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Hiding in Unnatural Happiness
Wandering the forest of our hopes and dreams, we desire more than to survive - our hearts long to thrive. The premium we seek is happiness, now the ultimate consumer product.
"Happiness is no laughing matter." Relationships, society, and the political economy should at all somehow generate enduring chunks of it.
Is the hunt for sustainable contentment just confusion - a kaleidoscope of diverse illusion? Drawing upon the ancient yoga science of the self, Hiding in Unnatural Happiness probes our contemporary approach to fulfilment and progress, and recommends another road, less travelled but timeless.
"Happiness is no laughing matter." Relationships, society, and the political economy should at all somehow generate enduring chunks of it.
Is the hunt for sustainable contentment just confusion - a kaleidoscope of diverse illusion? Drawing upon the ancient yoga science of the self, Hiding in Unnatural Happiness probes our contemporary approach to fulfilment and progress, and recommends another road, less travelled but timeless.
108 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2015
34 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
April 23, 2021
I'm migrating all my reviews to my blog. If you want to read the full review with my raw notes, check it here: https://pothix.com/unnaturalhappiness/
I received this book from a monk while walking on the streets of York (UK) last year. I gave a small donation, and he told me to keep the book, so I decided to read it. He said it was about meditation, but it's about yoga in general (not the physical practice).
I was not aware of anything related to Bhagavad Gita, Krishna, or anything like that, so it was an enjoyable reading for me. I'm a minimalist, so I tend not to follow the flow of the materialists, and most of the book makes a lot of sense for me.
I received this book from a monk while walking on the streets of York (UK) last year. I gave a small donation, and he told me to keep the book, so I decided to read it. He said it was about meditation, but it's about yoga in general (not the physical practice).
I was not aware of anything related to Bhagavad Gita, Krishna, or anything like that, so it was an enjoyable reading for me. I'm a minimalist, so I tend not to follow the flow of the materialists, and most of the book makes a lot of sense for me.
January 14, 2019
I'm torn not giving this one star. The premise is good. The book states that human beings can't find happiness with material pursuits and the environment can't handle the way we're living. But then it takes a turn bragging that Indian Krishna texts have known this for centuries and basically bragging on Krishna without giving any practical advice. It was annoying and painful and if it were 100 pages longer I'd have given up but I pressed through to buy me time to read one of my 3000 page monsters and still reach my reading challenge goal this year.
January 8, 2020
Reading this short, contemplative book at a time when half of Australia is burning, when our country is being painfully asked to change, to do things differently and somehow fast-track itself out of intentionally destructive political engineering that has successfully thwarted all attempts at addressing changing climate after decades of warning, there lies a very simple message: 'a wisdom culture is our greatest need'. It articulates (without solving) that we need spiritually based economics that foster the environment and sustainability. Discussing the Bhagavad-Gita, with references to Plato and The Matrix, the author questions whether there is another path to fulfilment other than that pursued by the market-economy.
The realisations below are not new:
- money does not bring happiness
- technology does not necessarily bring well-being
- weapons do not bring security
- the earth's resources are finite
When looking at economic policy let's ask:
- do they contribute to happiness
- do they contribute to justice
- do they contribute to personal (well-being) development.
These are not new ideas. But while we deal with the shock of ecocide, as a public movement, we have the capacity to look within: This country was looked after for tens of thousands of years before European arrival. The collective wisdom we need to move is already here, but we need to listen.
The realisations below are not new:
- money does not bring happiness
- technology does not necessarily bring well-being
- weapons do not bring security
- the earth's resources are finite
When looking at economic policy let's ask:
- do they contribute to happiness
- do they contribute to justice
- do they contribute to personal (well-being) development.
These are not new ideas. But while we deal with the shock of ecocide, as a public movement, we have the capacity to look within: This country was looked after for tens of thousands of years before European arrival. The collective wisdom we need to move is already here, but we need to listen.
January 16, 2020
I found "Hiding in Unnatural Happiness" to be a below-average read. I believe Devamrita Swami is very knowledgeable; however, I do not think he is an influential writer. I would be interested to see Swami work with a ghostwriter to make a novel that is easier to follow and provides adequate context for the topics introduced. I frequently felt that Swami would not explain many concepts or issues fully. Additionally, the abrupt transitions between subtopics and chapters gave off the impression that they were not well thought out. There were some topics, such as the disparity between human evolution and modern-day technology, that I found interesting--I simply wish that there had been more depth.
April 23, 2018
Received this slim book from some yogis on the street in Center City, Philadelphia last year. It had a bold title and was only 100 pages or so, so I figured I should read finally read it.
Reading this was kinda like stepping out of real life for a bit, and observing it from a higher view. Nothing too lofty or high brow, just a little meditation — I was able to take a look at what I'm pursuing, what I think will make me happier and decide whether it really would. Will getting that new job in a new state/country really make everything perfect for me? The answer is — as it will be with any material gain — "no". Happiness should come from something sustainable, a deeper connection and understanding of ourselves and our relation to others and the even the planet (Happy Earth Day).
In short, this book has reminded me to:
- Be grateful (for eating, for breathing, for higher consciousness)
- Be generous (ask the question "What can I do for others" instead of "What do I want for myself")
- Remember that material pursuits do not lead to sustainable well-being, and should be recognized as playful, not essential
Reading this was kinda like stepping out of real life for a bit, and observing it from a higher view. Nothing too lofty or high brow, just a little meditation — I was able to take a look at what I'm pursuing, what I think will make me happier and decide whether it really would. Will getting that new job in a new state/country really make everything perfect for me? The answer is — as it will be with any material gain — "no". Happiness should come from something sustainable, a deeper connection and understanding of ourselves and our relation to others and the even the planet (Happy Earth Day).
In short, this book has reminded me to:
- Be grateful (for eating, for breathing, for higher consciousness)
- Be generous (ask the question "What can I do for others" instead of "What do I want for myself")
- Remember that material pursuits do not lead to sustainable well-being, and should be recognized as playful, not essential
September 21, 2017
This book is a nice short exploration of the intersection of modern problems (economic, environmental, social, spiritual, etc.) and the ancient Krishna texts. Devamrita Swami shows in easy to read passages that these modern problems were anticipated and talked about in the Bhagavad-gita. The main issue we face seems to be that of methodology. In resolving Arjuna's problem in the Gita, Krishna says "Arjuna, I don't care about being religious. Let's be scientific. You think you have surpassed mundane social and political formulas by appealing to religion. But your mighty stream of erudite excuses has missed the point."
We should take advantage of the modern crisis situation to scientifically cut away our illusions in order to understand the self. Our materialistic mindset causes us to put the cart before the horse in our attempt to deal with these modern problems. We need to understand our consciousness to "truly understand economics, science, or anything, since everything comes to us through the medium of our consciousness."
"Consciousness is the symptom of our spiritual nucleus," the non-material soul that travels through the physical changes of birth and death. "Some people may object, 'Oh, here we go again - the ghost in the machine. You're advocating some kind of phantom in the body - vitalism. How quaint.' But let's flip that bias. Via the mechanism of the unknown - consciousness - you're trying to establish the known. And through the unknown, you're trying to perceive the known. At issue is not the ghost in the machine - it's the machine in the ghost!"
I find it very interesting how entrenched our perspective is in the idea that the immaterial must arise from the material and not the other way around. We have found that particle and antiparticle arise from empty space and return to it, yet I still find my mind wanting to say that energy comes from matter. Even when, through my education I have come to believe matter to be something like "frozen" energy. This book makes me look forward to reading the Bhagavad-gita in an attempt to personally understand Krishna consciousness, the self, and how to tackle these age old problems.
We should take advantage of the modern crisis situation to scientifically cut away our illusions in order to understand the self. Our materialistic mindset causes us to put the cart before the horse in our attempt to deal with these modern problems. We need to understand our consciousness to "truly understand economics, science, or anything, since everything comes to us through the medium of our consciousness."
"Consciousness is the symptom of our spiritual nucleus," the non-material soul that travels through the physical changes of birth and death. "Some people may object, 'Oh, here we go again - the ghost in the machine. You're advocating some kind of phantom in the body - vitalism. How quaint.' But let's flip that bias. Via the mechanism of the unknown - consciousness - you're trying to establish the known. And through the unknown, you're trying to perceive the known. At issue is not the ghost in the machine - it's the machine in the ghost!"
I find it very interesting how entrenched our perspective is in the idea that the immaterial must arise from the material and not the other way around. We have found that particle and antiparticle arise from empty space and return to it, yet I still find my mind wanting to say that energy comes from matter. Even when, through my education I have come to believe matter to be something like "frozen" energy. This book makes me look forward to reading the Bhagavad-gita in an attempt to personally understand Krishna consciousness, the self, and how to tackle these age old problems.
December 22, 2023
Admirable attempts at synthesizing the Bhagavad-gita as a contemporary treatment for the ailments of both modern self and society. While I think the book doesn’t quite hit its ambitious marks, it’s always a joy to refresh oneself of the perennial philosophy, and contemplate its application in one’s life today.
November 30, 2019
1st Book I have read. This gave an insight to perceive happiness differently
June 16, 2019
I enjoyed the first few chapters of this book. I agreed with much of the author's views -that materialism is not the key to happiness and we are more than our material selves- but midway through the book, things started going downhill.
In my opinion, the goal of the author of this book was to convert people to his belief in being a yogi and believing in krishna, gita, etc... He constantly quotes from his religious yogi books, attempting to infuse in our DNA an unwavering belief in krishna. I intentionally use the word religious because throughout the book, he claims that his beliefs are not religious...but they clearly are. These yogi/gita/krisha beliefs are very religious, and we live in a time where religion is looked down upon and religious people are seen as simple minded, so he kept defending that "fact" that gita is nonreligious to appeal to the godless "intellects" reading his book. It was annoying.
At this point, the book seemed to go on a tangent with its incessant talk of krishna and gita. Towards the end of the book, it seemed to me the author implied one of the solutions to the world's problems is chemical enhancement; engineering a chemical humans could take that would improve their moral compass, which would result in more compassionate and empathetic humans, as opposed to the greedy leaders and blissfully ignorant life participants currently inhabiting this world. He likened this idea to the chemical pills most westerners take these days to help with depression. I'm hoping I misinterpreted this part of the book because that "solution" seems just as extreme as the "solutions" our current world leaders propose.
All in all, I don't regret reading this book because I love to learn about perspectives that are similar and dissimilar to mine. I agree with another reviewer...I'm very happy this book was not longer than 105 pages, otherwise I don't know if I could have read all of it, ESPECIALLY if he continued with his never-ending talk of krishna.
In my opinion, the goal of the author of this book was to convert people to his belief in being a yogi and believing in krishna, gita, etc... He constantly quotes from his religious yogi books, attempting to infuse in our DNA an unwavering belief in krishna. I intentionally use the word religious because throughout the book, he claims that his beliefs are not religious...but they clearly are. These yogi/gita/krisha beliefs are very religious, and we live in a time where religion is looked down upon and religious people are seen as simple minded, so he kept defending that "fact" that gita is nonreligious to appeal to the godless "intellects" reading his book. It was annoying.
At this point, the book seemed to go on a tangent with its incessant talk of krishna and gita. Towards the end of the book, it seemed to me the author implied one of the solutions to the world's problems is chemical enhancement; engineering a chemical humans could take that would improve their moral compass, which would result in more compassionate and empathetic humans, as opposed to the greedy leaders and blissfully ignorant life participants currently inhabiting this world. He likened this idea to the chemical pills most westerners take these days to help with depression. I'm hoping I misinterpreted this part of the book because that "solution" seems just as extreme as the "solutions" our current world leaders propose.
All in all, I don't regret reading this book because I love to learn about perspectives that are similar and dissimilar to mine. I agree with another reviewer...I'm very happy this book was not longer than 105 pages, otherwise I don't know if I could have read all of it, ESPECIALLY if he continued with his never-ending talk of krishna.
July 15, 2017
This book touched base on a lot of controversial topics about our current reality and the possibly of the current reality.
I could not help but feel that this book aim was to introduce the practice of yoga. I have read many self-improvement, self-realization, and religious books both fiction and non-fiction; like many other books with same message, its primary messages carried good intent.
Personally, I would recommend this piece of reading for open-minded people. As stated before, the topics in this book were mostly concerns of our external well-being.
I could not help but feel that this book aim was to introduce the practice of yoga. I have read many self-improvement, self-realization, and religious books both fiction and non-fiction; like many other books with same message, its primary messages carried good intent.
Personally, I would recommend this piece of reading for open-minded people. As stated before, the topics in this book were mostly concerns of our external well-being.
January 4, 2020
This book is amazing, have read a few times now! It really changes the way you think and perceive the world. The author Devramita Swami is very intelligent and you can tell by the way he writes, the language is very flowery yet intellectual. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is on a quest for happiness, looking for some relief from stress, or just a fresh perspective. It’s a must read!
August 31, 2020
Fantastic and much needed
The increasing problems of economic durability and environmental damage question how to change human behaviour to be more harmonised with the world and other lives (human or animal) around it. Highly recommended for those who like to think and not just sleep walk through the problems of life. Dr Abhijit Pandya
The increasing problems of economic durability and environmental damage question how to change human behaviour to be more harmonised with the world and other lives (human or animal) around it. Highly recommended for those who like to think and not just sleep walk through the problems of life. Dr Abhijit Pandya
September 23, 2021
I've met his disciples, volunteered for his "ashram", read his book and also listened to his lectures. Nothing spiritual about his Hare Christian Yoga Cult, or this book for that matter. Full of empty platitudes, pseudo-intellectual anti scientism, name dropping of random scientists and sociologists. He whitewashes the Bhagavad Gita, a HINDU text as a "yoga classic" full of "ancient wisdom." Yes, he talks about religious scriptures like they're album reviews. Like Mile's Davis Blue In Green, a Jazz Classic, or how Radiohead's Kid A is an alternative rock classic, the Bhagavad Gita is a "Yoga Classic". Yes very classical indeed.
It's an aphoristically styled book designed to capture your attention with multisyllabic alliteration like "smokestack socialism and boom-bap capitalism". Whatever that's supposed to mean. Probably a stolen line from a Maya Anagelou poem or a plagiarised line Kendrick Lamar album.
The disparaging of science is pretty shocking. Given that it is science which even allows people to promote spirituality, and even then, it is his whole team of publishers, facebook advertisers, youtube, and administrators who orchestrate the technologically driven marketing in the book to promote "spiritual progress".
He funnels in the reader, via his marketing strategy, into a dichotomous notion of spiritual fulfilment vs material emptiness, whereas it is materialism that allows people to survive. Without food we will die, without shelter we will die, without clothing we have no protection, without happiness we will suffer. So to sensationalise materialism and science as hedonism and reductionism is very shallow and naïve and it goes to show how hypocritical he is for disparaging real science in the promotion of a pseudoscientific "spiritual science". It is precisely technology, capitalism, materialism, and human resources that allow for his ideology to be created, and it is the exploitation of humans for free labour that allows him to produce a team of people to promote his ideology of worshipping him and Prabhupad as spiritually realised gurus. Spiritual Capitalism. Spiritual Materialism.
He talks of materialism and greed yet he is greedy to accumulate more disciples.
Pure irony.
He talks of mindless numbing yet his Hare Krishnas cultists are numbing themselves with religion.
Pure irony.
As Karl Marx said, "Religion is the opiate of the masses". He glorifies asceticism as somehow more spiritual than the oh so terrible "hedonism" of corrupt societies yet he wears a gold watch.
Pure irony.
Whitewashing Hinduism, promoting anti-science attitudes. Namedropping of philosophers like Camus, Platos and random sociologists. The book attempts to say something but it ends up falling flat and does not say anything other than it wants you to become a Hare Krishna and join Devamrita Swami's Yoga Cult.
Singing and dancing all day chanting names to an invisible sky God who they believe is dancing with his 100 thousand naked cow herder wives and kissing them amorously, whilst criticising people who numb themselves with drugs. I'm not sure what's crazier, the former or the latter?
The Bhagavad Gita is a much deeper text than what Jay Matsya Swami makes it sound. It is not a self help book, to help people overcome a neoliberal crisis. It is not a "yoga classic". It is a religious scripture about the nature of reality. Sure that's propably the only part he gets right. But don't call an "atman" a spirit soul. That just sounds like mystical gobbledygook for toddlers. Atman is Atman, stop whitewashing Hinduism.
Please Decolonise Hinduism from these outrageous Western Influences and Fake Swamis. Read Bhagavad Gita, the commentary by Nicholas Sutton from the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. Much better than the pseudo-translation of ISKCON Prabhupad and much better than the pseudo-explanation of Jay Matsya who only wants to lure people into his cult and make more money in his 14 charities in Melbourne, and propably his 50 other charities in New Zealand & Philadelphia for his money laundering pyramid scheme of a religion.
It's an aphoristically styled book designed to capture your attention with multisyllabic alliteration like "smokestack socialism and boom-bap capitalism". Whatever that's supposed to mean. Probably a stolen line from a Maya Anagelou poem or a plagiarised line Kendrick Lamar album.
The disparaging of science is pretty shocking. Given that it is science which even allows people to promote spirituality, and even then, it is his whole team of publishers, facebook advertisers, youtube, and administrators who orchestrate the technologically driven marketing in the book to promote "spiritual progress".
He funnels in the reader, via his marketing strategy, into a dichotomous notion of spiritual fulfilment vs material emptiness, whereas it is materialism that allows people to survive. Without food we will die, without shelter we will die, without clothing we have no protection, without happiness we will suffer. So to sensationalise materialism and science as hedonism and reductionism is very shallow and naïve and it goes to show how hypocritical he is for disparaging real science in the promotion of a pseudoscientific "spiritual science". It is precisely technology, capitalism, materialism, and human resources that allow for his ideology to be created, and it is the exploitation of humans for free labour that allows him to produce a team of people to promote his ideology of worshipping him and Prabhupad as spiritually realised gurus. Spiritual Capitalism. Spiritual Materialism.
He talks of materialism and greed yet he is greedy to accumulate more disciples.
Pure irony.
He talks of mindless numbing yet his Hare Krishnas cultists are numbing themselves with religion.
Pure irony.
As Karl Marx said, "Religion is the opiate of the masses". He glorifies asceticism as somehow more spiritual than the oh so terrible "hedonism" of corrupt societies yet he wears a gold watch.
Pure irony.
Whitewashing Hinduism, promoting anti-science attitudes. Namedropping of philosophers like Camus, Platos and random sociologists. The book attempts to say something but it ends up falling flat and does not say anything other than it wants you to become a Hare Krishna and join Devamrita Swami's Yoga Cult.
Singing and dancing all day chanting names to an invisible sky God who they believe is dancing with his 100 thousand naked cow herder wives and kissing them amorously, whilst criticising people who numb themselves with drugs. I'm not sure what's crazier, the former or the latter?
The Bhagavad Gita is a much deeper text than what Jay Matsya Swami makes it sound. It is not a self help book, to help people overcome a neoliberal crisis. It is not a "yoga classic". It is a religious scripture about the nature of reality. Sure that's propably the only part he gets right. But don't call an "atman" a spirit soul. That just sounds like mystical gobbledygook for toddlers. Atman is Atman, stop whitewashing Hinduism.
Please Decolonise Hinduism from these outrageous Western Influences and Fake Swamis. Read Bhagavad Gita, the commentary by Nicholas Sutton from the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. Much better than the pseudo-translation of ISKCON Prabhupad and much better than the pseudo-explanation of Jay Matsya who only wants to lure people into his cult and make more money in his 14 charities in Melbourne, and propably his 50 other charities in New Zealand & Philadelphia for his money laundering pyramid scheme of a religion.
January 28, 2025
I really liked a lot of the thought that the author had talked about within this book. Most of it was very eye opening although I don’t really believe in some of the stuff that he said. Like I loved the thoughts of how majority of us are very reliant on materialistic things for our happiness however I think this is also already established. It would have been cool if he actually like got into it properly but the book did tend to jump back and forth a bit. it ended on an interesting note as he recommended using biomedical enhancements on humans to better their moral compass which is insane. He proceeded to then literally call himself out and be like the people that day we should use biomedical enhancements usually need to straighten themselves out ASWELL like pls whattt. That in itself is morally insane as much as humans are so screwed if we start to like try and programme how humans act in given situations when it isn’t completely necessary humanity is also gonna be screwed like idk it was just a very bad note to end the book at. :(( sad cos majority of the thoughts were rlly good. Like maybe I didn’t understand it very well but it just seems insane and his reasoning didn’t seem to be very well thought out.
One more thing, he referred to Arjuna just dropping out of the war because he didn’t see the point as Arjuna himself was not in the wrong which is fair but somehow wanted us to follow in these footsteps but hadn’t explained his thought process behind that. It is literally impossible to completely drop the world and just be as much as that would be nice. He acknowledges this but then doesn’t explain how we can balance the world and our spiritual development very well. He dropped some very good thoughts but then didn’t explain them well enough and then moved on to the next topic.
The book felt quite surface level on the most part which made it hard to want to read and quite boring as there wasn’t much new. I don’t know much about the author but he seems like he has some good thoughts he just hadn’t delivered them very well.
One more thing, he referred to Arjuna just dropping out of the war because he didn’t see the point as Arjuna himself was not in the wrong which is fair but somehow wanted us to follow in these footsteps but hadn’t explained his thought process behind that. It is literally impossible to completely drop the world and just be as much as that would be nice. He acknowledges this but then doesn’t explain how we can balance the world and our spiritual development very well. He dropped some very good thoughts but then didn’t explain them well enough and then moved on to the next topic.
The book felt quite surface level on the most part which made it hard to want to read and quite boring as there wasn’t much new. I don’t know much about the author but he seems like he has some good thoughts he just hadn’t delivered them very well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 10, 2017
I received this book on a day when I allowed myself to be swept up in the events of the day, existing in the flow rather than trying to control all the details.
Reading it, I felt that it touched a lot of the hangups my mind has been stuck on lately. It definitely inspired me to start reading that copy of the Bhagavad Gita that's been sitting on my shelf at home.
My favorite part was near the end when the concept of dogma is discussed, and the word 'dogma' is redefined outside the religious context in which my mind had perceived it: 'dogma' is accepting the results of other people's thinking without questioning it, whereas I perceived the word with specifically religious connotations. Although it presents a philosophical paradox of dogmatically accepting this new definition of 'dogma' (lol), I have at least one new lens through which to view my own conceptions.
Read this book if you are looking to deepen your understanding of 'reality' through a spiritual/subjective lens.
Reading it, I felt that it touched a lot of the hangups my mind has been stuck on lately. It definitely inspired me to start reading that copy of the Bhagavad Gita that's been sitting on my shelf at home.
My favorite part was near the end when the concept of dogma is discussed, and the word 'dogma' is redefined outside the religious context in which my mind had perceived it: 'dogma' is accepting the results of other people's thinking without questioning it, whereas I perceived the word with specifically religious connotations. Although it presents a philosophical paradox of dogmatically accepting this new definition of 'dogma' (lol), I have at least one new lens through which to view my own conceptions.
Read this book if you are looking to deepen your understanding of 'reality' through a spiritual/subjective lens.
August 30, 2018
***1/2
In "Hiding in Unnatural Happiness," Devamrita Swami gives readers, and potential yoga novitiates, a basic breakdown of the fundamentals of Hare Krishna thought regarding material and spiritual happiness.
It's a well-thought-out introduction for those unfamiliar with Krishna thought. These folks make up the book's target audience, though I suspect "Hiding" could also act as a nice refresher for just about anyone.
Devamrita Swami references Indian philosophy, particularly the chief piece of Krishna consciousness, the "Bhagavad Gita." He also pulls from talks he's given at universities, and refers more than once to the movie "The Matrix."
The main point of the book is that to live a spiritually fulfilling life means acting on the knowledge we've received, rather than simply understanding. For, as Devamrita Swami points out several times, true understanding IS doing, not simply thinking.
In "Hiding in Unnatural Happiness," Devamrita Swami gives readers, and potential yoga novitiates, a basic breakdown of the fundamentals of Hare Krishna thought regarding material and spiritual happiness.
It's a well-thought-out introduction for those unfamiliar with Krishna thought. These folks make up the book's target audience, though I suspect "Hiding" could also act as a nice refresher for just about anyone.
Devamrita Swami references Indian philosophy, particularly the chief piece of Krishna consciousness, the "Bhagavad Gita." He also pulls from talks he's given at universities, and refers more than once to the movie "The Matrix."
The main point of the book is that to live a spiritually fulfilling life means acting on the knowledge we've received, rather than simply understanding. For, as Devamrita Swami points out several times, true understanding IS doing, not simply thinking.
May 21, 2023
“Global collective action necessitates qualities of trusting and helping faceless strangers far from our home. But apparently we are wired to be suspicious, even xenophobic, toward people outside our tribal enclave or neighbourhood”.
A quick thought provoking read touching on modern humanity and our never ending problems. Interesting and haunting facts and stats. Devamrita Swami’s intentions are to spread the wisdom and benefits of Bhakti Yoga for self improvement and the betterment of mankind.
The author challengers his audiences to understand that the quest for genuine personal and social upliftment is rooted in precise and comprehensive knowledge. Spiritual life is a dynamic experiential reality, not a token subscription to a belief system.
In summary, humans suck but we don’t all have to suck. Suck on something else for a while and see what grows.
A quick thought provoking read touching on modern humanity and our never ending problems. Interesting and haunting facts and stats. Devamrita Swami’s intentions are to spread the wisdom and benefits of Bhakti Yoga for self improvement and the betterment of mankind.
The author challengers his audiences to understand that the quest for genuine personal and social upliftment is rooted in precise and comprehensive knowledge. Spiritual life is a dynamic experiential reality, not a token subscription to a belief system.
In summary, humans suck but we don’t all have to suck. Suck on something else for a while and see what grows.
December 2, 2021
lovely little book. Very similar vibes to the Dalai Lama book. I really enjoyed learning more about the life of Krishna and I thought this collection of essays was an excellent topical read on some pressing issues facing today's society and posed some interesting solutions. I was particularly taken a back and not even disagreeing with the book when it talked about taking steps towards "biomedical enhancement" it was a lovely intellectual read.
Lots of lovely quotes highlighted.
Lots of lovely quotes highlighted.
June 29, 2024
While a lot of it read like a preface/sales pitch to the Gita, the mentalities are easy to follow and very appealing. In today’s climate, it offers much needed commentary in a way that many people can likely relate to or follow the lines of thinking. I also enjoy the way it’s written and how many questions it addressed, but I wish more solutions were offered for the problems brought up (beyond just, follow Krishna)
December 24, 2017
The author’s diagnosis of the problems with modern materialistic culture are thoroughly thought out, but the solutions are incredibly lacking, with no clear explanation in the text of what is Bhakti-yoga. You can’t make a compelling philosophical argument by repeatedly saying “just accept Krishna because Krishna’s such a cool dude yeah Krishna!” Still worth a read for the diagnosis.
May 10, 2020
Started at a pefect time because what he touched on about epidemics pandemics lined up for what's happening in the world at this moment. Short read but redundant in terms of the subject of materialism and unnecessarily includes soooo many names of scholarly individuals that dont help get the point across to find solice in spiritual development (from what I'm getting) specifically through yoga.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2021
I enjoyed how Swami took the environmental stance and, how sustainable can we be? For me this just didn’t fully connect at this stage in my life but I will revisit.
I enjoyed some of he content such as the statistics on depression, over farming and about our gdp. This is definitely an issue that should be addressed.
I enjoyed some of he content such as the statistics on depression, over farming and about our gdp. This is definitely an issue that should be addressed.
August 19, 2024
I was given this by a Buddhist monk on the streets of Liverpool and decided to read it. Although it’s only 105 pages long I read it slowly, in little sips rather than big, greedy gulps. I felt as if this would be the best way to digest such a book and I’m excited to spend a week in Varanasi later this year to hopefully garner some yogic wisdom
October 5, 2021
This book offers a look of interesting perspectives towards life from the view of Krishna, and makes a lot of excellent points about how humans can quite often by ruled by consumerism and chasing after material happiness.
May 5, 2023
It’s a short book but dense with thought. It took me some time to get through it because I wanted each section to sink in.
It is very timely and does a good job of trying to tie the concepts in the Gita to modern life.
Not for the faint hearted but if you listen there is great wisdom here.
It is very timely and does a good job of trying to tie the concepts in the Gita to modern life.
Not for the faint hearted but if you listen there is great wisdom here.
October 24, 2025
Surprised towards the end - quite a bit on bioethics. Didn’t realise how science focused this would be but overall a good introduction and exploration of different real-life issues and its connection to spiritual science.
January 4, 2020
Truly insightful and thought provoking read. Based on latest research and ancient knowledge, loved it.
April 5, 2020
Krishna teachings explained through economics, politics and science. Incredibly insightful
November 8, 2020
Short. Good. Lots of cool info from many different cultures.
June 19, 2022
Was an interesting read with some very good points
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