Customer Reviews

At the Source of Life

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In the first half of this book Raphael engages in a dialogue with his students about philosophic issues, including the nature of reality, love, the mind's role in projecting and creating illusory experience, the role of desire in causing unhappiness, spiritual teachers, art, and the Advaita Vedanta philosophy. The discussion is rich and engaging. The students present Raphael with questions that could easily be our own. Raphael's answers are surgically precise in identifying and peeling away the fundamental confusions and unexamined assumptions that combine to alienate us from ourselves and prevent us from achieving true peace. The reader will appreciate the dialogic approach (also used in his book "Tat Tvam Asi") and Raphael's willingness to explain so as to foster understanding and comprehension. For Raphael, "comprehension" - or deeper understanding - is the true basis of change and is what allows us to transform ourselves. His books are designed to foster such "comprehension" through a combination of dialogue and careful explanation. Part Two of the book uses a different format to approach these subjects, presenting each topic in the form of short sentences or paragraphs - i.e. "sutras" - that can be used for meditation and contemplation. This more intuitive format provides a nice balance to the more analytic, dialogic style of the first half of the book. Throughout Raphael reminds us that realization is not an academic or intellectual undertaking, rather, it is a "realizative" undertaking that should transform the way we live and our fundamental assumptions about the source of life.

About the author. Raphael's books demonstrate a deep inner understanding of the world's sacred traditions. He brings them alive and gives them a contemporary expression while remaining true to their original inspiration. Raphael reminds us that Occidental and Oriental sacred traditions are not to be approached academically or intellectually, but rather, that they are living spiritual pathways to truth that remain relevant today. His books provide the reader with the understanding and tools to follow these sacred paths, including Alchemy, Kabbalah, Orphism, or Platonism in the Western Tradition, or Yoga and the Advaita Vedanta of Sankara in the Eastern Tradition. Raphael is recommended to all spiritual seekers who want to ground their search in ancient wisdom while seeking a contemporary expression that appeals to reasoned analysis and which integrates modern philosophy, science and psychology. Raphael's books challenge us to see these traditions, ourselves and the world differently, and to take our spiritual seeking seriously. If you are willing to do so, his books are for you.

i particularly love the second part of this book: on just 65 pages Raphael introduces the Pathway of Fire, pathway to the True Self. 116 aphorisms explain the teaching in brief and very concise, profoundly philosophical and at the same time practically useful. Here it becomes obvious (& disillusioning in a shocking way) how we got in our own way and what we have to do: "The greatest conflict man has is not the fact that he cannot solve his social problems, but that he lives in ignorance (avidya); ignorance concerning the nature of his own essence. . . . Those who still identify too much with their passions (whether noble, less noble, ignoble), their ideals, their relative realities; those who still are disheartened by the hammer of necessity and reactive despair, those who are still too engrossed in their mental and imagining philosophical discourses, are not ready for brahmanic Bliss." (p. 123 f.)

These aphorism-sutras can serve as enlightening meditations-impulses. Again and again new dimensions of perspective are unfolding whilst reading. And beyond all these profound explanations und practically helpful suggestions this text transports (for those that are open to it) vibrations of unconditional non-dual love and support of a realized master.

Presumably already these few pages would be a sufficient aid for the Pathway of Fire. However, anyone who needs more of this (like me), should definitely also read & know Raphael's book "The Threefold Pathway of Fire"!