Back to the Truth: 5000 Years of Advaita (Upanishads)

O Books, 2007, softcover, index, 620 pages, 13.7 cms x 21.5 cms x 5.3 cms, condition: new.

If you're interested in spirituality, enlightenment, Hinduism, non-duality - look no further. This 500 page epic pulls upon the Upanishads bringing clarity to the confusion that is usually found when diving into the topic of non-duality. How Waite does this is he pulls multiple gurus together in this book critically comparing their teachings, classifying them as Traditional Advaita, Direct Path and Neo-Advaita. He attempts to be as comprehensive as possible pulling quotes from as many teachers as possible, from Ramana Maharshi to Greg Goode to Tony Parsons and compares them all. Clarity such as this book is rare within the subject of non-duality.

Within his comparisons he shows you where they differ, such as the newer neo-advaita teachers claim that there is no work to do to reach enlightenment as you are already unknowingly enlightened. The traditional teachers say work is indeed needed by preparing the mind through meditation, learning the knowledge that will cure you of your ignorance that's blocking you to see your inherent enlightenment, and to find a good guru to help you with your own self inquiry. The direct path teachers claim self inquiry is all that is needed. It now all becomes clear that as the neo-advaita teachers say that there is nothing for you to do to achieve enlightenment, it's not going to happen by chance. Preparation is needed. Waite pulled upon the example of Einstein where his ideas wouldn't have come to him if he did not prepare the mind for the ideas in the first place.

Here's its table of contents/topics:
1) Discovering who we are not
2) Action, Karma and Free Will
3) Meaning, Purpose and Happiness
4) Knowledge and Ignorance
5) Spiritual Paths and Practises
6) Who I really am
7) The Nature of Reality
8) Teaching Methods