cross, or any of the handful of the great mystics.

Goodman does not put himself across as a great mystic; far from it. He studiously brings us into the reality of his search. For any totally honest spiritual writer--and in this arena Goodman has few peers--that search is turmoil leading to light. The honesty in this text is almost unique in literature--only Kafka's "Letter to My Father" comes to mind.

With Goodman we intimately experience the entire range of the human spiritual life: the flush of devotional love, the alienation of the guru's rejection, and the self-integration beyond all the pain.

How does mother Meera come off? As a human being with profound spiritual gifts, who throws a very dark shadow by claiming to be so completely divine that she is not a human being. Mies van der Rohe said, "God is in the details." In Goodman's account, we see the details in someone who claims to be God, and the details add up to a very real human being with unique gifts but a profoundly unintegrated human personality.

How does Goodman come off? As thoroughly honest; as much more honest than his guru Mother Meera. As someone who wants not to compel the reader to worship him, but to help their own deep search for who they are.

We end the book wanting not to be someone who thinks they are God, but, with Goodman, to hold in the daily hands of miracle the broken perplexity that is the grace of being human.

Mother Meera claims to be God. Goodman plays a quieter and infinitely more subtle music, in lapidary prose.......in the end, who is saner, who helps the reader more, who do we trust?

For me there is no question. Read the book, and experience your own propulsion into self-trust, integration, and maturity.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An honest and personal account of spiritual growth, May 4, 1999

By 

John Mueter "Chopinski" (Kansas City, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Search of the Divine Mother: The Mystery of Mother Meera (Hardcover)

This is a valuable contribution to spiritual literature, with a focus on the central problem of how Westerners can absorb Eastern wisdom without denying their own individuality. Perhaps we are finally coming of age, challenging the Eastern model of unquestioning surrender and finding the courage to affirm our own intelligence. The best part of the book is in the last few chapters where the author shares his hard-won insight and offers a sane view of the paradox of Mother Meera as both human and divine, as fallible and omniscient. I found the author's recounting of Mother Meera's life a bit unsettling, not being sure where exactly he was coming from. Apart from the inconsistency in point of view, I would recommend this book to anyone who is sorting out the difficulties inherent in dealing with a spiritual master, especially when that master is from another culture.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A true guiding light, February 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In Search of the Divine Mother: The Mystery of Mother Meera (Hardcover)

The world of guru disciple relationship is a confusing one, and this book has hugely helped me in sorting out my own experience. It is the only reliable information on Mother Meera I have found, and it helps so much to know the human story of her life, after my experience of her as a great master. I wish everyone who is working wiht a teacher in any tradition could read this book, because I believe that it is the most healing and clarifying book on working with a guru that exists.