|  |
| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Great insights! 1st Ed. needs editing! May 12, 2008
This is the book I have been waiting for!
I can't give it five stars because the first edition still needs to be edited heavily - there are factblocks that break across two pages, splitting the fact and the author on a few pages, and there are some misspellings as well. If you can find this book, make note of the edition you get.
On to the juicy stuff. The book's premise appears to be that because the ancients did not have the technological capacity we do now (i.e. Large Hadron Colliders, lasers, giant space telescopes, etc.) yet were aware of many of the micro and macro features of the universe, they received this knowledge through other means - transcendental means. These transcendental means of obtaining knowledge indicate a revelation of knowledge as opposed to a "discovery." The revealer of this knowledge is God/Cosmos/Ultimate Soul depending on your particular brand of religious philosophy. Seems like sensible logic - but people on LSD have similar transcendental experiences. So where's the rub?
This book demonstrates that these revelations to the ancients are scientifically correct - and continue to be demonstrated as correct on a regular basis! What is hailed today as scientific "discovery" is shown to be confirmation of what the ancients already knew and our societies lost at some point in time.
It is a validation of the power of spirituality and, if not a confirmation of God, a very compelling argument that science's somewhat brute force attack, though undoubtedly elegant and ingenious at times, is NOT the only way to ascertain an understanding of the universe(s) we live in.
For believers, it is a new take on the dogmas of the world's great religions, offering a median path between pure faith and outright rejection of beliefs. It offers another way to see God's Seven Days of creation, for example - one that demonstrates the mutual veracity of science and religion. Not that one is right and the other is wrong, but that both are right!
For the scientists (believers and non believers), this treatment only seriously discusses known parallels. But it opens the door to the possibility of many other truths hidden within the pages of Yoga Literature that can be a guide to future research. It takes delving deep into the meanings of these somewhat cryptic texts to elucidate these truths, but this book shows that those truths are there - and true!
For those who are unwilling to believe in God or a higher Reality unless proof is given on their own terms, take a pass on this book. It does precisely that, but many have already found themselves unwilling to change their beliefs despite being presented with strong evidence to do so. It has caused enough anxiety to many of this type of reader as to incite them to post strongly negative reviews, some so much so as to post BEFORE reading the book.
For anyone interested in the very fuzzy line between religion and science, this book is a must-read.
To all, enjoy!
9 of 24 found the following review helpful:
 are these five star reviews really serious? Jan 25, 2008
This text, as pointed out by others, parallels Capra's 'Tao of Physics' in the way it attempts to retrofit current scientific beliefs with a number of disparate religious beliefs.
I guess my only question would be why is it that these folks did so little with the tremendous amount of information that they possessed?
Are these five star reviews really serious? Even if you admire the research done and agree with the conclusions, I think it'd still be appropriate to remove stars or portions thereof due to the author's tendency to phrase things in a rather obnoxious manner.
15 of 32 found the following review helpful:
 An interesting read but flawed nonetheless Jan 01, 2008
First off, I won't go into great detail or refutation here as I have a dislike for spoilers. But I will go in, just ankle deep, to help you decide whether or not you wish to plunk down your hard earned $$$
Sanjay Patels book is not original, as it is so heavily claimed, nor do the conclusions within portray undeniable evidence.
At one point Patel declares that all of science denies that there is anything beyond space-time. In other words, that the Universe is everything and there is nothing else.
Well.... many scientists may have made claim to this publicly at one time or another simply because IT IS currently all that we know.
But science is a self-correcting process to be sure. Any man or woman of real science would be open to all possibilities should they be or become reasonable. On the flip side certainly everything, or if you prefer, "anything", can reach a point of becoming unreasonable.
What Patel should have stated is that most of science denies anything beyond space-time because this one universe IS, at this time, our only knowledge. But he doesn't....and there's a reason he doesn't.
Sadly for Patel, this involves a huge portion of the foundation he has laid out in this book.
Patel goes on to claim that many individuals had access to a "transcendental world", a mystical, spiritual existence BEYOND known space-time. From their vantage point THEY learned the secrets of creation and evolution, the meaning of humanity and human existence, other secrets of the Universe, and of course, that "undeniable existence" of god.
He reveals that ALL the individuals were ancient teachers of both the ancient Yoga literature as well as the Christian bible. (No one in recent history of any credibility is mentioned as having access to this transcendental world)
Patel essentially goes on to say that it's possible to prove those ancient teachers had a deeper understanding and wisdom of our Universe than science has today.
POSSIBLE ???? wtf?
Mr. Patel.... what happened to undeniable ??? I guess that's why there is so very little factual evidence within the book. Religious writings and texts are dubious at best.
Still, I found this moderately interesting to read and its pacing wasn't dreadful. For the "thinking believer" (of ANY religion) who still can't or won't let go of a desire to be cradled in the arms of an all-knowing, all-loving creator.... well.... this book is yet another (right now the ultimate) wet-dream.
Sorry Patel, strike three. Be off...back to the dugout with you for now.
18 of 23 found the following review helpful:
I never thought of this approach. Very enlightening! Dec 27, 2007
THIS IS A VERY INTERESTING BOOK.
Patel states that the most important of all the 150 or so parallels of ancient Yoga Literature, the Bible (Genesis), and modern science are 23. This is because they are not descriptive parallels (like the 125 or so that describe other formations of the universe, such as the spherical Earth, detailed step by step description of the Big Bang, the evolution of stars, galaxies, superclusters of galaxies, and the nature of infinity). These 23 parallels are NUMERICAL.
Numerical parallels are extremely difficult to strike just by chance. For instance, the remaining lifespan of the Sun and Earth (it is 7 billion years). Through sheer ignorant guesswork, the lifespan of the Sun may be another 10 years, 100 years, 1000 years....and any of an infinite choice of lifespans up to and including infinite years - as many as you may care to envision numerically. Therefore, stating just one answer (and no more) 2000 years ago without the aid of scientific knowledge, and getting it bang on bull's eye, is statistically almost impossible. Therefore, says Patel, this is not mere cherry picking the one that fits modern scientific discovery best, but stating the only one the ancient literature contains, and it fits exactly! What are the chances of that? In a similar way, Patel reveals 22 other numerical answers the ancients gave that parallel cosmic discovery, including the size of the smallest fundamental particle (called a quark) and the way it combines with other particles! (I have arthritis so forgive me for not listing all 22 here, but they are listed in other reviews.) All this combined with the other 125 or so descriptive parallels, contends Patel, leads to undeniable evidence for genuine spiritual discovery. They cannot all be there by chance.
A great new book!
42 of 50 found the following review helpful:
 I'm happy with this book. Dec 26, 2007
I bought this book a few weeks ago and have no regrets whatsoever! It is magnificent and contains even more than is described in the reviews. This new book really is very good news for Christians as well as followers of yoga (the heart of Hinduism). The parallels of the Bible, ancient Yoga Literature and modern cosmology are striking.
One spiritual lesson of life I learned from this book is that the universe is interconnected and what goes around, comes around. Skeptics and atheists will do all they can to bury this book and its findings as they have with other books. But I think this one will stand the test of time. It truly is filled with genuine discoveries, some of which have appeared in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
|
| | |
|
|
