Rating: 
Summary: What about my neighbor?
Review: Having just returned from India, I found reading Deepak Chopra's "How to Know God" a most interesting experience. I kept asking myself if religion must pass some kind of pragmatic test. For certainly "How to Know God" is nothing more than a popularized version of Hinduism. Is there a relationship between what a people believe and the character of the society, which grows out of that belief? Is it a fair test to judge any teaching, any system that claims for itself truth on the basis of how it plays out in society? I think it does. Again and again Chopra gives examples from Indian sages of their great spiritual insight and understanding of truth. Life is seen as struggle in much of Hindu thought. Ultimately it is man's goal to overcome this negative reality together with a strange notion of duality. Hinduism informs the thinking of 80% of the population of India - with a population of over one billion people - growing at the present rate of 1.5 million a month. Four times the population of the United States lives on one-third the land area. By 2025 India's population is projected to increase by 40%, while that of the US will be 12%. Life expectancy and health statistics are even more depressing. It is no wonder that this society must be termed a basket case. This is a country of horrendous, unbelievable poverty -- over 13% of a population are homeless. It is a country of incredible environmental degradation with unbelievable levels of pollution and filth. It is a country that gives some sense of sacredness to cows no longer useful, and to pigs, dogs and monkeys that are free to wander and left to forage in piles of garbage for food. Every pool, stream and lake I saw was unbelievably fouled. Its leaders squander precious resources building atomic bombs while failing to provide its people with proper sanitation, clean water, and universal education. Though I found Chopra's effort to structure a system of meaning for human life based on Hindu thought, a task that has occupied man in every culture and civilization from the beginning of time, interesting and at times insightful - in the main it must be viewed as tragically inadequate. I followed the many ways in which Chopra takes us through his seven-step system with the aid of Hindu sages, quantum theory, and brain research. To end with the conclusion that "God lives in the unknown, and when you can embrace it fully, you are home free" in nothing less than helpful; it is nonsense. Why Chopra chooses to live in affluent La Jolla, California, rather than his native India may have nothing to do with his effort to peddle for profit this myopic and self-centered approach to understanding God. He may be like many from his native land, the sooner they escape the reality of India the better. But one thing is for sure: Chopra, please don't preach to me about knowing God when your religion has lost sight of its responsibility to one's neighbor (our Indian neighbor) who is condemned to poverty, filth and ignorance. After finishing the book, I read all of the thirty credits that either the author or the publisher felt necessary to include, even before the title page of the book. I wonder why? robod@online.no Oslo, Norway
Rating: 
Summary: A true masterpiece.
Review: As a student of theology, I would like to commend Dr. Chopra for offering the world another fabulous book. I cannot say enough about the quality of data in this book. I have read the book three times and I am anticipating a fourth. Truly fascinating, a must read.
Rating:
Summary: How to Know God
Review: This book does not qualify for a half star rating. It is a serious waste of time and money. It causes me to question the trustworthness of Celebrity endorsements such as those applied to this book. I seriously doubt that all or most of the celebrities actually read it.
Rating:
Summary: A mechnical method for idiots!
Review: This book presents a mechnical method for knowing GOD to the idiots. Chopra is really going after your money rather than your well-being. Deepak at his heart is really a spiritual businessman. His stuff is too commercialized. You can even smell the odor of money from this book and his web site. Forget it!
Rating:
Summary: Deepak Chopra's thoughts are worth studying...
Review: This is a worthwhile effort. Chopra has examined his subject carefully, and come to many of the same conclusions as other leading teachers in this area. For example, Alan Watts would have been comfortable with his conclusion. Of course, Alan Watts, in my opinion, was indubitably an enlightened man. Dr. Chopra tends to categorize by the numbers, pigeonholing every "step" in the spiritual quest, as if your progress can be delineated into neat little boxes, carefully labeled. He begins with a "sandwich," with God separated from the mundane, material world by a "transition zone." Then he leads you step by srep through seven neatly ordered stages, beginning with "normal" (Fight-or-flight) consciousness as the first category, and ending with category seven, where one finds unity with God. All of which sounds logical, and neat, and well-reasoned. The trouble is, it is not so neat and logical as he leads you to believe in reality. He is very persuasive, as he is in person as well. And, his conclusion is correct. He ends up with the seeker attaining unity with God. What he fails to say, is that you end up precisely where you started, for unity with God is your natural state. In my book, "The Road to Damascus" (also available from Amazon.com), John Cantwell Kiley, M.D., Ph.D., says in his Foreword that I discovered that "he and you and I are God." That is very close. The fact is not that we are God so much as that God is playing at being us. We are, individually, roles that he is playing. So, there need be no quest. There is nothing to gain, and nothing to lose if you fail to attain "enlightenment." Nothing could be more personal than that. Therein lies the unity of which Dr. Chopra speaks. And he is correct that some people do become wrapped in "level seven," but it is not necessary for your "salvation." That is already taken care of. This is a difficult subject to speak of frankly, because so many people already have their minds made up. It is difficult to guide people who, although they have no experience in the territory, think that they know the way better than the guide. And, they may be right. Dr. Chopra's book is perhaps more palatable than mine, or Alan Watt's several volumes. And you cannot go amiss reading it, for he will lead you to reality, which some refer to as "the truth." You should read it, and keep an open mind. He will not lead you away from Christianity, if you are a Christian, or Judaism, if you are Jewish, or Islam, if you are a follower of Mohammed. He does not violate any of the precepts of any of those religions. They are all "book religions." He will simply address an approach which does not depend upon books, or priests. And, while you are at it, think about buying the late Alan Watt's book, "The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are"; or even my little book, "The Road to Damascus: Our Journey Through Eternity".
Rating:
Summary: A truly great book
Review: Just finished the book and loved it from beginning to end. I read all the reviews before I bought it and now as I write a review, I can't help but think the Christians who gave reviews weren't being honest about reading it first. Not only is this book respectful of Christianity and all religions, it is sensitive and insightful as well. It goes beyond orthodox thinking however to make the journey to God both personal and intellectually rigorous. As far as I'm concerned, that is its strength, not it's shortcoming.For all those serious and truly interested in the subject of how to know God, this book will not disappoint. I'm sure you'll like it as much as I did.
Rating:
Summary: Read book, then read reviews for each person's "stage"
Review: Incredible! People supposedly read the book (like the previous writer from Denver) and then seem to ignore the entire premise (which is that we each project the God we need, as the author maps out in 7 general stages. Each God is not false, only that the particular conceptualization reflects only each person's own personality and level of consciousness...). Several reviewers PROVE Chopra's point, by instead holding that the book is bogus because it does not honor that particular reviewer's God projection (i.e., their dogma of ultimate truth)! Take my advice: buy the book if you think you have an objective open mind and soul, read it a couple times in quiet depth, then come back here and read the reviews - it is hilarious! For example, Chopra never said that God is merely the physical universe, as the previous reviewer asserts. The people who protest the loudest are those most attached to their particular God "stage" ("my projection of God is real, the others offered in the book are bogus and flawed. Chopra missed the boat because he does not proclaim supreme my view or those of my guru or favorite spiritual author"). Maybe the book will get through to you? Then you will see illustrated constantly by the people you meet each day. Your response? Humor and compassion? Let's hope so.
Rating:
Summary: An impersonal god who cares little about you and your life
Review: I truly cannot understand the appeal of a god that is an impersonal 'force'. For example, in relationship to 'who is god?'..........god is the infinite, unbounded, eternal intelligence that constantly projects itself as the Universe--through the creation of space, time, matter and infinite energy.
Listen to that. god is simply the universe. The universe doesn't care about you. The universe is as personal as your shoes. If God exists, He is bigger than that. He is separate from the universe. He is distinct, and He is personal. If there can be any love from God, He has to have a will, emotion, and conscience. Deepak's god is too small. I might as well have a relationship with the impersonal, invisible, and ever-present force of electricity....
Rating:
Summary: Making the most of gullible's
Review: I think Deepak Chopra not only thought that there are enough people to fool around with on the topic of spirituality and God, but proved it by his success as a so called spiritual philosopher. It is not the open mindedness of chopra that you should look at, it the the basic motive behind his books. As mentioned by one of the reviewer, I consider 'Tao of Physics' a concise and well written version of 'How to know God'. I have spent years of my life trying to understand the philosophy of Hinduism, for it is known to be of a very ancient origin. From all those years of effort, I would say that Dr.Chopra is using the essense of such philosophies in a unstructured way and poluting the fundamentals of such philosophy and the mind of all those who started becoming his followers. My sincere advice to all those who think Dr.Chopra is a great philosopher of this century, first try to find answers to following questions and see the depth of your knowledge about what philosophy is? Use that as a simple measure to decide whether you should spend more time to understand certain basics of what so many philosophers and religions have in common or to blindly follow Dr.Chopra just because he says something which more or less fits partly already with your schedule and you can further it without major changes to your thought or actions. One thing we should realize is, its easy for a human to fall for a person who says what we want him to say. Questions to ask : 1. Do you know your bible or veda or your sacred philosophies fundamental ideas? 2. Have you tried reading the commentaries of all the so called saints and great personalities? 3. Have you any idea the amount of thinking on building a philosophy of their own, by greats like Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Sphinoza, Voltaire, Kant, ... and their thoughts about Him? 4. Do you see any kind of documentation where Dr.Chopra precisely defines each and every techinical (in the philosophical sense) term as done by each and every philosopher listed earlier. 5. (cont. from 4. ) Don't you see that at times Dr.Chopra is trying to use to vagueness to give you comfort in which ever way you are trying to understand certain thoughts. . . There is no end to such questions if you start questioning certain fundamental thoughts in everyday life.
Rating:
Summary: Our Ego must be shocked!
Review: I tend to look at this book like at a world map. A world map describes and illustrates the geography of the earth. It doesn't judge, it doesn't weigh, it doesn't value, it doesn't make any country better, richer, stronger than the other. And (today) it's correctness in general is never doubted by any beholder. -- The same view can apply to this book. It describes, explains and illustrates the map of creation. I am sure that Deepak likes this view because he always stresses the importance of being non judgemental and that's all he could wish for how this book is being approached by the reader. I read many comments and found out that a lot of the people either adore or abhor this book. Both emotions are bound to the ego though and the ego-view is exactly what Deepak and all the spiritual experts of all times tell us to leave behind to experience the higher levels of creation, which are described within these 300 pages in such an outstanding spiritual, scientific and illustrational way by the author. -- So I 'simply' look at this book as a tool to evolutionize our consciousness to a level that can change the perception of not only and not especially the human existence but creation in general. The reward of growing into higher levels of existence and living our lives within the dimensions unfolded in 'How to know God' lies beyond the boundaries of any shortlived positive emotion created by and within our ego and, even greater, transforms these into deeper and richer experiences. -- Returning to the world map metaphor, Deepak can, with this book, produce in us the same paradigm shift (and the same first reactions...) as Galilei did when he proclaimed that the earth is a globe... -- Therefore it is vital NOT to read this book with our ego, nor make it an intellectual experience or exercise because our ego will always remain at it's physical dimension and accordingly tends to suffocate the flow into the quantum and virtual dimensions, towards our soul, where this book definitely is directed at. Read it with an open mind and heart and try not to judge and label, although this may be a tough thing to do because a lot of religious and scientific borders are extremely stirred up and maybe even spilled. But I am convinced that there is a part in all of us who can rely to what Deepak tells us. So if you can, then read this book just as you would look at.....a world map.
| 
