Who Am I? (Jean Klein)
Advaita Vedanta Meets J. Krishnamurti
[My four-star Amazon review (NDA) of “Who Am I” by Jean Klein.]
This is my second Jean Klein book review, following on the heels of my four-star review of Klein’s “Be As You Are.” I had personal contact with Klein (1912-1998) on a number of occasions, and did a retreat under him at the Mt. Maddonna center, just outside of Santa Cruz. Although it’s peripheral to my review, I do want to say that I never found him to be less than straightforward and helpful.
Jean Klein’s teachings are not pure Advaita Vedanta; they also bear the stamp of J. Krishnamurti. This will be obvious to anyone who has studied Krishnamurti. Here are some excerpts from “Who Am I?” that bear this out:
“To be human is to be related… Relationships are the mirror in which your inner being gets reflected.“
“To face ourselves scientifically we must accept the facts as they are without agreement, disagreement or conclusion… It requires only alertness.”
“There is no way to opt for a new way of living which, inevitably, becomes a system like any other.”
Jean Klein also read Adi Da (he told me so), and the writings in this book that describe the un-enlightened state as a “contraction” are very Da-like. Klein writes:
“The fanciful idea of a self is a contraction, a limitation of wholeness, real being… You live in contraction, thinking yourself as an individual… The original cause of suffering is a feeling of isolation, of not being related to the whole.”
Jean Klein’s writings are replete with pithy insights, and he breaks the mold with some of his statements. For example, in “Who Am I,” he writes: “To have an ideal of passivism in a situation is no more intelligent than to have an ideal of aggression. All means must be at your disposal. You cannot be fettered by ideals.”
Although I recommend Klein’s books, I’m by no means enamored with everything he says.
First off, he is not sharp epistemologically. He writes: “The percept is apprehended by a sense organ and brought to attention by the concept. When the concept does not grasp the object, that is, when it does not become a representation, it is automatically transposed to all the senses.”
Acually, sensations are spontaneously organized into percepts by the brain, and concepts are the mind’s way of organizing and understanding one’s percepts. Further, a concept doesn’t grasp an object; the individual mind does, via the process of conceptualization.
Secondly, Klein’s metaphysics are also jumbled. He writes: “Existence is in space and time,” and elsewhere he writes, “Space is a concept.” If space is a concept, that means the universe of existents exists within a mental construct. Elsewhere, Klein writes: “All that is perceived is existence. If there were no perceiver there would be no existence.” This is nonsense; existence exists even if one doesn’t perceive it.
Thirdly, Klein doesn’t understand or account for spiritual Energy and its relation to consciousness. For example, he writes, “Kundalini belongs to a technique.” No it doesn’t; Kundalini is the dynamic power of spiritually awakened consciousness. Klein reduces Siva-Shakti, one’s True Nature, to static awareness. He writes, “Your real nature [is] stillness.” Although Klein once mentions that “In letting go, tremendous energy is released,” he doesn’t elaborate on how this energy relates to the enlightenment process.
Finally, like his friend J. Krishnamurti, Klein fails to acknowledge the spiritual Heart (the Hridayam, not the Anahata heart chakra) as the true center of one’s consciousness. Klein, like Krishnamurti, and unlike Ramana Maharshi, reduces enlightenment to a brain state. He writes: “There is no effort in being alert. Accept that the natural state of the brain is attention, alertness…“
In summary, I believe that despite his limitations, Jean Klein, along with Robert Adams (see my four-star review of “Silence of the Heart),” Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (see my four-star review of “I Am That”), and Ramana Maharshi (see my five-star reviews of “Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi,” “Sri Ramana Gita,” and Sat Darshana Bhashya”) is an Advaita Vedanta guru worth reading.
[My four-star Amazon review (NDA) of “Who Am I” by Jean Klein.]
This is my second Jean Klein book review, following on the heels of my four-star review of Klein’s “Be As You Are.” I had personal contact with Klein (1912-1998) on a number of occasions, and did a retreat under him at the Mt. Maddonna center, just outside of Santa Cruz. Although it’s peripheral to my review, I do want to say that I never found him to be less than straightforward and helpful.
Jean Klein’s teachings are not pure Advaita Vedanta; they also bear the stamp of J. Krishnamurti. This will be obvious to anyone who has studied Krishnamurti. Here are some excerpts from “Who Am I?” that bear this out:
“To be human is to be related… Relationships are the mirror in which your inner being gets reflected.“
“To face ourselves scientifically we must accept the facts as they are without agreement, disagreement or conclusion… It requires only alertness.”
“There is no way to opt for a new way of living which, inevitably, becomes a system like any other.”
Jean Klein also read Adi Da (he told me so), and the writings in this book that describe the un-enlightened state as a “contraction” are very Da-like. Klein writes:
“The fanciful idea of a self is a contraction, a limitation of wholeness, real being… You live in contraction, thinking yourself as an individual… The original cause of suffering is a feeling of isolation, of not being related to the whole.”
Jean Klein’s writings are replete with pithy insights, and he breaks the mold with some of his statements. For example, in “Who Am I,” he writes: “To have an ideal of passivism in a situation is no more intelligent than to have an ideal of aggression. All means must be at your disposal. You cannot be fettered by ideals.”
Although I recommend Klein’s books, I’m by no means enamored with everything he says.
First off, he is not sharp epistemologically. He writes: “The percept is apprehended by a sense organ and brought to attention by the concept. When the concept does not grasp the object, that is, when it does not become a representation, it is automatically transposed to all the senses.”
Acually, sensations are spontaneously organized into percepts by the brain, and concepts are the mind’s way of organizing and understanding one’s percepts. Further, a concept doesn’t grasp an object; the individual mind does, via the process of conceptualization.
Secondly, Klein’s metaphysics are also jumbled. He writes: “Existence is in space and time,” and elsewhere he writes, “Space is a concept.” If space is a concept, that means the universe of existents exists within a mental construct. Elsewhere, Klein writes: “All that is perceived is existence. If there were no perceiver there would be no existence.” This is nonsense; existence exists even if one doesn’t perceive it.
Thirdly, Klein doesn’t understand or account for spiritual Energy and its relation to consciousness. For example, he writes, “Kundalini belongs to a technique.” No it doesn’t; Kundalini is the dynamic power of spiritually awakened consciousness. Klein reduces Siva-Shakti, one’s True Nature, to static awareness. He writes, “Your real nature [is] stillness.” Although Klein once mentions that “In letting go, tremendous energy is released,” he doesn’t elaborate on how this energy relates to the enlightenment process.
Finally, like his friend J. Krishnamurti, Klein fails to acknowledge the spiritual Heart (the Hridayam, not the Anahata heart chakra) as the true center of one’s consciousness. Klein, like Krishnamurti, and unlike Ramana Maharshi, reduces enlightenment to a brain state. He writes: “There is no effort in being alert. Accept that the natural state of the brain is attention, alertness…“
In summary, I believe that despite his limitations, Jean Klein, along with Robert Adams (see my four-star review of “Silence of the Heart),” Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (see my four-star review of “I Am That”), and Ramana Maharshi (see my five-star reviews of “Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi,” “Sri Ramana Gita,” and Sat Darshana Bhashya”) is an Advaita Vedanta guru worth reading.
