Waking Up: Searching for Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris ---- A Review

If there is an award for a book that is destitute of proper research, it should go only to "Waking Up: Searching for Spirituality without Religion", which is the purest codswallop of the first water. Probably, I might even consider giving the author a meritorious cash prize for being the first to have convinced a careful reader like me to read his palaver cover-to-cover.

In this regard, it shall be the greatest unpardonable injustice if I do not reserve a special mention for Harris' literary agent who managed to convince Black Swan to publish something that looks like the leaves from the diary of a man, who found comfort in Methyl​enedioxy​methamphetamine (=ecstasy).

Anyone who disagrees with my observation should consider my suggestion --- endeavour to send the book's manuscript to another literary agent or publisher, and see whether anyone worth his salt, in the book industry, would deign to publish it.

In spite of the author's background, he has come across as the most celebrated bigot, right from the first word of "Waking Up: Searching for Spirituality without Religion". His noisome bigotry, dogmatism, xenophobia and racialism shine dazzlingly forth from every syllable in the bitter treatise, which the author endeavours to pass off as the home truth.

(Disclaimer: I am not taking issue with him because he holds views that are contrary to my own convictions. [I am sure either he or his publisher who reads this review would be tempted to put me down as a disgruntled creationist who is squaring account with him.] In point of fact, I have read Harris's "Lying" --- but it did not elicit such vituperation from me.)

The principal problem with works like "Waking Up: Searching for Spirituality without Religion"'s getting the public's endorsement and approval is, the public itself. Like I said earlier, anyone who can separate the wheat of good work from the chaff of twaddle (like the present book) would even condescend to publish a page from the book. But if people like Harris have oftentimes succeeded in breaking into print, and even survive on the royalties, the reason is the public, which has perennially been stupefied, spellbound and mesmerized by people from Stanford, Oxford, Harvard and Cambridge.

Anything, even if it is the rank garbage, comes from elitists is touted as precious jewels. We have always been conditioned to believe that the elitists are brainboxes of the world.

Let me but cite a few examples from "Waking Up: Searching for Spirituality without Religion" to corroborate my considered view that it should immediately be consigned to the bin of time:

1. Harris claims in the book that he lived and studied with a "wide range of monks, lamas, yogis" but he has not shown any verifiable proofs to bear himself out.

2. He claimed that much of what the yogis claim as their supernatural experiences is "patently absurd" --- but he showed no evidence to support his perverse view.

3. He categorically proclaimed that the Orient has not produced anything in the form of invention that can compete with what the Occident has achieved. (Even if this statement is found in the essay of a secondary school pupil, it shall not be forgiven for the adolescent's intellectual myopia. To, therefore, see it coming from someone who claims to be a neuroscientist is rather stupefying).

4. He thinks that "eastern wisdom.... derived from the tradition of Buddhism" and that "Advaita" has borrowed all its concepts from the former. If I have an audience with Harris's history teacher, I shall first slap him for imparting wrong and misleading information to the writer.

5. He says that Hatha Yoga is a dangerous practice --- I shall publicly kowtow to Harris if he could produce not 100s but just one piece of evidence to support this radicalistic bigotry.

If Harris had made it a point to understand "spirituality", he would not have puked such nauseating swill that has its genesis in his festered mind, which has been set to deny everything that will help him disabuse himself of his wrong notions.

Harris is none different from the fanatical religionists who seek to ram their "truths" down the throats of others. He is just as sectarian and bigoted as they are.