Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2014 6:32:07 GMT -5
bookreview--by the body of the earth or the sanjasin,author Satprem
this is the most extraordinary novel I have ever read
unlike anything i know, except maybe ´´winged pharao´´, or jed´mckenna´s first book where he plays the spiritual teacher role, though a comparison like that does not really do justice to this book.
We find NIL, the main character,a western man in his late twenties,somewhere in (india) leaving a life of luxury, he´s ´´got it all´´ beautiful girlfriend with rich father and perfect job
but he is looking for ´´something´´, and this is not ´´it´´, and he escapes the ´´trap´´ as he calls it
on the way to embark on a ship that will take him to New Guinee, to get a job as a worker looking for chrome, he bumps into a sanjasin, a beggar , who challenges him with some words that intrigue him...´´3 times you came, 3 times you killed´´
he decides to drop everything and follow this strange man who owns nothing but a begging bowl and a cloth, but looks souvereign like a king, an untouchable joy in his eyes.
that evening they embark on a train, and NIL asks, ´´where are we going?´´
the sanjasin says :´´ we´re already there´´
we follow NIL, (the ´´I´´ in the book)on his journey crisscross india, and slowly he loses sanity, and the last straws of ego --- until one morning he wakes up after a marvellous ´´dream´´...and finds himself alone, the sanjasin is gone.Nil is ´´enlightened.´´
in the second part of the book, Nil now is the free man, who meets a young westerner like he was in the beginning of the book, and we see the struggle of this man (Bjorn) from the perspective of Nil , the free man.
he feels powerless to help Bjorn, who is passionate about ´´saving humanity´´, and addicted to a ´´guru´´ who Nil sees as a fraud.
meanwhile he also meets another impressive figure, a sculptor, and he has some beautiful meetings with that man´s daughter, Batsja, who though still very young (´´but you are still a child´´!!) seems to have a completely different outlook on things, but nonetheless quite intruiging to Nil...she takes the ´´illusion´´ seriously, everything is magical and full of deep meanings...
i will not reveal the ending of the story (the third part of the book)
what struck me also in the book, is the way he describes f.i. clairvoyant experiences without ever saying ´´this is a clairvoyant experience´´
i read it many times (first published in 1974--an excellent dutch translation)and every time i find new nuggets in it.
Satprem is a gifted,poetic writer, an enlightened man from the school of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, and the story is based on his own life´s experiences.
this is the most extraordinary novel I have ever read
unlike anything i know, except maybe ´´winged pharao´´, or jed´mckenna´s first book where he plays the spiritual teacher role, though a comparison like that does not really do justice to this book.
We find NIL, the main character,a western man in his late twenties,somewhere in (india) leaving a life of luxury, he´s ´´got it all´´ beautiful girlfriend with rich father and perfect job
but he is looking for ´´something´´, and this is not ´´it´´, and he escapes the ´´trap´´ as he calls it
on the way to embark on a ship that will take him to New Guinee, to get a job as a worker looking for chrome, he bumps into a sanjasin, a beggar , who challenges him with some words that intrigue him...´´3 times you came, 3 times you killed´´
he decides to drop everything and follow this strange man who owns nothing but a begging bowl and a cloth, but looks souvereign like a king, an untouchable joy in his eyes.
that evening they embark on a train, and NIL asks, ´´where are we going?´´
the sanjasin says :´´ we´re already there´´
we follow NIL, (the ´´I´´ in the book)on his journey crisscross india, and slowly he loses sanity, and the last straws of ego --- until one morning he wakes up after a marvellous ´´dream´´...and finds himself alone, the sanjasin is gone.Nil is ´´enlightened.´´
in the second part of the book, Nil now is the free man, who meets a young westerner like he was in the beginning of the book, and we see the struggle of this man (Bjorn) from the perspective of Nil , the free man.
he feels powerless to help Bjorn, who is passionate about ´´saving humanity´´, and addicted to a ´´guru´´ who Nil sees as a fraud.
meanwhile he also meets another impressive figure, a sculptor, and he has some beautiful meetings with that man´s daughter, Batsja, who though still very young (´´but you are still a child´´!!) seems to have a completely different outlook on things, but nonetheless quite intruiging to Nil...she takes the ´´illusion´´ seriously, everything is magical and full of deep meanings...
i will not reveal the ending of the story (the third part of the book)
what struck me also in the book, is the way he describes f.i. clairvoyant experiences without ever saying ´´this is a clairvoyant experience´´
i read it many times (first published in 1974--an excellent dutch translation)and every time i find new nuggets in it.
Satprem is a gifted,poetic writer, an enlightened man from the school of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, and the story is based on his own life´s experiences.