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Summary: The Spiritual Counterfeit: isTal Brooke
Review: Tal Brooke attempts to smash the ocean, to shoot the sun. Like many Western animal-eaters, Tal had an addiction to animal flesh which contains trioxypurine, uric acid, more addictive than caffeine, dioxypurine. He was not able to maintain the vegetarian diet of Hindus and true Christians (Genesis 1: 29, Genesis 1: 12, Daniel 1, Isaiah 65, Isaiah 1, Revelation's 5th angel, Jesus' command to feed the hungry. Jesus: ye are whited sepulchres (literally in the Greek, sarcophagi, flesh eaters (sarx flesh phagus eat). When Tal Brooke was in the Georgetown cafeteria he said to a woman with a vegetarian tray "You're not still into that nonsense are you?" The Texas cattle industry, the Iowa pork industry, the Arkansas poultry industry, the Massachusetts and Maryland seafood industries, the primate research establishment.. are all threatened by the advance of dietary nonviolence.
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Summary: Sex abusing catholic priests and paedophilic Sai Baba
Review: Tal Brooke is right in the facts of his case but remarkably parochial and narrow minded in his conclusions. It is a fact that Sai Baba has paedophilic tendencies but so do the Catholic Church priests serving Jesus Christ. Talbrooke wants to show that Sai Baba and all Hindu cults are satanic , the revolution of a dark prince against Jesus Christ. There are normal sociological explanations for these phenomenon. As you can see from the reviewers here who have given this book a five star that this books warms hearts of christian fundamentalists who claim exclusive access to Truth. In seeing good and evil as relative and God as absolute reality beyond both Hindusim and eastern cults show a level of maturity in understanding the complexity of the world. Note that all eastern cults require a life of morality unlike what Tal claims in his book to realise this truth of absolute reality. Only people who have not delved deep in to the philosophies of the Esat would agree with such one sided depiction of Tal Brooke
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Summary: Tal Is A Pioneer
Review: Tal Brooke takes on the Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba revered by many as an avatar. Though a bit egocentric in tone, Brooke is the first to write of the darker side of Sai Baba, a story now echoed and confirmed by many around the world. Well worth reading whether the reader agrees with Tal's return to fundamentalism or not.
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Summary: THE SEAMY SIDE OF SAI
Review: Tal Brooke's revealing of his experiences with the famed Indian holy man, Sai Baba, is fascinating and revealing. Certain to infuriate Sai Baba devotees, the book is well written and addresses the man behind the "God" mask. It is certain to make the reader think about the pursuit of Eastern gurus, who, in many cases, are ultimately unmasked for the frail human businessmen that they really are. Brooke undoubtedly has taken quite a bashing for his outspoken book; however, with the ever burgeoning television and newspaper articles which confirm his original findings, he can finally be appreciated for the effort he made to get the truth out to an often hostile audiance.
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Summary: Learn the truth!
Review: Tal is an interesting fellow whom I first saw interviewed on a TV show years ago about this topic. I took interest in it, since a good friend of mine once considered himself a vicarious devotee of "Baba." The dissenting reviews here are not about the book, but just character assault. If you are a follower of Sai, or considering becoming one, search the net on "sathyasaivictims," then get this book.
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Summary: Could've been shorter
Review: The book exhausts it self on Tal's journey in India, lack of in depth explanation about baba's life, eg. More discussion is needed about "miracles" that baba perform, his teachings and the contradiction of his teaching and Christian teachings.
With about 400 pages to read, Tal focuses too much on his daily life in India and it sounds pedantic and unnecessary most of the time.
The book could have been shorten into half (more than a half even better).
Otherwise, Good to know that baba is a false god.
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Summary: Fiction presented as facts - A Character Assassination
Review: The book is a one-sided, misleading, malicious, biased, prejudiced, fictional, character-assassinating attempt of one who is actually helping the humanity. Tal Brooke's account is a revenge because of him being admonished for indiscipline in the Ashram. His attempt to tarnish the image of such a spiritual leader is indeed a sacrilege. What is mentioned as truth is actually a lie. Many of the events mentioned by the author are also not true. He has carefully camouflaged fiction with facts. Though he is careful in his language, he does achieve his purpose. His purpose is to tarnish the image of Sathya Sai Baba. Readers who have never before seen Baba, are bound to be misled. The author has the clear intent of Character Assassination. This is a book written with a good language and style but with a bad intent. The readers of this book better be forewarned that the content is actually fiction and lies disguised as facts.
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Summary: A bit hyped, but a gripping story.
Review: The last thing you can say about this book is that it is boring. Tal Brooke has a lively style, and an imagination to match. In fact, for the first few dozen pages, I was afraid I had purchased something like a tour guide to India by a Christian Archie Bunker suffering the after-effects of too many trips on LSD. The book begins with Brooke's arrival in India, and he doesn't have a kind word to say about anyone or anything that catches his hyperactive glance. But apparently these semi-psychodelic rages are his way of describing jet lag and culture shock. When he arrives at Sai Baba's compound, the book finds a more even keel as an imaginative and insightful narrative of his experiences with Sai Baba and those around him. He still may let his imagination get away from him at times, but it's a very good read from then on. As for the debate about Sai Baba, it doesn't seem hard to me figure out. A devote below claims that "Readers who have never seen Baba" might be deceived by Brooke's slanders. Well, pictures and videos of Baba are abundant, in this book and elsewhere. Compare the photo of the straight-talking missionaries on page 261 who brought Brooke to Jesus, with one of Baba. Pictures can be worth a thousand words. Tell me honestly: would you buy a used car from this man? The reviewer below who makes allowance for Brooke and "understands" his diatribes against Baba and his lapse back into "fundamentalism," seems to me to be taking a more peculiar position than the devotee who simply called him a liar. If the bare facts Tal Brooke relates in this book are true, no matter about his sometimes bizarre speculations, then Sai Baba is a pervert who deceives and abuses his followers. How does the picture Tal Brooke paints of Sai Baba relate to mainstream Hinduism or Buddhism? In some ways, Baba is a fair representative of the esoteric occult tradition of these two religions. Certainly it does not follow that all Hindu or Buddhist teachers are abusive as he is. I think Christians need to be careful about finding the devil behind every bush -- much of this stuff may indeed be explained in terms of general principles of psychology and trickery. But of course, the definition of the devil is "the deceiver," so that only means he may be carrying out his deception on various levels. In my new book, Jesus and the Religions of Man, relying on my own research of Buddhist sects and other Asian religions, I argue that the relationship between magic and miracles is very much what the Bible says it is; more complex that Brooke describes, but certainly a dualistic contest between the holy and the unholy, rather than a monistic merging of all faiths. What Brooke says about Sai Baba fits into the overall pattern pretty well, so I don't find his suspicions misplaced. I only suggest that Christian readers read the book with caution, and make a clear separation between what Brooke observes and what he supposes. Of course for non-Christian readers, an open mind and a heart that is searching for truth will also be helpful. d.marshall@sun.ac.jp
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Summary: Epic Journey of Enlightenment
Review: This book was a page-turner for me. Tal Brooke is a captivating writer who draws you into the web of Eastern Enlightenment with compelling narrative, only to slam the lid shut on the spider of deception with equally compelling intelligence. The amazing thing about it is that he lived and experienced these things first person, while those reviewers who criticize the book tend to do so from third person removed ignorance. Who is the truly narrow-minded one? Anyway, in terms of storytelling and the craft of writing, I couldn't put it down because he has the ability to breathe life and understanding into the simplest moments of existence or experience. So even if you just like a good story that keeps you hooked from beginning to end, this book is one of them! Another really cool thing that cannot be ignored is that he has photographs related to his experience throughout the book's text. This is very unusual in book publishing, but it is tremendously interesting and helpful to the narrative. In this sense, he is also ahead of his time in the publishing world.
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