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Spiritual Teachings of the Avatar: Ancient Wisdom for a New World

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A couple of weeks ago, I found myself attending an International Book Launch for a book I didn't care about, by an author I had never heard of. In fact, I had attempted to NOT attend this event. However, through a series of synchronicities, not only did I attend, I ended up volunteering to help setup the event.

Prior to the event, I did a half-hearted search on the book, and saw that it was titled, "Spiritual Teachings of the Avatar". Surely, a cash grab book to capitalize on James Cameron's Avatar success I thought to myself. A week later, I'm very grateful that the Universe conspired to have me at the book launch.

My spiritual journey started a couple of years ago and while I knew there was great wisdom in the Hindu and Indian teachings, I never really got into it. Its treasure was buried too deep in words I couldn't pronounce, and stories I couldn't relate to. That all has changed with Jeffrey Armstrong's book subtitled, "Ancient Wisdom for a New World". Fortunately for us, this New World is on Earth, and not on Pandora.

"Spiritual Teachings of the Avatar" is a wonderful introduction into the ancient teachings. Jeffrey's conversational style and passion for teaching is evident throughout the book. While at the Book Launch event, I had met several of his devoted students and wondered what he was like at his workshops and weekly meetings. After reading his book, I have no doubt that his message and stories are every bit as accessible to the every day person whether in print or in person.

If you're wondering if this book review is about the person as much as it is about the book; yes, it is: for two reasons. 1) Jeffrey Armstrong has spent 40 years studying the Ancient Teachings, and after having read his book, in my opinion, this book is as much him as he is it. 2) Many gurus or teachers I have come across have shared their knowledge from a place of ego. This is not the case with Jeffrey, both in regards to having met him briefly in person, and after having read his book. His pure authenticity towards the growth and love of those around him is reflected not only from his students, but also from this book.

Jeffrey is able to communicate ancient stories and wisdom so that I can relate and understand them without disrepecting or degrading the source material. A difficult task when faced with Sanskrit or stories that seem ridiculous when taken literally. Each chapter is packed with just the right balance of ancient tales and present day analogies. As a testament to his true intention of helping the world assimulate ancient wisdom, Jeffrey includes a "Meditation and Practices" section at the end of the book that provides topics to meditate and ponder organized by chapters. As any true guru will tell you, "You have all the answers already inside you. I just show you where to look." In addition to the pragmatic section, there is one other appendix titled "Wisdom of the Avatars" which provides three key points from each chapter as a quick reference.

Thanks to Jeffrey's passionately accessible treatment of the Ancient Wisdom, I've decided to expand my old world by giving my copy of the Bhagavad Gita another go. With a new set of 4D glasses, perhaps I'll be able to touch the Pandora within.

This is the book I've been seeking for the longest time because it gives the conversation around global healing a boost from deep, time tested wisdom. It's wisdom drawn from the deeply intelligent culture of ancient India that's never been presented to me before so vividly. All through university when I was learning about the political and psycho-social aspects of how the world operates, I was unsettled by the lack of concern for strengthening of the individual in this world. I was ill at ease about the way I was being trained to be a 'leader' of a corporatist paradigm my soul did not resonate with. Discovering the Vedic knowledge of India ,through Jeffrrey's book, has given me a framework for understanding the subtle and sophisticated Indigenous worldview that makes sense to me as the basis for intelligently living on the planet. The book's emphasis on the importance of a equally balanced male and female Divine is powerful because it's helped me to re-consider my own dynamics in relationship and to consider more broadly how our world is in desparate need of respect for the female 'Shakti' energy in all realms from the family, to business, politics and activism. I've found in this book a deeply considered spiritual framework for real social change. This book truely inspires.

Spiritual Teachings of the Avatar: Ancient Wisdom for a New World by Jeffrey Armstrong is a much-needed book for our times and interestingly uses the award-winning movie Avatar as a point of reference for many of the ancient teachings. No matter what your faith, religion, or lack of faith, this is an excellent book for anyone. The ancient wisdom from as far back as unrecorded history, which has been transmitted from person to person through oral history and teachings is necessary for our age and as pertinent now as it was in distant past, perhaps moreso. Armstrong is a learned man with degrees in psychology, English literature, history, comparative religion and is an expert on India and the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit. He has studied Vedic philosophy in its original form for over forty years and is passing this wisdom about the earth and about life on to his audiences and readers around the world. The book stresses the balance of nature and the importance of our nurturing the earth as it (she) nurtures us like a mother. If we continue to destroy the balance of nature, as the recent generations have done, it will be to our own end because we need the earth but she does not need us to survive. Armstrong explains how Avatars are wise beings who appear in different times and places when their higher wisdom is most necessary. Much of this wisdom, through Jesus, Buddha, Mahatma Ghandi, and many others has come down to us through the ages, but we have nearly forgotten it in the modern, scientific age. This book is an absolute necessity and beautiful to read.

In this book the author ties specific themes from James Cameron's movie Avatar back to Hindu/Vedic philosophy. This tie is an easy thing to do because the concepts Cameron used were indeed based in many ways on Vedic philosophy. In fact many Christian websites have material showing these parallels in an effort to 'warn' Christians about the movie. Well, the movies principles, and those this book is based on belong to a wider set of wisdom that go deeper than Hinduism. So I can recommend this book in general for someone who does not know about Sita/Ram/Hanuman/Vedas, etc. as a general good introduction.

Now regarding the titling and theme of this book, the author is leading us to believe he is going to thoroughly draw out the Vedic concepts from the movie Avatar. This is a job he does but only in part. There is mention of a topic in the movie such as Jake going into his Na'vi Avatar and the book talks about how this is like re-incarnation (putting on another body). But the talk about this is brief at best. There was much opportunity to expand on this, and other subjects, which was not done in the book. And to me, the real moment of Jake manifesting as the Avatar was in fulfilling the archetype of Taruk Makto, the rider of the last shadow who returns to deliver the people. Unless I missed it this topic is not even covered in the book. The amount of symbolism of the One who rides over the (bringer of) death is HUGH! So if you are an Avatar fan, probably saw the movie in 3D and more than once, you will be disappointed by the lack of direct coverage of movie concepts in this book. The movie is only used in places briefly to get into Vedic topics of which the author does know about, but which have not been adequately cooked or synthesized so that the mass consciousness can get all of the essence out. This is a work yet to be done from the material in the Avatar movie and is a field ripe for harvesting for those who can see it.

The other area the spiritual seeker may notice is missing is in the area of 'knowing about something' versus 'knowing' itself. The author clearly knows a great deal about Vedic teachings. He has been on this journey for decades and the maturity and careful detail to convey information is clearly evident. However, to help get a student/reader beyond just knowing about something to knowing it you have to engage them at the level of their experience, their feelings, their internal process. This book only does this briefly in a couple of places. And for that lapse, which is to me crucial for a book that would convey the concept of the Avatar this is very much is absence. The Avatar is the energy of someone who has turned from 'knowing about' to 'knowing' within. And now that I think about the book does cover the topic of the Avatar but only within a wider scope of Vedic cosmology. There was much more opportunity to take what Jake did and said (such as Taruk Makto), what Hindu Avatars said and did (like Ram, Hanuman, Krishna [a few nice comic book pages are in this book but the stories they depict have large gaps in them] and what Avaars such as Buddha, Jesus, and Zarathustra did and said. Again, this ancient wisdom is not just in the Vedas but exists across any world religion where mysticism was understood. An Avatar has appeared within every major world religion. Avatars are among us today. We think that it's only an Avatar when a MahaAvatara appears.

Again, I can recommend the book, but it does have some shortcomings which it created for itself by using the movie as it's marketing tie-in. If a tie-in approach was to be made most powerful the chapters in this book would have unfolded similar to the scenes in the movie so that no opportunity was missed.

If you want to understand what kinds of things an aspiring Avatar like yourself might do then check out The Code: Use the Laws of Manifestation to Achieve Your Highest Good and shore up your perspective with We Are All One: A call to spiritual uprising You can also cultivate the Avatar mindset (the mindset of light) through Awakening: A Sufi Experience and Healing with Form, Energy, and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen

If you want to get a better understanding of this global wisdom which is within the consciousness of the Avatar then check out The Sufi Message: Way of Illumination v. 1

If you are already getting into Yoga then you should jump to something that will get you into the Yogic principles form the vedas then look at Kriya Yoga

As an avid student of religious and spiritual matters, I was naturally drawn to this book. I've already read many of Jeffrey Armstrong's other works, so I knew about his gift for making the knowledge of the Vedas accessible to the modern world. What he achieved with "Spiritual Teachings of the Avatar" moves beyond his other writings, though, for it combines a deep awareness of where we are today in terms of our priorities and global focus with a link to foundational knowledge that places our current challenges within a timeless context.

The book starts by grounding you in the world behind the senses and then moves you to deeper reflection on our planet, our inability to recognize the graceful and necessary tension between male and female, and our obsession with data over wisdom. From there, Jeffrey discusses the key issues of freedom, interconnectivity and permanence. All done in the service of making today's citizen understand the longer line of history and our clear responsibility to living in balance with our environment, ourselves and one another.

For those interested in nurturing their spiritual awareness, or even just gaining knowledge about living with greater integrity, this book is a valuable guide.

Very few books with a profound, concentrated content can be read in one sitting.

This book not only delivers in short form the most profound and concentrated knowledge of the very ancient history of mankind, it manages to do so in a way that captures the reader and teach these eternal keys to life through the pure joy of love and curiosity; thus it embodies the true purpose of the Vedas and of Yoga.

For those who do not desire to read the entire vedic library and spend 40 years at a guru's feet, Jeffrey Armstrong has done the hard work. Due to his unusual command of the language and his intimate knowledge of sanskrit, he manages to gently transmit this knowledge in a form that is easy to assimilate yet of undiluted power.

Yes, you will also have to see the movie "Avatar" again - but this book stands on its own. The word Avatar in the title is a mere matter of synchronicity. The launching of this book is an expression of the immune system of Gaia, the living planet, our mother, kicking in. The World needs to listen closely to these teachings of oneness, respect for people and for the laws of nature. On the individual level, this book has the power to change a life towards pure joy and an appreciation for beauty. On a global scale, it may save the planet from drowning in misused power and disrespect for the ressources we have on loan from our children. The book not only talks of Avatars. It is at least part of one.

The book also in the process, with all clarity, demonstrates the Vedic teachings are the source of the inner secrets of most western mystery schools. Whether it is Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism or the Grail Romances, they are a mere western echo of the Vedas, which outdate them by orders of magnitude.

Reading this book before you get born would be a great idea. If that is not possible, do it as soon as you can.

It took time to arrive and at the first moment I thought that I should have not tried to purchase again... BUT, this is the most amazing thing about Avatar I've read. It's not a religious book but spiritualist. The author asks to all of us open our hearts when reading and this is it. If you love the world you live in, you believe in a bigger energy that surrounds us, if you feel the connection with all living things then you won't regret. I'm in love with spirituality since I was a kid and I can tell, the book is worth it!

Spiritual Teachings of the Avatar: Ancient Wisdom for a New World discusses the real meaning of the word Avatar and its modern relevance, using Vedic spiritual traditions from India to discuss cultural and social references to Avatars and their roots. Avatars restore karmic balance and guide humans to higher forms: this provides a key survey recommended for new age and spirituality collections alike, especially those strong in Eastern teachings.

Being a Yoga and Meditation Practitioner for close to 40 years, I write...

This is an impeccable book, short in size and tall in vision. Jeffrey Armstrong, as a writer and a thinker, is compelling, much in the manner of Joseph Campbell, a genuine inquirer/philosopher. He articulates Vedic and Yogic Teachings in vividly simple, understandable, and motivating/practical ways.

Linking these to the film Avatar, we hear a message of our recurring human quest for truth, beauty and balance in our world that holds (and always has)all the opposites equally present. This is very much about living consciously the Heroic Journey that is available to us and which we are invited to take up right here and now.

Honoring all traditions of wisdom, honoring Mata Bhoomi, or Mother Nature, and honoring the reader - all this connects us to what is possible in this lifetime.

Check this book out and see not only what you think but how you feel inside and in what direction you become inspired to live after reading it.

This book is amazing. Jeffery makes complicated vedic principles, Hindu philosophy and teachings palatable for all. Long have I sought such a book, now with some background I can finally delve deeper. Thank you so much!