The Odyssey of Enlightenment

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This book chronicles one man's burning quest as he searches for, and tirelessly questions, a total of twelve spiritual teachers who are widely recognized as enlightened. Spurred on by a passionate yearning for truth, Thompson's odyssey takes him to remote parts of India where he engages in dialogues of a quality and depth rarely found in the annals of religion.
The first chapter is about Osho, his first master.
From the Introduction:
(...) A few years later, I received a master ’ s degree in business management from the University of Karlsruhe and then began a professional career as an industrial executive in Japan.
Before long, I left Japan and found myself starting an import company with a partner in Germany. The venture was a success, and I also inherited property and money from my family. By the age of thirty, I was wealthy, secure, and in perfect health. By most measures, I was a worldly success.
As was natural for a well-off man of my age, I used my wealth to indulge myself in pursuits and pleasures that supposedly bring happiness. But I was not satisfied by these activities; just underneath the surface lurked an aching feeling that some ­thing was missing. And it was in those moments that my memories of the peaceful holy men of India would surface. The contentment I had tasted in India began to haunt me.
(...) I felt compelled to find answers to the burning questions that consumed my life:
  • What exactly is enlightenment? Could this awakening take me permanently out of my pain and restlessness and transform how I experienced every moment of my life?
  • How could I attain the enlightened state? What are the most effective methods and practices for quickening this transformation?
  • Who would be the best teacher to study with and what actually is the true function of a guru? How would a guru really help me?
  • What qualities did I need to develop in order to become a qualified student of enlightenment?
  • Was I really making any progress? What did my ongoing spiritual experiences indicate about how close I was to the goal of nirvana or moksha?
author
Berthold Madhukar Thompson (Sw Dhyan Bertl (22 July 1980), at the Ranch renamed to Sw Dhyan Hareesh (summer 1982) )
language
English
notes

editions

The Odyssey of Enlightenment

Rare Interviews with Enlightened Teachers of Our Time

Year of publication : 2002
Publisher : Wisdom Editions, USA
ISBN 1931254095 (click ISBN to buy online)
Number of pages : 335
Hardcover / Paperback / Ebook : P
Edition notes : © 2002 Berthold Madhukar Thompson.
Cover and interior design: Phillip Dizick
Dedication: To the reader - may you realize in this lifetime your buddhahood.
  • p.000.06 - 07: table of contents.

    p.000.06 - 07: table of contents.

  • p.001: The author in the sannyas ceremony with Osho.

    p.001: The author in the sannyas ceremony with Osho.

  • Cover back.

    Cover back.