February 2005 Books
The Little Book of Bleeps; Enlightenment Blues
The Little Book of Bleeps
“Ponder These for Awhile!”
“I'll stick my ass in the cocktail sauce if I damn well please.” If you saw the movie What the Bleep Do We Know?!, you may recall snorting when you heard the bride's sister say that.Or this line from a man in the subway may ring a bell: “Makes you wonder, doesn't it...if thoughts can do that to water, imagine what our thoughts do to us.”
Good to the very last drop, The Little Book of Bleeps brings us over a hundred full-color images and quotations from the movie to keep us thinking, along with photos and background information on the featured scientists.
What the Bleep is not just a movie experience, it is a clarion call at a time when our society is ready to awaken and remember that reality is of our own making. John Raatz, president of the film producer's marketing firm, says “the book project emerged when we discovered that people were taking notepads into the movie to jot down what the scientists said.” As of this writing, he tells us the first printing of 25,000 copies has already sold out and the book is in its second printing.
Beyond its immediate charm as a memento of the movie, this book has the potential to serve as a reminder to those already in step with quantum physics and to awaken others. Do the world a favor--put it on your coffee table for friends to pick up, and buy a copy to leave in your dentist's waiting room.
Enlightenment Blues
My Years with an American Guru
Enlightenment Blues is the author's not-always-so-pleasant chronicle of eleven years he spent as a follower of the prominent spiritual teacher Andrew Cohen. I found this book an interesting read, as much for its ruthless honesty of self-examination as for its commentary on the personality and practices of this well known guru.
Van der Braak demonstrates a commendable level of emotional maturity as he depicts his personal evolution from initial attraction to Cohen, his protracted dedication in the face of growing doubt, and his final decision to leave Cohen's community in the face of growing personal disillusionment.
Opening with his initial encounter with Cohen in 1987, van der Braak takes us with him through the intoxication of being drawn in by a charismatic figure whose influence skyrocketed and claimed the lives and souls of hordes of spiritual seekers. Initiated into enlightenment by Poonjaji (spiritual heir of Ramana Maharshi, and teacher of other American gurus including most notably Gangagi), Cohen emanated a rare aura of enlightenment. Certain that his brand of spiritual revolution would take the world by storm, followers sacrificed worldly possessions and ambitions to follow his teachings with abandonment. Centers were established first in Boston, and later in London, Amsterdam, Rishikesh, Tel Aviv, Copenhagen, and Paris.
But as the years wore on, van der Braak relates, he began to see serious changes in the message being put out by Cohen. What had begun as “all you need to reach enlightenment is to know what you really want” began to take on more demanding tones, presumably as the guru came to realize that enlightenment for others seemed to be more elusive than he had expected. Followers were forced to live up to rigid but undefined “standards,” and many were banished from the community at Cohen's whim. Forced to give up control over even the most personal decisions, many were told who to become intimate with and then unceremoniously yanked out of those relationships (and sometimes away from their children) at the whim of the guru. Van der Braak relates how Cohen's own mother bowed to him as her guru initially and entered the community, only to leave and sever her relationship with him in reaction to his heavy-handedness.
But equally interesting is the author's retrospective look at his own submissiveness and continuing obedience long after he became convinced he needed to leave. As I turned the pages I wanted to scream “Get the (bleep) out of there!” more than once. When he finally did, I breathed a sigh of relief. The terrible thing was knowing that the neediness of the human psyche would prevent many from ever finding their way out.
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