The Mystical I

Joel Goldsmith

An Advaita book from the Christian perspective. Joel speaks of the risen Christ as a metaphor of our own resurrection to full embody the “I” dying to the small i. Using quotes from the New Testament Goldsmith shows us the obvious misinterpretations of many of the sacred words. Someone once told me that Goldsmith was initiated by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 60’s…though I cannot confirm that, Joel’s writing seems in synch with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi philosophy.

Here is my friend and Advaita teacher Michael Baxter’s commentary on The Mystical I

“Finally, a little book that bridges the big gap between Christianity and Advaita Vedanta!

“Although the ideas in this book are presented in Christian terms, they are clear expressions of Advaitic principles. At their very core is the assertion that I-ness itself is the key, both to understanding who or what God is and to one’s personal journey back to Him.

According to Mr Goldsmith, we find in God the True I-ness, in Jesus the pure reflected I am-ness, and in man the familiar feeling of i-ness at the center of each experience. Here are a few of the pages on which Mr Goldsmith says something very interesting,

• p. 31 .. the ‘I’ of me is the ‘I’ of you .. I am recognizing your I-ness ..
• p. 39 ‘I’ is the presence of God .. that Self is ‘I’ .. ‘I’ is that very God ..
• p. 50 It is in this word, ‘I’, that you find the entire secret of the spiritual message given to the world by Jesus Christ …
• p. 50 Rightly interpreted, the words ‘I am the way’ mean … ‘I’ is the way …
• p. 51 Is there any He within you other than the ‘I’ of your own being … your own Self? …
• p. 57 The revelation of Jesus Christ is that ‘I’ is the way …
• p. 74 When you understand that Jesus used the word, ‘I’, in two different ways …
• p. 132 Again we come to that word, ‘I’, and the two ways of using it ..

These and many similar statements have helped me to appreciate both traditions and their essential unity. Whatever your faith is, I hope you’ll enjoy this small but potent book as much as I do. “

Review by Michael Baxter