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[ KRISHNA IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS THE BHAGAVAD GITA AS PSYCHEDELIC GUIDE ] By Teitsworth, Scott ( AUTHOR ) Feb-2012[ Paperback ]
A verse-by-verse examination of Arjuna’s soma experience and Krishna’s psychedelic guidance in the Bhagavad GitaExplains how the Bhagavad Gita provides complete guidelines for the spiritual use of entheogens--from prior mental preparations to the integration of profound visionary insights into everyday consciousnessExamines Chapter XI of the Gita in detail to illuminate Arjuna’s hallucinogenic experience and expose Krishna as the ultimate psychedelic guideShows psychedelic experience to be an essential and ancient part of the path to spiritual transformationKnown as a text of liberation and enlightenment and praised not only by Indians but also by prominent modern thinkers such as Aldous Huxley and Albert Einstein, the Bhagavad Gita is one of the most commented-upon books of all time, yet one aspect has never before been Arjuna’s psychedelic soma experience with his guru Krishna.Drawing upon his many years as a student of Nitya Chaitanya Yati, whose teacher was Gita scholar Nataraja Guru, preeminent disciple of Narayana Guru, Scott Teitsworth explains how the Bhagavad Gita, through the story of the hero Arjuna and his guru Krishna, provides complete guidelines for the spiritual use of entheogens, from prior mental preparations to the integration of profound visionary insights into everyday consciousness. Examining Chapter XI of the Bhagavad Gita verse by verse, he illuminates Arjuna’s complex revelatory experience and exposes Krishna’s role as the ultimate spiritual guide--facets of the Gita evident to anyone with psychedelic experience yet long suppressed in favor of paths to enlightenment through service or meditation. He shows that psychedelics are indeed “gateway drugs” in that they stimulate open exploration of the mind and the meaning of life. Uncovering new depths to this revered manual of spiritual instruction, Teitsworth reveals psychedelic experience to be an essential and ancient path to ignite realization in the prepared student, turn theory into direct experience, and bring the written teachings to life.
- GenresReligion
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 14, 2018
In my heart I wanted to give this three stars but I think four is probably a more fair and objective rating. I enjoyed the book immensely in spite of a number of shortcomings that were, at times, fairly significant barriers to my respect for the author's knowledge and experience outside of the study of the Gita and Vedantas.
What this book is not:
- a complete analysis of the Gita
- a guide to using entheogens to replicate an experience like Arjuna's
- an explanation of the use or make up of the elusive Hindu soma
What this book is:
- a verse by verse analysis of two chapters plus a few verses of the Gita, specifically those related to the vision that Krishna shared with Arjuna
- a detailed explanation of how Arjuna's vision experience mirrors many common experiences of entheogen users
- a multifaceted look at Arjuna's vision experience and what it means in the context of his entire experience as told in the Gita
What kept me from loving it: a pseudoacademic tone throughout. By that I mean that the author is clearly deeply experienced with many translations of the Gita but is lacking the broader experience of an academic. Generally I wouldn't consider this a problem whatsoever but the attempt at an academic tone falls short when details beyond the contents and interpretation of the Gita come into play. There is one glaringly, 100% false etymological comparison claiming two words (cure and curiosity) to come from the same root when less than 15 minutes of research proved that to be false (fake etymological claims are a pet peeve of mine). There's another example where he refers to Einstein's theories in a way that is in itself contradictory and shows a true lack of understanding of the full body of Einstein's work. Those are two that stick out in my mind but there are quite a few other examples you'll find that would be better left out of the text.
That being said, when taken for what this book REALLY is rather than how it's presented it can be quite interesting. And what do I consider it to REALLY be? The work of someone who has deep experience with the Gita and entheogens and has spent a lot of time finding parallels between the two. It's the work of someone who awoke to philosophy by using drugs during the "awakening" in San Francisco during the 1960's, someone who dropped out of college because he felt it was an assembly line driving all students into the military industrial complex designed to perpetuate never-ending war. It's the work of someone whose sum total of philosophical experience is studying with one guru, reading a lot, and starting his own school, all of it in liberal areas known for perpetuating pseudointellecutalism as fact.
That said, if you are interested in the Gita and the historical Hindu use of entheogens, by all means read it! It's not very long so it's not a big commitment of time or energy and there are many great insights to be gained if you can see past the intellectual shortcomings.
What this book is not:
- a complete analysis of the Gita
- a guide to using entheogens to replicate an experience like Arjuna's
- an explanation of the use or make up of the elusive Hindu soma
What this book is:
- a verse by verse analysis of two chapters plus a few verses of the Gita, specifically those related to the vision that Krishna shared with Arjuna
- a detailed explanation of how Arjuna's vision experience mirrors many common experiences of entheogen users
- a multifaceted look at Arjuna's vision experience and what it means in the context of his entire experience as told in the Gita
What kept me from loving it: a pseudoacademic tone throughout. By that I mean that the author is clearly deeply experienced with many translations of the Gita but is lacking the broader experience of an academic. Generally I wouldn't consider this a problem whatsoever but the attempt at an academic tone falls short when details beyond the contents and interpretation of the Gita come into play. There is one glaringly, 100% false etymological comparison claiming two words (cure and curiosity) to come from the same root when less than 15 minutes of research proved that to be false (fake etymological claims are a pet peeve of mine). There's another example where he refers to Einstein's theories in a way that is in itself contradictory and shows a true lack of understanding of the full body of Einstein's work. Those are two that stick out in my mind but there are quite a few other examples you'll find that would be better left out of the text.
That being said, when taken for what this book REALLY is rather than how it's presented it can be quite interesting. And what do I consider it to REALLY be? The work of someone who has deep experience with the Gita and entheogens and has spent a lot of time finding parallels between the two. It's the work of someone who awoke to philosophy by using drugs during the "awakening" in San Francisco during the 1960's, someone who dropped out of college because he felt it was an assembly line driving all students into the military industrial complex designed to perpetuate never-ending war. It's the work of someone whose sum total of philosophical experience is studying with one guru, reading a lot, and starting his own school, all of it in liberal areas known for perpetuating pseudointellecutalism as fact.
That said, if you are interested in the Gita and the historical Hindu use of entheogens, by all means read it! It's not very long so it's not a big commitment of time or energy and there are many great insights to be gained if you can see past the intellectual shortcomings.
September 22, 2022
The only book on Krishna in my new library, so I had to check it out. I had a hard time drawing the connections between the gita as a psychedelic guide...I'm not so sure I believe everything the author says. My teachers disputed this premise as well.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews