Enlightenment Blues : My Years with an American Guru
Author: Andre van der Braak
List Price: $16.95
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ISBN: 0972635718
Publisher: Monkfish Book Publishing (01 October, 2003)
Sales Rank: 21,006
Average Customer Rating: 4.21 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
seeker be ever vigilant
I endorse Van der Braaks narative! While some defend guru Cohen as a dealer in "tough love," I know the tough part, and question whether there's love.I was there as a student of Andrew Cohen at the same time as Van der Braak, and felt that Van der Braak's criticisms were mild compared with some of the abusive situations I was personally witness to.
Yes spiritual masters have traditionally used outlandish behavior to shock and awaken their students, but the results of harsh and questionable measures in the Cohen organization were all too often only pain for the recipient with no apparent benefit.
Many have left the Cohen set up, and no student has ever been recognized by Cohen himself as having "gotten it." Cohen will argue that people leave because they don't have the right stuff, don't really want to be free. But look more closely. Where are the students that he has freed? Where is the benefit for all of life that he preaches so much about? There are no students he trusts enough to go live independently, away from the clutches of his program.
I do not revel in discrediting Andrew Cohen, rather find it very sad and disappointing. For me this is not blanket cynicism, but the informed wisdom from having trusted deeply in someone untrustworthy.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Another fomer disciple agrees, "Cohen ain't no Marpa."
One of the most dangerous trends in modern spirituality is the misguided submission to a supposedly enlightened authority's use and abuse, in the belief that this serves one's spiritual progress. This has been documented before but not by a long-term and intimate insider with the sensitivity, thoughtfulness and laudable balance of "Enlightenment Blues," a moving memoir of the author's years with American guru Andrew Cohen. The book is far from a stereotypical expose of a cult leader. If that was its intent, the author could have made hay of far worse documented examples of abuse of power than he experienced, which have occurred in the years since he left Cohen. (This reviewer, another disenchanted former student of Cohen's, has read and heard from other "survivors" more recent stories of levels of weirdness and cruelty far surpassing anything recounted in "Enlightenment Blues.") Instead, the author shows both the promise and the problems (both subtle and gross) of such a spiritual community, making it understandable how intelligent folks can be seduced to give their autonomy away in a harmful manner. What is more, the author, with heart-rending honesty and vulnerability, does not hide his own shortcomings and moments of weakness. Of course, some folks, like an earlier reviewer here, will always try to justify even the worst teachers with comparisons to legendary "tough love" givers like the 11th century Tibetan master Marpa the Translator. (Andrew Cohen has used this self-serving comparison about himself many times, and the earlier reviewer and former student here has apparently bought into it). But comparing Andrew Cohen to Marpa is like comparing George Bush to George Washington. Marpa's apparent cruelty to Milarepa was justified, in hindsight, by its result--Milarepa became one of the great saints of Tibet. Andrew has yet to produce anyone who can stand on his own as a teacher, far less an enlightened saint. Marpa's treatment of Milarepa was unique, and based on the fact that Milarepa had murdered scores of people before coming to Marpa. Andrew humiliates his students across the board for the slightest perceived transgressions. Finally, Marpa's tough treatment of Milarepa ended once he proved himself and was initiated into the teachings. Andrew's destructive wielding of power only really begins-and steadily worsens-once the student is firmly ensconced in the group. Teachers like Cohen (and their students), who attempt to justify their misdeeds by misleading comparisons to great teachers of the past, rely on seekers' superficial knowledge and grasp of religious history and dynamics. Anyone who reads Van der Braak's book stands to be inoculated against such error, both with regard to Cohen and to other self-appointed saviors.
Rating: 4 out of 5
TRUE
I lived in Andrew Cohens community for four years. It was exactly as Andre writes in his book. This is a true documentary of one's dream for transcendence, coming crashing down in manipulated confusion. Similar Products
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