Hidden Journey: A Spiritual Awakening

Rating:
Summary: Captivating, In the worst possible sense.
Review: After you read this book, you must read The Sun at Midnight, in which Harvey completely renounces what he has so passionately advocated here. I have the sense that both books are a form of spiritual exhibitionism. In his later book, he comes to realize how much he was projecting onto Mother Meera. But even reading this book, the careful reader can see that most of what Ma (as he calls her) says is actually not even said by her. A typical conversation with her goes something like this:

Ma sits and looks at her hands. Her eyes are aflame. Her head glows.
Andrew says, You want to tell me that I must love you even more.
Ma: Yes.
Andrew: You want me to know that you have been sent to change the world.
Ma: Yes.

Well, gee, whose ideas are these anyhow? The projection is there for anyone to see.

And so is the narcissim of the author, and if anything, it actually seems to get worse when he renounces Meera. He seems to think that his suffering because of her demand that he leave his lover is on a par with the crucifixion of Christ.

I have tried to winnow the wheat from the chaff in reading Harvey, because he is a skilled writer and also has studied and experienced a great deal of mysticism. What I garner from this book is an imaginative understanding of what it would be like to worship God-made-flesh. The attempt to think that this obviously human person here before me is at one and the same time Divine, an incarnation of God, makes me consider what the 12 apostles might have felt. Or did they?

At the time of his denounciation of Meera, Harvey believed that she had actually been practicing black magic and witchcraft upon him and all her followers. You won't find any hint of that here, but knowing it as you read will give a different color to everything in the story.

Rating:
Summary: Captivating, In the worst possible sense.
Review: After you read this book, you must read The Sun at Midnight, in which Harvey completely renounces what he has so passionately advocated here. I have the sense that both books are a form of spiritual exhibitionism. In his later book, he comes to realize how much he was projecting onto Mother Meera. But even reading this book, the careful reader can see that most of what Ma (as he calls her) says is actually not even said by her. A typical conversation with her goes something like this:

Ma sits and looks at her hands. Her eyes are aflame. Her head glows.
Andrew says, You want to tell me that I must love you even more.
Ma: Yes.
Andrew: You want me to know that you have been sent to change the world.
Ma: Yes.

Well, gee, whose ideas are these anyhow? The projection is there for anyone to see.

And so is the narcissim of the author, and if anything, it actually seems to get worse when he renounces Meera. He seems to think that his suffering because of her demand that he leave his lover is on a par with the crucifixion of Christ.

I have tried to winnow the wheat from the chaff in reading Harvey, because he is a skilled writer and also has studied and experienced a great deal of mysticism. What I garner from this book is an imaginative understanding of what it would be like to worship God-made-flesh. The attempt to think that this obviously human person here before me is at one and the same time Divine, an incarnation of God, makes me consider what the 12 apostles might have felt. Or did they?

At the time of his denounciation of Meera, Harvey believed that she had actually been practicing black magic and witchcraft upon him and all her followers. You won't find any hint of that here, but knowing it as you read will give a different color to everything in the story.

Rating:
Summary: Spiritual psychopathology or genuine enlightenment?
Review: I had never heard of either Mother Meera or Andrew Harvey until I picked up this book. I found the author's overwrought, hysterical experiences and conclusion that Mother Meera is the avatar of the Divine Mother to be interesting, but unconvincing.

A search on the Web reveals some interesting material. The author, Andrew Harvey, has subsequently bitterly denounced Mother Meera for her failure to bless Harvey's homosexual relationship and for the horrible, horrible crime of "homophobia".

Interestingly, the other books written about Mother Meera have also been penned by homosexuals. An odd "coincidence".

If your spiritual inclination is to dissolve your ego/self in the all consuming embrace of the "Divine Mother", I suppose that a trip to Mother Meera's HQ in Germany may be in order. I'll pass.

Rating:
Summary: My Harvey Experience
Review: Mr. Harvey's writing is intelligent, genuine, poetic and intriguing. He has the rare courage to expose his imperfections and personal demons. He reaches out to all denominations.

His focus is on the holy woman, Mother Meera.

I made the pilgrimage to Mother Meera and can testify that I encountered a small glimpse of the paranormal experiences that he encountered. While his were far more theatric, my experiences validated his. His book becomes more helpful and valuable with each re-reading. Also highly recommended - Journey in Ladakh.

Rating:
Summary: Hidden journey: A spiritual awakening
Review: The first half of the book is a real adventure as the author seeks spiritual fulfillment. The second half tends to drag-on as he takes the reader through many of his effulgent experiences.

The story is about the authors experiences with Mother Meera, however She steals the show. I had never heard of her before but for me her authentic power shines through everything that is written in this book. If read with a genuine search for the truth it can change lives for ever.