Society Books

While Eaton does explore the clash of Islam and Western culture, he focuses on ideological differences. He argues that the very notion of progress as defined by the West, is at odds with the spirit of Islam. He contrasts the human-centered world of the West versus the God-centered world of Islam. For example, in the chapter, "The Earth's Complaint", Eaton explains that humans must be caretakers of God's creatures and God's earth. We should not arrogantly plunder our environment to suit our own goals, but should see it is a precious gift from the Creator. Eaton critisizes the Muslim "ummah" (community) for losing touch with the essense of Islam, and instead, blindly emulating the "advances" of the West (in terms of technology, science, government, etc) without contemplating the consequences or significance. Eaton peppers his book with well chosen quotes from an impressive array of sources (ranging from Shakespeare and modern scientists to Sufi masters and the Quran itself). The reader, even if (s)he does not agree with Eaton's conclusions, is impressed by the well-supported arguments. Towards the end of the book, Eaton's sufi tendencies do surface. His discussion of the sufi approach is an intriguing contrast to the dogmatic tone of many modern Muslim scholars.

I found the book very spiritually enlightening. I feel that it is an important book for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. However, at times I found Eaton's style to be a little dry or convoluted. There were certain chapters I had to read twice. Partly, as a doctor, I found some of his statements regarding modern science too shocking to absorb intially. (Eaton does discuss the negative response he gets from most Muslims regarding his views on modern science and technology) But, on re-reading, I was able to overcome my gut reaction and appreciate his ideas. I feel that it is worth the extra effort. This book certainly is food for thought.

The tenet of the book is that the story of Iesus as told in the New Testament is a corruption of a Greek mystery play and that the true message is one of the perfecting rite of initiation.

The introduction is particularly informative and logical detailing his arguments about wilful and otherwise alterations of the New Testament, shedding, I think, a profound new (old?) light.

A noble effort, and all those who seek to understand or discover the rumored "hidden meanings" of Christianity should look no further. Whereas most books on mystical Christianity only mention that the New Testament can be read allegorically, but never explain how exactly this can be done, Pryse does all the work for you; this book clearly defines the allegorical interpretations. In doing this, Pryse utilizes research similar to that of modern historians; only Pryse veers off into a more mystical direction.

It is Pryse's theory that the Jesus myth was "stolen" by Hellenized Jews who came across a document that contained the secret teachings of a Pagan Mystery cult, one devoted to Dionysus, Mithra, or the like. These "exoteric priests," who were nothing more than "thieves" who wrote in "uncultured Greek," took this secret document and changed it, replacing the "Sun God" (i.e. Dionysus, Mithra, etc) with a Jew named Iesous, aka Jesus. These forgers then grafted onto the Pagan Mystery document Judaic fragments, such as references to the Old Testament and a lineage that made Iesous appear to be a descendant of David, in order to make the story acceptable to their Jewish target audience.

There are several problems apparent with Pryse's thesis, of course. One, there is no evidence of any stolen Mystery document. (Or is there? Could this be the long-rumored "Q" document??) Secondly, Pryse blames the forgery on a nameless group of Jews who had gained access to the hidden secrets of a Mystery cult. But on closer inspection, this is no different from the theory advanced by modern scholars, most of whom have proven how severely the gospels have been edited over the ages. And three, Pryse veers into speculation by claiming to know, just from reading, what parts of the Testament gospels are genuine, and which have been mutated by the forgers. Pryse offers no notes, and can give no testimonials to the accuracy of his claims. All he has is his classical education and considerable knowledge of Pagan religions, astrology, and Indian metaphysics.

That being said, it is uncanny how accurate much of Pryse's scholarship turns out to be. His theory, that Jesus was a nonexistent character based on dying and resurrecting Pagan godmen such as Dionysus, is much in line with the theories of such authors as Earl Doherty, Timothy Freke, and Peter Gandy, who wrote their own, similar books nearly a hundred years later. But whereas these modern writers just offer speculation that the Jesus myth was "lifted" from the Pagan Mysteries, Pryse proves it; quite believably, I should add.

As a matter of fact, this book served as a lightning bolt to my senses. I had just read Robert Eisenman's "James the Brother of Jesus," a weighty tome on the existence of an historical Jesus. Eisenman makes clear in his opening that ALL of his research stands on one assumption: that some (certainly not all) of the gospel accounts, epistles, Dead Sea scrolls, and Acts of the Apostles document are based on historical truth. Pryse, however, theorizes (and goes about proving) that all of the characters in these documents are fictional creations. In fact, The Restored New Testament can be seen as the opposite image of Eisenman's book. Both authors make the same assumptions: that names have been changed in the gospels to fit the whims of Literalist editors (i.e., Judas being replaced by "Peter," etc), but whereas Eisenman takes the documents at face value, Pryse takes them with a large dose of salt. And, if you go with Pryse's theory, it makes Eisenman's work seem like a big book about nothing at all.

Next Pryse goes over the letters of Paul that he finds to be genuine (again, Pryse's estimation of which Paul letters were and weren't genuine are amazingly in keeping with today's scholarship), and once again covers the Apocalypse, though in this book he re-writes it in metrical form. He ignores Acts, as he finds it to be complete fabrication. The book concludes with literal translations of the Synoptic gospels, including the Jewish "additions," with commentary explaining why Pryse finds the Jewish religion parts to be interpolations to the original, Hellenic text.

This part is great, as Pryse's detestation of fundamentalist Christianity is full of acidic wit. This was my favorite part of the book, and I think the first-time reader should start off with this section, before diving into Pryse's re-writing of the Jesus story, the "Anointing of Iesous." I feel that it gives a better reasoning behind Pryse's theory; you understand more fully why he chose to edit out the Jewish parts of the gospels in his rewrite. Also, it points out obvious mistakes and forgeries in the gospels (most of which I'd never even realized) that, if read by an intelligent person, should put the final nail in the coffin of one's fundamentalism.

Again, though Pryse takes many liberties with the texts and makes many assumptions, his findings will prove to be on the mark for fans of Freke/Gandy/Doherty, and all who ponder the existence of a historical Jesus. I found Apocalypse Unsealed to be the more Earth-shaking book (Christendom owes Pryse many thanks for the writing of that book, as it gave freedom from the doom and gloom, mistaken idea that Revelations offers a future history of the world's end), but the Restored New Testament will provide insightful reading for those interested in the subjects it covers. Though James Morgan Pryse seems to have been forgotten by the modern reading public, his books are still relevant, possibly more relevant than ever. Let's hope a legitimate publisher brings this book back on the market; all we have now is this Kessingner edition, which is cheaply photocopied from an early printing, and, even worse, is split into two volumes.

The tenet of the book is that the story of Iesus as told in the New Testament is a corruption of a Greek mystery play and that the true message is one of the perfecting rite of initiation.

The introduction is particularly informative and logical detailing his arguments about wilful and otherwise alterations of the New Testament, shedding, I think, a profound new (old?) light.

Chapters include The Gods, Prayer, Sacrifice, Divination, The Religious Year, Private Religion, The Priests, and Religion in the Time of Augustus. Of particular interest is Ogilvie's presentation of private religion, a topic many more scholarly texts seem to overlook. His focus tends less toward a sterile look at Roman mythology, and more toward a vibrant overview of what Romans believed (or not, as the case may be), as well as how they worshipped both privately and within the state religion.

Of particular interest are Ogilvie's speculations as to what "went wrong" with Roman religion as their world expanded, absorbing countless influences and values from other civilizations, and ultimately, failing to provide for the basic spiritual sustenance of the individual.

What are the Sabian Symbols? Well, each of the 360 degrees of the zodiac is assigned a "symbol", such as for example "Taurus 22 - White dove over troubled waters". Then, this symbol is given a positive and a negative slant in a paragraph of text, as well as a keyword, in this case Taurus 22 degrees is "Guidance". The symbols add value to any horoscope, but there's more!

The symbols in this book are excellent and practical as a kind of modern day "I Ching". That is, you can ask a question (of your higher self), then select a symbol using a random selection to find out your answer. A good way to do this is for example, to have two stacks of normal playing cards. For the stack to select the zodiac sign use:- Aries - King of Hearts; Taurus - Queen of Hearts; Gemini - Jack of Hearts; Cancer - King of Diamonds; Leo - Queen of Diamonds; Virgo - Jack of Diamonds; Libra - King of Spades; Scorpio - Queen of Spades; Sagittarius - Jack of Spades; Capricorn - King of Clubs; Aquarius - Queen of Clubs; Pisces - Jack of Clubs.

Then, for the selection of the degree of that sign, use: hearts 1-10 for 1 to 10 degrees, diamonds 1-10 for 11 to 20 degrees, hearts 1-10 for 21 to 30 degrees.

So, for example, Taurus 22 degrees using this system would be denoted by "Queen of hearts" = Taurus, "2 of clubs" = 22 degrees.

I have used this book "off and on" over the past ten years together with the similar book by Dane Rudhyar. The latter I found had similar and complementary text descriptions for the symbols. In my opinion, the symbols have even more far-reaching possibilities. They can be used as a device to learn "clair-seeing" where the world we walk in can be interpreted prophetically by reading into the symbolisms noticed. This is a fascinating prospect but I've not seen any book working that way from the Sabian Symbols. The author Marc Edmund Jones spent 30 years on this one; a worthwhile endeavour as you can see from what I've said here.

David Chapman's biogaphy of the "Great Sandow" is more than just the story of the first muscle and physique star of modern times. As a boy, Sandow visited Italy and became impressed with the marble statues of the muscular heros of Ancient Rome. His logic dictated that he would become a living work of art and later, as a mature muscle man, displayed his physique as the sculptures were viewed in art museums.

Chapman is the first author I have read who strips away the prejudice of those who would say he was a simple sideshow performer who displayed himself as an egotist. Chapman clearly dispells myth, both good and negative to draw us near to the man and his thoughts, his fears and ultimately, his triumph in defining who and what he was...the father of modern bodybuilding.

His position as the father of the sport is assured, not least by the fact that the Weider Organisation/IFBB call their Mr Olympia trophy (the highest honour in todays bodybuilding world) a Sandow. The irony is not lost on this reader.

The author was a great Yogi who lived and taught in the West for over 30 years. The example of his life and work have not only turned many people god-ward, but has also shown them the way to SELF-REALIZATION through Kriya Yoga and his prolific inspired teachings. His wisdom, insight and remarkable innovations in the field of human development and religion are legendary.The main theme of this book is "bliss", our deepest need and how to find it.

Parmahansa Yogananda established the Self-Realization Fellowship as the sole authorized representative and spiritual path for his great work.

Also Recommended:

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI........SANCTUARY OF THE SOUL........THE DIVINE ROMANCE...............MAN'S ETERNAL QUEST..................JOURNEY TO SELF-REALIZATION.....................WHISPERS FROM ETERNITY..................WHERE THERE IS LIGHT ....etc....all by the same author.

The very word "religion" has roots in "unity:" the Latin 'religare', which dictionaries often define unpleasantly as to restrain or to tie back; Yogananda cites the more yogic definition: to bind. To someone accustomed to the term "yoga" with its common roots in "to yoke together" or "to unite," the positive implications become apparent for religion as a force of LIBERATION rather than of restraint. If you are among the thousands who shun the contemporary uses of "religious" and say, with many of my friends, "I am not so much a religious person as a spiritual person," you will appreciate Yogananda's use of this more universal and positive meaning of "religious."

In this tightly reasoned essay on how ancient spiritual revelations from yoga science can elevate modern religion to liberating heights, Yogananda offers to even the most intellectual of audiences the best of reasons 1) why devotion to Truth and the experience of Spirit must logically go hand-in-hand and 2) how the airy realms of spirituality are pressingly practical: "...religion necessarily consists in the permanet removal of pain and the realization of Bliss or God."

He moves forward to show the differences between the basic four approaches to spiritual realization (as described by another reviewer, below) and provides more fundamentals about meditation and esoteric yoga practice than his 1920 audience could possibly have coped with. It is more accessible to our new, better-initiated century. The Science of Religion is an introduction to the universality of yoga, meditation, and the experience of the Divine, and -- although lacking the fascinating annecdotes of his Autobiography of a Yogi or the inspirational upliftment of such later books as Where There is Light and The Divine Romance -- The Science of Religion is a powerfully reasoned call to the intellect to open its heart along with its mind.

RECOMMENDATION: Especially good gift for your intellectual, agnostic friends - or those who have been alienated by narrow, orthodox, negativity-based presentations of religion.

The Science of Religion by Paramahansa Yogananda arrives by analysis at inner happiness or bliss as the goal that binds all men. Thus, from the standpoint of the etymological meaning of the word religion as that which binds (from religio-onis in Latin), the author says that the pursuit of bliss is universal religion, as it motivates all human actions.

Having arrived at universal religion, the author then goes on to present the practical means of attaining the goal, i.e.,the science. He outlines the four broad classes of methods that have been evolved to attain bliss, or God: the methods of reasoning, devotion, meditation, and life-force control. He points out the limitations of the first three methods, and recommends the method of life-force control (which acts directly upon the vital organs of the body, slowing them down) to sever the identification of human consciousness with the body that underlies all human suffering.