The Odyssey of Enlightenment

Berthold Madhukar Thompson

This is a book to which I give the highest possible recommendation. I love chronicles of personal seeking, when well written and obviously truthful. This one fits the bill. Thompson has chapters on 12 spiritual teachers and he does an excellent job of capturing the essence of both the teaching and the teacher. Each chapter follows the question and answer format, which I found to be very clear and concise. I also found that Thompson asked most of the questions I would like to ask, were I in his position. Among the most well known teachers in his journey are Osho, Papaji, Gangaji, Ramesh Balsekar, U.G. Krishnamurti, and Andrew Cohen. (Although Thompson is a native of Germany, his English is excellent.) There is a great intimacy and truthfulness about this book that makes it very compelling. If you are not prepared to go to India and seek out saints and masters in remote locations, reading this is the next best thing. Thompson now lives in Hawaii, and after reading this book I would be very tempted to pay him a visit to discuss his experiences and the wisdom he has gained. I rate this an absolutely must read book for any spiritual seeker. An added bonus is that there are photos of each of the 12 masters. Often their eyes and features communicate a great deal. Finally, the author does not claim to be enlightened, and his odyssey leads him to question whether or not enlightenment is achievable by following any guru or any particular sadhanas recommended by any teacher. Perhaps the lesson to be learned is that active seeking actually stands in the way of finding. This lesson is expressed in the title of the chapter about U.G. Krishnamurti, "The Worst Desire Is the Desire for Enlightenment."

Review by Len Oppenheim.