How to Know God : The Soul's Journey into the Mystery of Mysteries (Hardcover)

by Deepak Chopra (Author) "God has managed the amazing feat of being worshiped and invisible at the same time..." (more)
Key Phrases: restful awareness response, sacred response, visionary response, Old Testament, Any God, Virgin Mary (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
God is not a person or a thing but rather a process, according to world-renowned author and spiritual leader Deepak Chopra. The purpose of this ambitious book is to assure readers that anyone can engage in this process--"it isn't a matter of faith, religious teaching, innate goodness, luck or some other mysterious factor," Chopra explains. "Our brains are hardwired to find God." This hardwiring is deftly explored as Chopra lists the seven ways humans know God and how they correspond to the anatomy of our human brains. He devotes a chapter to each of the seven visions of God: "Protector," "Almighty," "God of Peace," "Redeemer," "Creator," "God of Miracles," and "Pure Being--I am." In every chapter he asks and answers the same questions for the readers: "Who am I?" "How do I fit in?" "How do I find God?" The format works well, helping to tame this broad discussion while also illuminating the different personality types that are attracted to these seven different visions.

Fortunately, Chopra is a gifted narrator, able to make human anatomy and quantum physics understandable while also keeping spiritual and metaphysical discussions grounded. As he drifts through the cloudy realms of ESP, telepathy, clairvoyance, miracles, obedience, loyalty, evil, ego, addictions, and mentors, readers can trust that there is a competent pilot at the helm, deftly guiding this excellent book. Plan to take some time with this one. It is perhaps his best yet and as such deserves a slow and steady commitment. --Gail Hudson

From Publishers Weekly
Prolific author Chopra (The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Creating Health, etc.) explores the different ways people apprehend God. Chopra contends that there are seven responses to God and that "the brain cannot register a deity outside the list of seven responses." Chopra's seven include: fight or flight (a God who can save us from danger), reactive (a rule-giving God), restful awareness (a God who brings tranquility out of chaos), intuitive (a good and forgiving God), creative (God as Creator), visionary (God as exalted) and sacred (God as the source of everything). Different personalities envision God differently, says Chopra; a go-getter determined to shape his own destiny will imagine a creative God, whereas someone who feels she is just barely getting through the day will have the stage-one "fight or flight" response, envisioning a God who can rescue her. For Chopra, these seven ascending stages are normative; someone who has reached stage seven is more in tune with God than someone stuck at stage one. (Readers from law-based religions may feel dismayed that Chopra so devalues their "stage two" conception of God.) To help spiritual pilgrims reach the seventh stage, Chopra recommends that they see themselves and others "in the light," forgive themselves when they err and seek out the sacred and the unknown. Like most theories that claim to be all-encompassing, Chopra's scheme is often reductive, but this will nonetheless be a worthwhile addition to the spiritual seeker's library. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Harmony; 1st edition (February 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609600788
• ISBN-13: 978-0609600788
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (188 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #382,950 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

229 of 234 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh look at a profound subject, March 15, 2000

By A Customer

This is a very thought-provoking book, and for anyone with an open mind it will at least give them a new way of looking at the nature of reality and how it might be possible to "know" God. Because Chopra takes a fresh approach and does not follow any particular dogma, some may have a bit of a knee-jerk response and write him off as "New Age." The search for a deeper understanding of God, however, is as old as humankind itself, and hardly started with the "New Age" movement in the modern world. Hinduism and Christianity are two of the world's great religions, and each has contributed great insights to that ancient search. Anyone with a true spiritual motivation will be able to recognize certain universal religious truths revealed in other religions besides their own, even though there may be many differences in terms of methods, traditions, and so on. I'm a bit sorry to see the reviews for this thoughtful book become a forum for aggressive assertions of the superiority of one religion over another. There's no problem whatsoever with the basic teachings of either Hinduism or Christianity, but the problem is the growing tendency toward fundamentalism in both of those religions. With a fundamentalist viewpoint, one sees only the outer form of one's own and other religions, and completely loses the insight into the deeper underlying truths. That seems to be the source of some of the attacks on this book, whereas, ironically, this book itself is a very helpful antidote to that type of closed-minded thinking.

105 of 109 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Access to God, February 22, 2000

By	Laurie (San Diego, California) - See all my reviews

I highly recommend this book to anyone concerned with personal development and transformation. This beautifully written map to soul reveals that whether we realize it or not we are all seeking to unite with God.

The author brilliantly clarifies this profound inquiry with an easy to understand blend of eastern philosophy and science. I was inspired and amazed by the depth of his understanding and his ability to impart this knowledge to his readers.

By using the author's distinctions of the seven different God responses, the reader is able to gauge his own personal evolution at any given moment, from the fight or flight response, to the sacred response. These insights allow for personal choice, intention and awareness, causing shifts in our perceptions, which change our reality. In my experience, nothing is more powerful.

124 of 130 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some Good Concepts, May 4, 2001

By A Customer

. Chopra has some good concepts. I especially like the concept that along the spiritual path, the ego begins to recede and spirit takes over. I think Lewis in his book Encounter with A Prophet provides some very concrete suggestions to hasten this process. There are some really enlightening books out there if you seek them out.