Be Who You Are (Jean Klein)
European Vedanta
[My 4-star Amazon review (NDA) of “Be Who you Are†by Jean Klein.]
Circa 1980, when I was living in Marin County, my roommate’s brother, Larry Cook, who later became a spiritual teacher known as Lawrence, introduced me to Jean Klein’s teachings via Klein’s first book, “Be Who You Are,â€originally published in 1978. When Klein (1912-1998) visited nearby Berkeley, I attended a couple of his satsangs and also had a personal meeting with him. Years later, I attended one of Klein’s retreats (at Mt. Madonna Center, just outside of Santa Cruz) and had another meeting with him. I also met with Klein in Del Mar, California.
Lawrence described Klein’s teachings as “European Vedanta,†and I think that is an apropos description. Klein, a doctor and musicologist, also into art and architecture, was a true Renaissance man, and in “Be Who You Are†he quotes or refers to Guenon, Kipling, Schopenhauer, Musset, Plato, Bach, Goethe, and a few other such icons. Klein has some interesting takes on art and architecture relative to spiritual life. For example, regarding art, he writes:
“Certain painters, when they wish to compose the subject of a picture, assemble objects according to their passing fancy, taking one of them as a centre around which they harmonize all others. Other artists on the contrary, set aside any idea of a centre. They observe the outline of the objects, the way they catch the light, the parts that are shaded, the relationship of space to space, so that no one object is more prominent than any other in the final arrangement, to such an extent that the presence of each object seems to eliminate that of the others. An ensemble is thus obtained, which has neither centre nor outline, and whose presence loses itself in the void. It might be said that all authentic works of art have the property of eliminating themselves (as objects), giving place to Ultimate Reality.â€
Klein spent a number of years in India studying yoga and Advaita Vedanta before becoming a teacher who traveled the world enlightening disciples, and his essential teachings are on full display in â€Be Who You Are.†For me it was a trip in time rereading a text I first read more than thirty years ago. Because my perspective on Advaita Vedanta is different now than it was then, I find myself in disagreement with Klein on a number of points.
First off, I reject Klein’s world-denying philosophy. He writes: “After all, the body is nothing but a notion which has been built up and put together by the mind…†This is nonsense. Animals and insects lack minds. How did they get bodies? Klein writes: “To understand this [spiritual] search, we must rid ourselves of one foregone conclusion, that is, the idea that objects exist independently of he who observes them.†I reject this primacy-of consciousness point of view. I fully believe that the laptop I’m using to write this review exists as it is independently of my perception of it. Elsewhere Klein writes: “The ego appears and the world comes into being. World and ego are one.†Again, I reject this absurd, solipsistic philosophic perspective.
Like many Advaita Vedanta proponents (such as Adyashanti), Klein is critical of mysticism, and like these critics, it’s because he doesn’t understand true mysticism. Interestingly enough, Klein writes: “Each breathing out expresses an entire surrender of the creature to God. And each inspiration signifies the return of the divine influx.†If Klein had understood true mysticism, he’d have known that it’s all about receiving this divine, en-Light-ening influx.
Klein champions an apophatic approach to Self-realization, and his teachings reflect the influence of his friend J. Krishnamurti. Here are a few examples of his Dharma: “The state of listening is the first true step on the path.†This type of listening is an “effortless attention devoid of any strain.†“The unknown always reveals itself spontaneously and independently of ourselves. We should therefore avoid any wish to seize, to grasp or to force anything.â€
The idea of spirititual discipline is anthema to Klein. He writes: “All disciplines are fixations; disciplines exclude everything, except the one thing that one wishes to concentrate upon. Thus one establishes a dictatorship over oneself and all understanding is jeopardized. What is absolutely necessary is attention without strain… Such a result (Self-realization] can only be brought about in the total absence of any effort, by the simple virtue of discernment.â€
The problem with a purely effortless approach to Self-realization is that it doesn’t work, and Klein contradicts himself by “smuggling in†allusions to effort. First off, one cannot begin to listen and develop discernment without an effort. Secondly, Klein recommends “frequent repetitions of an inner attitude… deep relaxation accompanied by visualization of the body as being more and more fluid and transparent…†Klein writes: “We must remain on the watch a long, long time…†Laughably, even though Klein disses disciplines, he refers to spiritual students as “disciples.â€
I am now a spiritual teacher myself, and although I believe non-resistance, or effortlessness, is an important component of integral spirituality, I believe it is just one-half of the en-Light-enment “equation.†Without the “voltage†supplied by a complementary practice of presence + oneness (or communion), which is a kind of holding on, just letting go and letting be will not “produce,†or unveil en-Light-enment.
Even though Klein was a medical man, I don’t think he was very astute regarding nutrition. He writes: “All acid foods should, I repeat, be avoided because they destroy the machine and empty it of its substance.†This is rubbish. Even though an optimal diet is predominately alkaline, an individual also needs acid foods. Klein informs us that “the most balanced diet is based on unrefined cereals.†Again, pure rubbish. Moreover, unbeknownst to Klein, most grains are acid forming.
Even though I’m critical of Klein’s teachings, I still think he’s an Advaita Vedanta guru/teacher worth reading, along with Ramana Maharshi, Sri Nisargadatta Mahaharaj, and Robert Adams. Moreover, I never knew him to be
Consequently, after considerable inner debate, I have, tentatively, decided to give this book four stars instead of three.
[My 4-star Amazon review (NDA) of “Be Who you Are†by Jean Klein.]
Circa 1980, when I was living in Marin County, my roommate’s brother, Larry Cook, who later became a spiritual teacher known as Lawrence, introduced me to Jean Klein’s teachings via Klein’s first book, “Be Who You Are,â€originally published in 1978. When Klein (1912-1998) visited nearby Berkeley, I attended a couple of his satsangs and also had a personal meeting with him. Years later, I attended one of Klein’s retreats (at Mt. Madonna Center, just outside of Santa Cruz) and had another meeting with him. I also met with Klein in Del Mar, California.
Lawrence described Klein’s teachings as “European Vedanta,†and I think that is an apropos description. Klein, a doctor and musicologist, also into art and architecture, was a true Renaissance man, and in “Be Who You Are†he quotes or refers to Guenon, Kipling, Schopenhauer, Musset, Plato, Bach, Goethe, and a few other such icons. Klein has some interesting takes on art and architecture relative to spiritual life. For example, regarding art, he writes:
“Certain painters, when they wish to compose the subject of a picture, assemble objects according to their passing fancy, taking one of them as a centre around which they harmonize all others. Other artists on the contrary, set aside any idea of a centre. They observe the outline of the objects, the way they catch the light, the parts that are shaded, the relationship of space to space, so that no one object is more prominent than any other in the final arrangement, to such an extent that the presence of each object seems to eliminate that of the others. An ensemble is thus obtained, which has neither centre nor outline, and whose presence loses itself in the void. It might be said that all authentic works of art have the property of eliminating themselves (as objects), giving place to Ultimate Reality.â€
Klein spent a number of years in India studying yoga and Advaita Vedanta before becoming a teacher who traveled the world enlightening disciples, and his essential teachings are on full display in â€Be Who You Are.†For me it was a trip in time rereading a text I first read more than thirty years ago. Because my perspective on Advaita Vedanta is different now than it was then, I find myself in disagreement with Klein on a number of points.
First off, I reject Klein’s world-denying philosophy. He writes: “After all, the body is nothing but a notion which has been built up and put together by the mind…†This is nonsense. Animals and insects lack minds. How did they get bodies? Klein writes: “To understand this [spiritual] search, we must rid ourselves of one foregone conclusion, that is, the idea that objects exist independently of he who observes them.†I reject this primacy-of consciousness point of view. I fully believe that the laptop I’m using to write this review exists as it is independently of my perception of it. Elsewhere Klein writes: “The ego appears and the world comes into being. World and ego are one.†Again, I reject this absurd, solipsistic philosophic perspective.
Like many Advaita Vedanta proponents (such as Adyashanti), Klein is critical of mysticism, and like these critics, it’s because he doesn’t understand true mysticism. Interestingly enough, Klein writes: “Each breathing out expresses an entire surrender of the creature to God. And each inspiration signifies the return of the divine influx.†If Klein had understood true mysticism, he’d have known that it’s all about receiving this divine, en-Light-ening influx.
Klein champions an apophatic approach to Self-realization, and his teachings reflect the influence of his friend J. Krishnamurti. Here are a few examples of his Dharma: “The state of listening is the first true step on the path.†This type of listening is an “effortless attention devoid of any strain.†“The unknown always reveals itself spontaneously and independently of ourselves. We should therefore avoid any wish to seize, to grasp or to force anything.â€
The idea of spirititual discipline is anthema to Klein. He writes: “All disciplines are fixations; disciplines exclude everything, except the one thing that one wishes to concentrate upon. Thus one establishes a dictatorship over oneself and all understanding is jeopardized. What is absolutely necessary is attention without strain… Such a result (Self-realization] can only be brought about in the total absence of any effort, by the simple virtue of discernment.â€
The problem with a purely effortless approach to Self-realization is that it doesn’t work, and Klein contradicts himself by “smuggling in†allusions to effort. First off, one cannot begin to listen and develop discernment without an effort. Secondly, Klein recommends “frequent repetitions of an inner attitude… deep relaxation accompanied by visualization of the body as being more and more fluid and transparent…†Klein writes: “We must remain on the watch a long, long time…†Laughably, even though Klein disses disciplines, he refers to spiritual students as “disciples.â€
I am now a spiritual teacher myself, and although I believe non-resistance, or effortlessness, is an important component of integral spirituality, I believe it is just one-half of the en-Light-enment “equation.†Without the “voltage†supplied by a complementary practice of presence + oneness (or communion), which is a kind of holding on, just letting go and letting be will not “produce,†or unveil en-Light-enment.
Even though Klein was a medical man, I don’t think he was very astute regarding nutrition. He writes: “All acid foods should, I repeat, be avoided because they destroy the machine and empty it of its substance.†This is rubbish. Even though an optimal diet is predominately alkaline, an individual also needs acid foods. Klein informs us that “the most balanced diet is based on unrefined cereals.†Again, pure rubbish. Moreover, unbeknownst to Klein, most grains are acid forming.
Even though I’m critical of Klein’s teachings, I still think he’s an Advaita Vedanta guru/teacher worth reading, along with Ramana Maharshi, Sri Nisargadatta Mahaharaj, and Robert Adams. Moreover, I never knew him to be
Consequently, after considerable inner debate, I have, tentatively, decided to give this book four stars instead of three.
