The Rose of the World

Rating:
Summary: The best book I've ever read
Review: Absolutely stunning. First time I found out about this book was 10 years ago, when my dad brought xeroxed parts of it home for 2 days. I didn't even had a chance to read it. Now I'm really glad, that father didn't give it to me that time. All my thoughts and questions to life about God, good and evil, about Universal structure are all described in it. I'm not sure about english version, but Russian is very difficult to read at some points, so you don't have to understand it but feel the mood and it will settle down in your soul. This book will help you to understand yourself and your purpose in this life.

Rating:
Summary: Do not miss this visionary classic from Russia ...
Review: Completed in 1959 after being hidden from the Soviet secret police for twenty years, this spiritual masterpeice was first made public in 1989 through excerpts in the magazine "Novy Mir." When it was finally published in its entirety in 1991, the first printing of 100,000 copies sold out immediately, and a modern Russian classic was born.

Daniel Andreev was the son of famous Russian writer and playwright Leonid Andreyev. The author, himself a poet, novelist and artist, was imprisoned in 1947 by Stalin for "anti-Soviet" activities. While in prison he wrote the first draft for The Rose of the World.

Here is a visionary work in the tradition of Blake and Dante. It is part fiction, part historical essay and part mystical vision. It describes in fascinating detail Andreev's philosophical system, with its complex, multiple-layered cosmos, and calls for a spiritual reunification of all peoples of the world.

This is the first English publication of this modern Russian classic. It constitutes a significant event in publishing that should not be missed.

From the Esalen-Lindisfarne Library of Russian Philosophy.

Rating:
Summary: Don't let this Rose slip by...
Review: Despite my objections to his less-than-fair appraisals of womans' place in the world, Blacks, Africa and Islam (he has explanations for all of these), Daniel Andreev's message is Absolute GOOD. He is consistently fearless in sharing his visions of the hyperdimensional world (which we see only a minute fraction of), no matter how maniacal they may appear... Kudos to him for his strength. His interpetation of the worlds, monads and angels shared with him is filled with heavens, sub-heavens, purgatories and hells (-his Christian/ Orthodox faith possibly coloring his visions? Hardly relevant)... The gist is no less than a call for a World Church that embraces all faiths, so that mankind can finally end it's petty differences. Deep inside, Humanity (every one of us) has always known this. Let his miracles roll over our limited perceptions, and KNOW his appreciation for nature, basic understanding and love for the fellow man; for it was never only his, it's been all of ours... Words to begin a new world by.

Rating:
Summary: If you haven't read it, you haven't acquired something...
Review: Hi, My name is Alex and I am a graduate student in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. I read Daniil Andreev's book a couple of years ago and was absolutely stunned by the power that this book held in it. It was magical to take a cheap paperback to my hands and read the words of a person who was inspired to write this book by higher forces while he was imprizoned by one of the most evil regimes in the World - Stalin's regime of the Soviet Union. A thing that makes this book differ from all the other ones (except the Bible) is that it "takes you in". You start reading it and something starts passing through you, something that is sometimes so heavenly and joyous and other times so dreadful and dark that you start not understanding, but feeling the book. Please, do not steal this chance from yourself. Buy this book and feel it, absorb it and let it make you a better person.

Sincerely,

Alex.

Rating:
Summary: The book which changes the attitude to the world
Review: I have philological education, specializing in Russian, British and American literature and have read a lot of books, I am sarcastic and synical. I am writing this because I want to tell you that there is not a lot of things in the world which could do what this book done to me. I love reading as a human being and as an expert. There are a lot of books which impressed me, but I cannot express by words what this book did to me, I didn't want to eat, to drink, to sleep, to work, I just wanted to read it and read it, because all the questions I had about God, love, destiny, the purpose of human's life, evil, misfortunes, and anything you just cannot imegine, were answered in this book. I know people who became vegetarians after reading this book, some of the people quit using drugs, alchogol. After finishing this book you will react differently to the world, you will understand a lot of things you didn't before, you will be absolutely sure that GOD=LOVE, you will know what will happen with you in this life and in the future lifes. Please read it, I promise that you will not have regrets, and please, let's share opinions. May be my review was too emotional, but let us see what will happen to you. It is not an easy reading and a person must have a spiritual thirst. Please feel free to write me. Thank you. Natalia

Rating:
Summary: This One Is A Must In Every Household...
Review: The Bible aside, if your home had space for one other book only, The Rose Of The World should be it. For decades it was available only to a negligible few in the Soviet Union who have saved the manuscript living in constant danger of being arrested and committed - for somebody else's words. Now it is published by the Amazon.com, the world's biggest book selling entreprise. The freedom of speech for Daniil Andreev? Or rather the freedom of spirit for those of us who are finally ready to see an eyewitness' notes on the structure of the Universe?

The previous reviewers have left excellent reports; one thing to add though: I've never come across another book that would be a sophisticated philosophical work and a breath-taking page-turner at the same time. It keeps just the right balance between being intelligent and intelligible - probably because knowledge itself is the best entertainment available! What is it about? - Just about everything. Is it interesting? - It bloody well is. Is it worth reading? - It is indeed, but are WE worthy of reading it?

Considering The Rose Of The World is now available by mail order world wide, we probably are.

Rating:
Summary: Please ...read this book......EVERYTHING depends on it...
Review: There aren't enough stars in our universe to express the worth of this book of knowledge to our civilization. Please...Please read this book ...get it, tell about it to you family, friends, strangers and even enemies. This work has to be published in every known language! So all people of our world can have a chance. I personaly feel this book is very important to our world, to the existance of all humanity. We ALL have our demons... and its so hard to fight them. There is so much confusion about faith and religions...this book will show you where to aim. It will open your eyes in such ways, on so many things, that it will make you sad and make you cry, it will fill your heart with joy and happiness and understanding on how things work in our world. I swear on my soul.... that every question you have ever had, will be answered in this book. It will aid you with its purity and love, it will help you to keep your demons at bay...and even a chance to defeat them completely, no matter great or small. All confusion about contradictions in religions will be lifted. It will teach you to love others and everything around you. Questions like "Why does God, lets people suffer?" will never be asked again. There is a great battle rages on...and all living beings are involved in it. There is sooo much at stake...please give this Light a chance to protect you and others you love on your jorney. This book "Rose of The World" will light your path and show you the truth all of us start to look for at one point of our jorney. The peices of the puzzle were infront of us all along, we just could not see them, this book puts them together. Its teachings are not based on blind faith, but on pure logic and reasoning. There are NO sides in it, and after you have read it ...you will NEVER be a Christian or Hebrew, Muslum or Buddist or look down on any other religion, culture or faith. There are many religions and many gods, but there is only one Faith and only one GOD...this is the time, for us to understand why we were put on this world...together, and why every culture has a different teaching...put them all together and the whole puzzle will be revealed. Fortify yourselves with LOVE and do not let go of this book...ever. Contact me if you wish to talk about or share what you have learned from "Rose of The World".

Rating:
Summary: There is not enough stars in Amazon rating scale to estimate
Review: There is not enough stars in Amazon rating scale to estimate this book and its author. After Emanuel Swedenborg, he was the first author who took a risk to talk about the Kosmos (Ken Wilber's term - Existence as Spirit in all Its manifestations) in such details. I read this book in Russian and did not see the above translation, so I know nothing about its quality (this book is extremely difficult for translation, but reading Alex's review you can feel that translation is good). When and after I read thise book, I experienced the same emotional response as Alex an Natalia. Here I'll try to describe the book and the author in more conventional, "objective" way. Andreev was born in 1906 in a very well educated, intelligent and open minded Russian family (his father Leonid was a very famous Russian writer). He got a good humanitarian education, and he considered himself as a poet and writer. His writings definitely belong to the "postconventional" art. From his childhood, Daniil experienced spontaneous spiritual (mystical) openings. With the age, these openings became more stable, frequent, and longing. His mysticism is primarily "deity" mysticism with a strong component of the "natural" mysticism and with awareness of higher "formless" stage. He has never passed through any systematic training (like Zen, meditation practice, monk training, etc.)! So, I think, a lot of aberrations are possible in his interpretations of the revelations given to him during these openings. His very interesting metahistorical approach, which, by definition, is based on a rational interpretation of a suprarational metaknowledge, may also sometimes be corrupted. However, any genuine mystic has this unavoidable problem when he/she wants to verbalize his/her experience and convey it to other people. Andreev introduces a version of the postconventional Integral Religion (which he calls "The Rose of the World"), he understands the Kosmos as a very complicated hierarchy of mutually interwoven levels of different nature and increasing wholeness, and human being as a stage in the universal evolutionary process of spiritual unfolding. The book was based on revelations he was given during the period of time which he spent in GULAG prison (1947 - 1957). After his death in 1959, his wife kept this manuscript hidden in the woods, buried under a big tree, for many years. At the first time it was published only in the 90-th.

Vladimir

Rating:
Summary: Mature Spirituality
Review: What would spirituality look like beyond defensiveness, self-righteousness, fear, and hate? Could it still be a profoundly poetic work, beautifully written, almost taking the breath away with its metaphors and, yet, deal with the history of theological and philosophical arguments throughout religious history in a deeply cogent manner?

The answer is yes. Just when you thought there was no hope for spirituality to ever grow up, to really care about the world, to understand social, economic, and political systems, there comes from Gulag the work of Daniel Andreev.

The Rose of the World is a metaphor for what happens when a deeply compassionate writer examines the world religions and takes from them that which contributes to the recognition of the infinite, compassionate intelligence which is the source of meaning and beauty in our lives.

He uses this wisdom to sketch another possibility for organizing humanity and also to recognize the divine organization already present in our cosmos.

Read this book. It can change the way you think about spirituality. If there is a part of your heart which has been waiting for a grown up spirituality, wait no longer. This is the first review I've bothered to write for Amazon. This book is that good.