5.0 out of 5 starsA Primer in How Mind Shapes Our Perception of Reality, June 14, 2010

This review is from: Evolution of Mind (Paperback)

If you have ever wondered about the nature of reality and the role the human mind plays in shaping it, Evolution of Mind is definitely a book you won't want to miss. Authors, philosophers and teachers have long endeavored to articulate the essence and process of mind in one accessible teaching or text. Few, however, have managed to compile a survey of the full range of the human experience of mind in as comprehensive and digestible a treatise as Dr. Vijai S. Shankar has in his book Evolution of Mind.

Structured in an easy to follow 10 chapter format, the book walks readers through all the questions one might have about where mind originated and how language, thought, perception, feelings and memory impact our experience of life. Dr. Shankar leads the way through the morass of these age-old conundrums by meticulously revealing the layers of optical and auditory illusion we heap on each waking moment of the "timeless and thoughtless `now', which is life." By reflecting back the futility of basing our reality on the false constructs of past, present or future, he helps us understand that to let go of these mental concepts is to be free.

Dr. Shankar unmasks our predilection for grasping at duality as the core obstacle to wisdom and enlightenment, and offers hope that through observation and courage we can stretch beyond perception into the light of what life truly is.

 

5.0 out of 5 starsA solidly recommended read that shouldn't be missed, June 6, 2010

By 

Midwest Book Reviewhttp://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/common/carrot._V192251235_.gif (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Evolution of Mind (Paperback)

The human mind is a very complex and unique thing. "Evolution of Mind" is a discussion from Dr. Vijai S. Shankar as he discusses the mind and gives his own opinions on its complexities and how it develops over the existence of man and throughout life. The mind is the key to one's real identity, and "Evolution of the Mind" explores it well with many thoughtful questions, making for a solidly recommended read that shouldn't be missed.

 

5.0 out of 5 stars Not since the publication of The Origin of the Species in 1859 has a book of such importance been published.

By Julian Capper

This review is from: Evolution of Mind (Paperback)

The Evolution of Mind, printed in January 2010, charts with meticulous precision and unparalleled clarity man’s inner journey in life’s evolutionary path.

 

This is the work of a living Indian sage, Dr Vijai Shankar, who, uniquely, speaks and writes in English. It is the realisation of a man who, trained as a medical doctor and scientist, has devoted his career to sharing his deep understanding of the evolution of mind across the world.

 

Man, he reveals, rests his entire human case and places his total dependence on the subtle processes of his mind: beliefs, feelings, emotions, memory, language, meanings. He has taken the world of opposites - the duality of right and wrong, black and white, good and bad, moral and immoral, spiritual and materialistic - to be the benchmark of life itself, in short, to be his reality. 

 

In this evolutionary process, however, man is yet to awaken to the wisdom and intelligence of life. Dr Shankar explains that man’s utter conviction in the belief that he is the doer, thinker and speaker holds him in bondage and robs him of the miracle of living life.

 

When it happens that man crosses beyond the confines of illusory mind, he will discover freedom that surpasses all imagination and expectation – a freedom, which once found, can never be lost