In this a book from the ‘Essential’ series, the quintessential teachings, sayings and commentaries are selected and presented by those well versed and respected in the wisdom and faith traditions.

In this volume, Andrew Harvey, a thoroughly modern mystic, has once again inspired us by his choice.

He is the author of Journey to Ladakh, Hidden Journey and Dialogues with a Modern Mystic. He is more than qualified to choose the essence of the great mystic traditions.

He has spent decades on his mystical journey which has taken him all over the world. He acknowledges and embraces all mysticism streams, from shamanistic first world voices, through Eastern and Western wisdom, ancient and modern.

A theme in this collection is the historic adoration of the divine mother in all her guises and the need to reconcile with the divine feminine at this critical time in our planetary development. This is something that Harvey feels is necessary to halt our descent into peril, both spiritually and in outward life.

The selections are organised usefully into sections proceeding from ‘Voices of the First World’, which deals with indigenous and shamanistic wisdom, through Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, ancient Greece, Islam and Christianity.

At first I thought this was a general time-line, but in that case Christianity would have preceded Islam. Each chapter is prefaced by a brief commentary by Harvey. The organisation is conducive to ease of reading and understanding.

For readers who are totally unfamiliar with Scriptures, the core teachings come first, then selections from commentaries by followers, devotees or scholars. This is roughly chronological. The extracts are supported by chapter notes and a bibliography at the rear of the book.

Some surprising things come to the reader. Consider this excerpt from somewhere in the book and try from conjecture to determine which mystic stream it derives. The source is revealed at the end of the review.

“I grew up among the sages.

All my life I listened to their words.

Yet I have found nothing better than silence.”

Among the ‘Voices of the First World’ are words of Maori, Native American, African, and Australian elders, both from long ago and contemporary. They call for the maintenance of the gifts of the ‘Great Spirit’, or their cultural equivalent. This requires respect for the environment and everything in it; from the smallest creatures to man himself. It is no less than universal love. The Earth is typified as ‘mother’.

Also focused on nature is ‘The Way of Tao’. From the probable originator Lao Tzu, to Loy Ching Yuen, the excerpts counsel harmony, simplicity and balance of opposites. Very like ‘as above, so below’ elsewhere.

The wisdom of the venerable I Ching turns on these principles. Much of ancient Chinese medicine and earth sciences have their roots in Taoism.

Hinduism as ‘The Way of the Presence’ presents a rich and complex mysticism to Western readers. The many gods and demons are as varied as the humans who worship them.

Harvey acknowledges the variety while presenting selections that direct the reader to the mystic underpinnings of Brahman, the divine, ineffable presence in everything.

Hinduism has been able to sustain the necessary connection to the divine mother in her many forms. We read excerpts from the Upanishads to the ecstatic words of Ramakrishna, spanning the ages.

Out of Hinduism came Buddhism, ‘The Way of Clarity’. In 528 BCE, a young Prince achieved enlightenment and Andrew Harvey presents an overview of Scriptures from the Four Noble Truths on, with core wisdom taken from the teaching of the Buddha himself and from later works and sutras. It clearly defines the path to end all suffering.

As the first monotheistic wisdom stream represented here, Judaism is characterised as ‘The Way of Holiness’. From the first words of Genesis, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth”, through the Psalms in all their glory, we know we are on holy ground.

The excerpts from the Bible are arranged chronologically, proceeding through to commentaries and Kabbalistic wisdom. For readers from Bible traditions, it starts to sound quite familiar, and yet it is like reading and thinking about wisdom for the first time.

Ancient Greece is “The Way of Beauty” here. Like other mystic traditions, it reveals exalted states and love of nature as a divine mother. A Hymn to Gaia and the Eleusinian mysteries are considered here, and the great poets and philosophers on a host of mystic subjects. Truth appears as beauty.

So topical at this time is Islam – “The Way of Passion”. The name Islam itself means peace and surrender to God.

When the prophet Muhammad received the Qur’an it was an awesome revelation of the power of the One God – Allah. As a prophet, Muhammad never claimed he was anything but a messenger. He set the tradition for humility and loving surrender to the majesty of the godhead.

The mystic tradition in Islam is Sufism and there have been many poet/philosophers such as Rumi and Attar who have been able to express the ecstatic and living fire of passionate love, joy and intimacy with Allah.

Often persecuted by orthodoxy, the Sufis nevertheless exist to this day and the words live on, respected and loved in the West through translation.

In these excerpts are found central readings from the Holy Qur’an, from commentators, from Attar’s “Conference of the Birds”, Rumi and some recent readings.

To conclude this amazing tour of mysticism comes Christianity – ‘The Way Of Love in Action’.

Editor Harvey prefers to strip 2,000 years of patriarchal church hierarchy and body/sex hatred away from the central spiritual example of Christ himself.

He notes the re-emerging respect and love for the feminine in Mary and sees a connection with all other mystic traditions.

The excerpts start from the Sermon on the Mount, and continue with the Gospels and epistles, the apostolic fathers, saints, doctors of the church, and happily, Hildegard von Bingen and Juliana of Norwich, plus many many other mystics, male and female, right up to Bede Griffiths, to whom Andrew Harvey has given the last word.

The strong theme through all these mystic traditions is the need to integrate the feminine into our lives and attitudes. This reflects Andrew Harvey’s need to get the message across whenever he can. This is not a bad thing. Certainly in the West, patriarchy seems to have led us to a critical point in relation to our world, our nations, communities, and within ourselves. To avoid complete disintegration of our world we are going to have to do something, and do it fast.

For those with a mystic leaning, this book is a good starting point. The need of the hour is balance and harmony. All of the above mystic traditions, if their wisdom is followed, can help. They are all saying the same thing for those that can hear.

Near the beginning of this review, I posed a query. The source surprised me. My quiz quote did not come from Taoism, Zen Buddhism, or any other Eastern sage, but from Judaism. Shimon ben Gamliel, Pirke Avot, 1:17.

– Reviewed by Jennifer Hoskins in New Dawn No. 89