The Book of One [Kindle Edition]

The Book of One by Dennis Waite is an accessible yet wide-ranging presentation of the philosophy of Advaita, which is an approach to spiritual development and awakening that stretches back thousands of years. In this excellent and highly readable book Dennis Waite presents all angles of Advaita, also known as non-duality, in a systematic, thorough and logical way. This is a serious and respectful presentation of the subject, yet in spite of this it's a book that's both entertaining and easy to read. Throughout the book, there is a large number of relevant and interesting quotes from many sources, both ancient and modern, but who would have expected to find a quote from Sophia Loren in a book on Advaita?

The book is divided into three main sections; The Unreal, The Spiritual Path and The Real. The Unreal deals chiefly with what Advaita is not, The Spiritual Path contains an overview of the various methods and approaches to spiritual awakening and enlightenment that are relevant to Advaita and finally, The Real goes straight to the heart and soul of Advaita.

While everything in this book is well worth reading, it's the last section that is the most engaging and enlightening. It's obvious that Dennis Waite is very passionate about Advaita and nowhere does this come across more clearly than when he writes about the essence of Advaita in this last section. In many ways Dennis Waite takes a fairly traditional approach to Advaita, and stresses the importance of the master/disciple relationship and spiritual development through the transmission of the teaching in an authentic lineage. He doesn't seem to be too impressed by more modern expressions of Advaita as it is expressed through so-called Direct Path teachings and especially so through the flourishing neo-Advaita movement so popular these days.

He makes a good case for why occasional attendance of Satsang meetings with whatever teacher might happen to be in vogue or passing through town is unlikely to produce results in the long run. He may have a valid point in this regard, but does sometimes come across as a little too harsh on the kind of Advaita teachings that don't follow a more traditional way.

The other small objection I have to Dennis Waite's book is the way he has chosen to write Sanskrit words and terms. He uses something called ITRANS transliteration, which makes Maya look like mAyA and Pranayama like prANAyAma, just to give two examples. This makes Sanskrit words much more difficult to read than they have to be, and even though it might be a more `correct' way of doing it, for the general reader who might not be fully attuned to the finer points of Sanskrit, it's not very helpful at all.

The above are only minor objections though and shouldn't stop anyone from reading this brilliant book. As an added bonus, The Book of One also comes with a series of very comprehensive, eminently useful and highly informative appendices. These appendices, the glossary of Sanskrit terms, the bibliography and the index, fill more than a hundred and thirty pages, and Dennis Waite lists an enormous number of organisations, groups, internet sites and books that will be of interest to anyone who wants further information about Advaita. All in all, The Book of One is highly recommended for anyone who is at all interested in Advaita and the ancient teachings of non-duality.

Pathik Strand, author of All This is That

Waite is clearly a scholar in his field and this books gives a comprehensive and balanced overview of Advaita Vedanta. It's focus is not only on helping the reader towards enlightenment, but to also inform the reader about the various facets of this wonderful tradition that is Vedanta, the knowledge to end all knowledge.

It explores all the key themes in an accessible way and goes into enough detail for a 'beginner' to gain a clear and in-depth understanding. Waite also respectfully discusses the current Vedanta scene and what you can expect from it, as well a providing a comprehensive Sanskrit glossary and detailed recommendations for further reading.

This book is really a compendium of knowledge and information and is great value for money on Amazon. After reading it I suspect there will be little you don't know about Vedanta!

For a more practical approach to Vedanta with the emphasis more on attaining enlightenment (rather than gaining a balanced overview of Vedanta) I would recommend James Swartz's "How to attain enlightenment"

The Book of One is a masterful, comprehensive and pragmatic guide to non-duality. Dennis writes in a scholarly manner and yet casually intimate, which makes it a joy to read. I especially enjoyed his skillful use of parables and metaphors. His accurate study is well documented and referenced, with excellent appendices, which serve as a fine resource for readers. I highly recommend The Book of One to those who are open to the Unknown.

Katie Davis, Author, "Awake Joy"