Be Who You Are [Paperback]

Jean Klein (Author), Mary Mann (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 6, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0955176255 | ISBN-13: 978-0955176258

Be Who You Are is one of the earliest published books of dialogues with Jean Klein. Written in the lucid and eloquent style which characterises his work, each chapter is composed of an introductory discourse followed by questions and answers. "The 'eternal present', our theme in these meetings, lies within the depth of ourselves. It is the eternal awareness of the Self. Seen from the Ultimate, the world projected by the mind appears and disappears, in other words, it "becomes". When we talk of time and space, it must be thoroughly understood that their reality is relative, it is a reality in the world of becoming. But beyond space-time is that stillness which knows no becoming." Jean Klein, master of Advaita Vedanta in the tradition of Ramana Maharshi and Atmananda Krishna Menon and author of many books on non-dualism, spent several years in India going deeply into the subjects of Advaita and Yoga. In 1955 the truth of non-dualism became a living reality. From 1960 he taught in Europe and later in the United States. This much sought after book, by one of the most important exponents of Advaita in recent years, is now available again from Non-Duality Press.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 108 pages
• Publisher: Non-Duality Press (August 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0955176255
• ISBN-13: 978-0955176258
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #94,332 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Czechoslovakian Sphinx Speaks, March 27, 2008

By 

G. Charles Steiner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Be Who You Are (Paperback)

I enjoyed this short book of 107 pages consisting of nine talks by the Master, and I felt drawn to go over these talks three times just to absorb them, inhale them like mountain air, and to understand why I felt this book warranted reading and rereading. Now I am ready to point out a few examples that answer just why this book is so enormously enchanting.

For one, in taking up these nine talks, you encounter bright, creative ideas the combination and interrelatedness of which can be found nowhere else except from the mouth of this unique, articulate speaker. Some of the ideas have to do with conscious art disappearing in the West around the time of the appearance of Gothic art; others have to do with the body being only an idea within the mind, and yet others have to do with relaxation as an important enterprise in spiritual research in conjunction with being who you are.

I simply loved the rejection of discipline, such as meditation, as a technique for awakening since any method or technique for awakening, says Jean Klein, simply works to condition the mind, and thus remains a technology having nothing to do with realization and discrimination but only with creating a vicious circle of force and inner resistance.

What remains attractive about these talks is that one senses an artist speaking consciously behind the words. The study of painting and the making or arranging of objects for a picture, for example, was posited for (as a metaphor and an analogy), and connected to, spiritual research toward awakening in Chapter 3, thus asserting the possibility of proceeding with spiritual research without a center or central focus, the Self being no object of awareness, according to Klein.

The author appears as comfortably inclined to mention Goethe, Rene Guenon, and sacred Indian music in these spiritual discussions as he is to speak of desire, ego, and nonduality.

There is an austere, graceful and poetic clarity to these talks that make them perpetually magnetic.

Things never keep their promises, the wise saying goes, but this book nonetheless delivers something tasteful and rare for the discriminating reader. If nothing else, this book is a direct path to inspiration and something new for one's life: acceptance of oneself and deep moments of peace and inner stillness.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An authentic Sage, November 27, 2006

By 

D. Waite (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Be Who You Are (Paperback)

Klein's words carry the authenticity of a true master, not preaching but sharing a direct apprehension of the true nature of reality. Not always easy to follow on first reading, they are nevertheless a true reflection of the Direct Path teachings inspired by the sage Atmananda Krishna Menon, one of Klein's major influences. This book is one of the four recently republished by Non-Duality Press and it is very good indeed. As with all of his books, each chapter consists of a short talk on a particular aspect followed by questions and answers that are not always related. Topics specifically addressed are: Direct Path teaching including a comparison with Yoga and meditation, objects and attributes, presence and being in the present. If you only tend to read books by current satsang teachers, you should definitely try this for a change!


Dennis Waite, author of Back to the Truth: 5000 years of Advaita

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book available from Jean Klein Foundation, February 19, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Be Who You Are (Paperback)

This is one of the best books, but you don't have to pay an outrageous sum for it. It is available at the Jean Klein foundation for only $8.95.