After Awareness: The End of the Path

In his third book based on the teachings of Sri Atmananda Krishna Menon, a Hindu guru and teacher of Jnana yoga, Goode (The Direct Path: A User Guide) achieves a balance between addressing misconceptions about non-duality and functioning as a living guru for Atmananda followers. Though an opening chapter covers the basics for those new to the concepts, Goode primarily offers a more advanced, subtle exploration of the non-dualistic Direct Path philosophy to audiences already familiar with this approach. Those already working on the self-inquiry exercises introduced in earlier books are invited to deepen their understanding of general non-duality concepts such as “witnessing awareness,” think about social concepts such as ethics, and engage in meta-analyses of their practice, such as exploration of language, until it collapses into “joyful irony.” Goode addresses the criticisms levied by practitioners of other non-dualistic paths by framing them as primarily grounded in linguistic confusion—for example, he relates the ideas of awareness and consciousness as expressed in different traditions—and reaffirms that different approaches can point toward the same ultimate reality. Though not revealing anything new for followers of Atmananda, Goode’s work is insightful. (Nov.)