Everyday Immortality: A Concise Course in Spiritual Transformation

In a collection of koans or sutras, popular New Age guru Chopra (Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, etc.) offers what he believes is the key to enlightenment. In a brief introduction, Chopra explains that reading and pondering each koan in the book can lead one to higher states of consciousness and awareness. He notes that such practice is the modern version of Gyana yoga, or the yoga of knowledge. If one page is read daily, he says, knowledge will unfold progressively and will lead to flashes of insight. Chopra places one koan on each page so that readers can focus their attention, and he advises readers to relax before reading each sutra. If the meaning of the sutra is immediately obvious, he urges readers to proceed to the next. Most of the sutras are so self-evident, however, that it is difficult to see how any enlightenment can come from them: ""Some thoughts are experienced more personally. I call them mine""; ""When I quantify myself I create a person""; ""All experiences are space-time events."" In the end, this collection of sutras is simplicity masquerading as profundity. (June)