Enlightenment Blues - Andre van der Braak

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Reviews for Enlightenment Blues:

From Brad Warner, Author of Hardcore Zen and the website Sit Down and Shut Up

"Now that I'm a famous author (ha!) there are folks out there who think an endorsement by me might lead to better sales. Suckers! But I do it anyway. I just lent my name to a translation of Astro Boy creator Tezuka Osama's graphic novel Buddha, which is very nicely done. And the other day a guy sent me this book called Enlightenment Blues: My Years With an American Guru by Andre van der Braak. When I first started leafing through it, I wasn't sure what to make of it. But it turned out to be one of the two most terrifying books I have ever read. The other was called Lotus in the Fire, a graphically detailed account of a Zen practitioner's bout with cancer. Now that was scary. But Enlightenment Blues actually gave me nightmares.

This is an important book. It's the story of a guy who spent eleven years trying to attain Enlightenment under the tutelage of American guru Andrew Cohen. At first, ol' Andy Cohen seems to the book's author to be the real deal, a truly enlightened spiritual master of the highest caliber, an honest and true human being. But as Cohen's fame grows, so does his megalomania and deep-seated paranoia. He turns from a sage into a monster, a manipulative, self-important petty dictator to an ever enlarging group of wide eyed followers prepared to follow their "beloved master" wherever he may lead them which is frequently straight into the bowels of Hell itself.

I've heard stories like this before. It seems like there are plenty to go around, unfortunately. But what made this one so very personally terrifying was the description of Andy Cohen himself. Look at what Andy's best buddy Ken Wilber says about him:

"I have often heard Nice-Guy teachers say that Andrew Cohen is rude, difficult, offending, edgy, and I think, "Thank God."

Andrew's magazine What Is Enlightenment? is the only magazine I know that is deeply, truly, outrageously Rude: which is to say, the only magazine asking the hard questions, slaughtering the sacred cows, and dealing with the Truth no matter what the consequences. You do well to be deeply offended by Andrew; he is, indeed, damn rude.

Andrew Cohen is a Rude Boy. If you can stand the heat, then enter the real kitchen of your own soul, where you will find nothing other than the radiant God of the entire cosmos. For it is radiant Spirit that is looking out from your eyes right now, speaking with your tongue right now, reading the words on this very page, right now. And it takes a very, very Rude Boy to point that out and to stay in your face until you recognize your own Original Face, shining even here and now."

Sound like anyone you know? I was almost puking when I read this stuff. It made me want to re-think my whole approach. Shit. Maybe I should just get me some robes, shave my noggin and start writing nice, flowery stuff that doesn't bother anyone...

Nah... What I say doesn't have anything in common with Andy's message except very superficially. But it looks like we do play to the same demographic.

What I know about Andrew Cohen comes strictly from reading this book and taking a quick gander at his web page. That's all I really need, thank you very much. The web page is profoundly un-enlightening, and van der Braak isn't the only one with an axe to grind. Cohen's own mother describes him as a fascist. Andy Cohen says just enough interesting stuff to make me believe that at one point in his life he had a fleeting glimpse of something profoundly true. But, like so many others, he was unwilling to follow through on what he discovered. When the Universe showed him that perfection is a fantasy and he took that to mean that fantasies are perfection. When it showed him that his imperfect self was perfection itself, he believed it was therefore his duty to make everyone just like him. He wants so badly to believe in the ideal of the Perfectly Enlightened Being that nothing, not even Reality itself, can get in the way of his vision. It's no wonder not a single person in his organization ever found the Enlightenment Andy preached about. It doesn't exist. Never did. Never will. Not for Andrew Cohen and not for anyone else. Oh sure, the book is full of scenes where someone suddenly freaks out during one of Andy's vapid little speeches and Andy goes, "That's it! You got it! That's Enlightenment!" OK. And if the same thing happened at one of my silly talks and I said, "That's it! You've got it! That's a pastrami sandwich on rye bread!" would it actually be a pastrami sandwich or not?

But what really fascinated me about the book is what the author, Andre van der Braak, leaves out. Van der Braak is a very intelligent guy, but he's face to face with a very profound question, yet he seems unable or unwilling to address it. The biggest question is why was he -- along with so many others -- so willing to give his life over to the ideals that Andrew Cohen held out? Why was van der Braak's own idea of Enlightenment so very dear to him that he was willing to undergo such severe pain and anguish to achieve it? Why was the "reality of the here and now" always somewhere off in the future, unattainable unless van der Braak followed his guru's increasingly bizarre instructions? I mean, Andy had this poor guy spending months and months on fruitless "therapy sessions." He's forever writing Andy letters of apology (accompanied by the requisite bunch of flowers) for transgressions defined for him by his guru. He works on Andrew's books and suffers his master's constant belittling of him and criticisms of "ruining my work" without ever once saying, "It's your book, dude. Why don't you try writing it?" (some of us do it that way, you know, Andy...) Why doesn't the author ever notice his own ideals for what they really are?

Why don't we all?

You can see the problem right from the author's first meeting with the guru. He's so taken by Andrew's serenity, his radiance of "certainty and charisma." But the "here and now" he seeks isn't here and now, it's over there in the possession of Andrew Cohen. The "present moment" isn't the present moment, it's something he can attain in the future with Andy's help. This is a typical mistake -- one I know very well. Like Fox Mulder, we believe the Truth is out there when, in fact, it's always right here. And right here means right exactly here. Not right here when right here matches the fantasies of the Enlightened State we've constructed. But right here. Here with all its shortcomings, its confusion, its frustration and feelings of unfulfilment. Because here is the only place you can ever be. This state may be mediocre. But understand mediocrity for what it really is and you've understood everything.

What van der Braak and the rest of Andy's flock wants more than anything else isn't the here and now. They want what most of us want out of the so-called "spiritual life," a new Mommy or Daddy. We want to give up all responsibility for ourselves and give everything to Big Daddy or Big Mommy to take care of for us. We want to be relieved of all responsibility for ourselves. Guys like Andy are willing to take on responsibility for other people's lives in exchange for the rush they get from power and manipulation. And this isn't just something that happens in the realm of religion.

The very same force that had this poor author throwing away eleven years of his life on some transparently phony guru-boy is the force that drove millions of people to follow Adolph Hitler, that drives far too many intelligent young people today to literally throw away their lives for the sake of religious ideals, beliefs in things that have no basis in reality at all.

What makes Andrew Cohen so frightening is that the ideals he professes are often so very, very close to the truth. It's scary enough that there are idiots out there who'll crash airplanes into buildings because they believe they'll be reborn in some twisted Playboy Channel inspired version of Heaven where they each get 28 virgins a piece to do with as they please. People like that are obviously nut cases. But it's triple-scary to know that there are charlatans like Andrew Cohen who've used the promise of living truly in the here and now without illusions or fear as a basis for getting folks to give up their money, their time, even their souls to serve him like a bloated modern version of King Henry VIII. It goes to show you that anything -- even the truth -- can be used for personal gain. Even the truth can corrupt and destroy.

No. I don't need to go quite that far. It does prove that the mere fact that a teacher talks about the here and now does not mean he has the slightest clue what that really means. Living the truth isn't a matter of getting whapped on the head by God Almighty and thus becoming perfectly Enlightened forever and ever amen. It's a lifelong commitment. It's a never ending struggle to keep yourself right every single second of every single day. And you'll never succeed completely no matter who you are. But here's the neat part, after a while trying so hard to stay right is the only thing you'll ever want to do.

Reading this book had me concerned that some folks might be looking to me the same way Andy Cohen's followers look to him, as some kinda groovy "Rude Boy" who's gonna give them the Big Answers. It's just as bad to follow someone just because he's abrasive as it is to follow someone just because he's soothing and kind. It is the following itself that is damaging. Never follow. You are the center of the universe. It is absurd for you to ever follow anyone. You must never, never, never allow anyone to define for you what Enlightenment is. Not Andy Cohen. Not some Zen Master. Not me. Not even yourself.

You do not need Andrew Cohen to see the truth of the Universe. And you do not need Brad Warner either, for that matter. You don't need to read this stupid web-page or Hardcore Zen any more than you need to read one of Cohen's idiotic magazines or buy a box full of the complete works of Ken Wilber. No guru or Zen Master can give you anything other than what you already have. If you ever start to feel that you need your teacher's blessings, his approval, even his passing you on some koan or any other such nonsense, that is the time to run screaming out of the temple like someone had set fire to your panties. All authority must be torn down. This goes for my authority every bit as much as anyone else's. There is no Enlightenment. Enlightenment is nothing more than shared illusion. Enlightenment is for pussies who can't face reality.

Another big mistake the author of Enlightenment Blues makes is in his assumption that the dirty, manipulative, authoritative bullshit guys like Andrew Cohen foist upon their students is somehow OK in the mystical East but just unsuitable for the Western mindset. This, van der Braak seems to believe, is why Andrew failed. This is the kind of thing you'll often see from someone who's never spent enough time living in an Asian society to see how things really work. It's one of our fantasies that there is some kind of Eastern mind which is fundamentally different from the Western one. There is not. The guru system, the Zen Master system and every other variation on that theme is just as horrible and destructive to folks with amber skin and almond shaped eyes as it is to folks with white skin and blue eyes. It didn't work 2,000 years ago in Rishikesh, India any better than it works right now in Racine, Wisconsin. Sure it's lasted a long time, but sure has gastrointeritis. The only teachers who've really kept the decent traditions alive are the ones who did not play those kinds of games.

But, those criticisms aside, I still feel this is a wonderful book. These are fairly mild -- though important -- concerns in what happens to be a very powerful piece of work. It's riveting like a good mystery novel. I found myself unable to put the thing down once I'd started it. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to see where the path of following spiritual authority really leads."

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From Enlightenment.com, November 24, 2003, by Jordan Gruber

"Released in late 2003, Enlightenment Blues – My Years With An American Guru, tells the story of the author, Andre van der Braak, as he first meets, and then becomes a follower and community member of Andrew Cohen, the now well-known teacher of enlightenment. Ultimately, Andre leaves Andrew, and the story he tells is not always a pleasant or easy one.

It is a bit hard for me (Jordan Gruber) to write this book review, because Andrew Cohen is featured throughout Enlightenment.Com, including a video interview and a transcript of that interview. Moreover, Andrew Cohen has put out a truly excellent magazine in "What is Enlightenment?", and in person, my experience of Andrew was that he was perfectly pleasant, forthright, and quite, well, enlightening. More to the point, I consider Andrew Cohen an ally, and have indeed learned some substantial things from him and been stimulated by his writings and teachings.

So perhaps the place to start is to take a step backwards, and follow Carl Jung's famous dictum: it is not so much what someone is saying about something, but the fact that they are talking about it at all that is significant.

Andre, then, has given us yet another story of what happens when someone meets a powerful and charismatic teacher of enlightenment, falls in love with that teacher and his teachings, joins the community and gives his life to the "cause," and then eventually becomes disillusioned by the realities of being a modern Western seeker following an ancient spiritual program (i.e., that of finding a guru and giving one's life to the guru).

My biases should be clear here: to cite Jung again, Westerners typically do better with Western than Eastern forms of spiritual seeking, and in many ways the "worst" form of spiritual seeking for most Westerners may be the guru/disciple model that Andre pursued with Andrew Cohen. I suppose my question to Andre is: what did you – an independent and free-thinking student of philosophy and seeker of enlightenment – expect would happen?

This is not to say that some Western folk won't be perfectly happy with a charismatic teacher to whom they pledge their lives, fortunes, and so on. Just that it is a path that one should be very, very careful of. If it is the right path for you as an individual, then you will know it, and if you are lucky, it will turn out to be a life-long path with a heart that you will learn and grow from, and perhaps even become enlightened upon. If you are not lucky, then you will find that you have spent some years of your precious human incarnation on a pathway that probably was never going to have worked out for you ... which is, essentially, how I view Andre's tale.

Enlightenment Blues is fast paced and well-written, although non-idiomatic English does occasionally make its way through. (The author is from Amsterdam.) As we read through it, we are exposed to the problems of being Andrew Cohen's disciple, as well as some of the truly good and wonderful sides. Mostly, the book takes us through the author's thinking process, in which he tortures himself about whether he should stay with Andrew Cohen even after he realizes that it is not really for him.

Previous books have been written about Andrew Cohen, including a book by his mother entitled Mother of God. Andrew Cohen and his community members do seem to do some things that are over the top, but the real question one should ask oneself is: given that it is pretty obvious that things like this happen in almost any modern spiritual community, especially when there is a charismatic leader in charge, why am I spending my time reading this book?

If your answer is something like, "Because I want to read about all the weird things that went on in this one person's experience of being a close disciple of Andrew Cohen," then I would recommend that you don't even get started. We already know, ahead of time, that weird things go on in communities of people of all types, from corporations to spiritual communities, and in truth, while some of the goings on described in this book are a bit, as said earlier, over the top, none of them rise to the level of the worst gossip available in newspapers every day.

If your answer is, "Because I am thinking of joining Andrew Cohen's community or a similar community," then it might indeed be worthwhile for you to read this book. Andre is a teacher of philosophy now, and he puts his own experiences in stark perspective. In other words, as an internal documentary of Andre's experiences, this is often a gripping read. But again, you know from the beginning that it isn't going to work out well, or he would not have written the book in the first place.

The bottom line is that this is an interesting and engaging book, but Andre tells an old story that mostly, from my perspective, just proves the point that there are many modern Westerners for whom joining a community led by a charismatic teacher of enlightenment is simply a bad move that has very little hope of working out. Andre himself does not seem to regret the more than a decade he spent with Andrew Cohen, and if you buy and read this book for the right reasons, you will probably won't regret that you've done so either."

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From Cultic Studies Review, 2003, by Joseph Szimhart

"Enlightenment Blues is the second significant memoir I have read by a former student/disciple of the American guru Andrew Cohen—the first was by Cohen’s mother, Luna Tarlo, who published Mother of God in 1997. Andre van der Braak knew Tarlo as they were “students” together and shared a house briefly. He read Tarlo’s book during his final struggles to defect after eleven years of devotion to Cohen’s unnerving spiritual leadership and the idiosyncratic cult of enlightenment focused on the guru. Van der Braak currently is a Ph.D. candidate and teaches philosophy in Amsterdam. During his hiatus with Cohen, van der Braak rose and fell in the community ranks and became one of Cohen’s chief editors, in one case reading over 4,000 pages of transcripts from Cohen’s talks, then pruning and shaping them into the book, Enlightenment is a Secret. Curiously, for his dissertation subject he chose Nietzsche.

Cohen, now around fifty years old, apparently has held sway over a core of one hundred fifty students, a number that has not significantly changed over the past fifteen years despite the continual turnover. Nevertheless, he has continued to teach that his enlightenment is a “revolution” that would change the face of planetary spirituality. Van der Braak describes his early years as a young Catholic with a romantic, idealistic bent. He was a good athlete but his stuttering disorder contributed to his shyness. Early on he was attracted to Transcendental Meditation, the J. Krishnamurti teachings, and Buddhism. He encountered the writings of the prolific transpersonal philosopher, Ken Wilber. Van der Braak did his Masters thesis on Wilber. [Ken Wilber who is still writing and developing remains influential among intellectually sophisticated New Age seekers. Bill Clinton and Al Gore were both reading Wilber during Clinton’s second term. Wilber was once a disciple of the teachings of Da Free John, a.k.a. Da Love Ananda, if not a supporter of that American guru’s controversial behavior and cult following.]

According to van der Braak, Andrew Cohen once entertained having Wilber as his disciple (not that Wilber ever reciprocated). I mention this because the reader of van der Braak’s book might easily react with disdain or pity for the devotees described in the book, who for all intents and purposes follow an immature trust fund hippie with a cocky self image. I know a part of me did, namely that part that works hard for a living and tires to be a good husband and father. One has to wonder how anyone could fall for such a transparently overvalued cause. Cohen had absolutely no training as a monk or a leader in the mystical tradition he claimed to embody. Until members gave significant donations (One former female student complained of succumbing to pressure from Cohen to give two million dollars.), Cohen reportedly lived mainly from a trust he inherited from his grandmother around 1985, when he left on his spiritual quest to India. In short order after some superficial seeking (a.k.a. guru hopping), he met Poonja, a then little known follower of Ramana Maharshi, who was an Indian “saint” in the Advaita tradition. Poonja somehow recognized that Andrew was special and “transmitted” or sparked feelings of “enlightenment” in him. This epiphany transformed Cohen into a driven man. He appeared to some of his friends to exude the enlightenment he claimed to have received.

Cohen’s group evolved over time from one of a free-wheeling band of devotees who had personal access to the guru and directly felt both his charm and his intensity. Within the first few years it had become, according to Cohen’s mother Luna Tarlo, just another fascist enterprise. Not unlike so many new religious movements, this one flourished initially due to the enthusiasm of these first students who advertised Cohen’s cause. The message was that there is a new messiah, a revolutionary avatar, or an emerging Buddha among us now—come and see! The bulk of this book engages the reader in the intimate world of the devotees, what they were thinking and feeling and how they struggled with an increasingly irrational if demanding leader. Cohen convinces a male student to have his twenty thousand-dollar Saab crushed to end his attachment.

We follow the author through group events and relocations from Amsterdam to India and from Massachusetts to Marin County. He describes his ascent to key editor and sub-leader as well as his demotion to common student. Along with all students of the inner circle, Cohen micro-managed van der Braak’s sexual relationships and whether any close student had sex at all. Celibates were required to shave their heads. Van der Braak’s roller coaster journey was not unique in the group. To anyone familiar with ex-cult member autobiography [I’ve read at least 100 accounts in published books and unpublished manuscripts], van der Braak inadvertently exposes the tragic pattern common to authoritarian groups that have poor checks and balances. One feature is a leader who manages by perceiving constant, often bizarre crises while demanding unquestioning loyalty, not unlike a hapless military campaign trapped in an amusement park. Cohen reportedly threw temper tantrums, if he felt criticized in the news media, for example. This is one unfortunate result of radical dualism in action or groups that devalue the “world” as an illusion while obsessing over a mysterious something or ideal they call gnosis or enlightenment.

As van der Braak so skillfully relates in his narrative, Cohen may have been immature but he was no idiot. The guru’s utter confidence in his new spiritual status was contagious to many seekers he met, and he was clever enough to reduce the experience of enlightenment to simple, radical notions that at least could attract and impress the novice. Van der Braak does help us appreciate the human need for spiritual resolution, and the need for most of us to believe that some saints or gurus have somehow managed to tap into communion with transcendental mysteries. It certainly was his need, and like so many who end up in spiritual pits instead of a path our author found many like-minded seekers who shared in his struggle to make sense of Cohen’s selfish style.

In the end he expounds to another student why he rejects Cohen: “But in Andrew’s case he actually managed to realize all his youthful fantasies, make them into a permanent lifestyle. And he managed to convince all of us to live in this way too.” Van der Braak basically describes Cohen as a narcissist stuck in his adolescence and out of control. Van der Braak holds no hostile agenda to destroy Cohen—his stated intent was to honestly describe his experience and to offer assistance to anyone else struggling to break with or understand a group like Cohen’s. This book fulfills its stated purpose well—it is more about caution and the seeker’s quest than it is about social or historical analysis, though the author does some appropriate pontificating. However, van der Braak almost lost my respect in his opening intro: “All religions point to the same transpersonal truth.” I clench my teeth whenever I hear absolute statements by someone I sense has no or little more insight into “transpersonal truth” than I do. But the book redeemed itself for me by the end, and I felt I learned something intimate about a man who matured in his humility and found strength enough to reveal his way of getting there."

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From The Messenger: A Guide for Life's Adventure, July/August 2004

"An incredible journey of one of Andrew Cohen’s initial followers through eleven years of trying to live someone else’s dream and idea of “what is enlightenment.” A wakeup call for any who trust another’s opinion more than their own."

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From Yoga Journal, September/October 2004, by Phil Catalfo

"The perils and pitfalls of the guru-disciple relationship have always been a source of controversy and concern, especially for those whose relations with their spiritual teachers have gone sour. Andre van der Braak became a close disciple of American-born guru Andrew Cohen, only to find—over the course of 11 years in Cohen's sangha (community)—the contradictions and strictures that he experienced too painful and insupportable to bear. Enlightenment Blues is his engaging account of his lifelong search, his meeting and involvement with Cohen, his evolving role in the community of students that gathered around Cohen, and the humiliations, manipulations, and disillusionment that led to his departure from that scene. It may not be the final word on this teacher or on guru-devotee relationships in general, but as one more cautionary tale, it is worth noting by anyone whose path leads them into a cloistered, intensive relationship with a self-avowed spiritual master."

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From The Intuitive-Connections Network, 2004, by Lorrie Kazan

"In the 1980’s, Amsterdam Andre van der Braak had just completed college and was embarking on what felt like a mundane career when his close friend, Harry, called him with ecstatic news. The two men had explored various paths of enlightenment together and had promised to alert one another if either one of them found the true teacher.

Harry returned to Amsterdam, no longer the suffering, depressed person he’d been when Andre last saw him. He declared that the change came as a result of time spent with emerging guru, Andrew Cohen, whom he believed would be their generation’s "Buddha."

Entranced, Andre attended Andrew’s Satsang where almost immediately he entered into a state of bliss. (Satsang has been loosely defined as a gathering of friends, also from the Osho website: to be in the presence of a Master, in a loving communion); this was everything he’d been looking for. Previously Andre had been struggling with maintaining a Buddhist practice that he’d found overly rigorous without offering the kind of emotional sustenance he still craved. He was elated and relieved when Andrew Cohen told him, "Enlightenment is now." You’re in it and you no longer have to prepare.

When their new guru, Andrew, relocated to England, both men followed. For Andre, this was a chance to be near the epicenter of something exciting, life transforming. It also offered him enough of a break from his own malaise/depression that he was able to overcome any misgivings about relinquishing his current life.

The friends entered a world where, as he said, "everything seemed possible." They joined other devotees who lived together in several houses in a kind of extended family. Their lives were now based around Andrew, his teachings, his picture, spending time with him, discussing him; they viewed him as their "Beloved Master," just as they believed Andrew regarded his own Indian teacher, Poonjaji. After all, it was Poonjaji who had anointed Andrew as one worthy to be called Master.

Quickly the devotees found menial jobs that would not interfere with their spiritual pursuits. They felt as if their lives had taken on a sense of the sacred, as if everything they did was important. Soon, however, bliss began to darken. The next move was to America, and it was in the U.S. that their Master became more autocratic.

Now enlightenment was no longer their presumed state of being. Increasingly, the devotees had to prove themselves to be without ego, anxiety, guile or anything that might provoke Andrew’s ire. However, his ire was fairly consistently provoked, and devotees found themselves censured (for instance, sent to live in a less prestigious house) or banished from the community altogether.

Andrew inaugurated house meetings where the devotees would regularly use their perceptions of his standards in order to correct and discipline each other. Now intimate relationships smacked of attachment and Andre and his girlfriend, Sara, were forced to dissolve their relationship in order to stay in the community.

This pattern with relationships was revisited two more times for Andre during his eleven-year tenure with the group. Three times the relationships were either encouraged or allowed to progress to a certain depth before Andre and his partner were forced to sever their ties, all in the name of living the teachings, and not showing favoritism or attachment.

When the house members intimidated each other, it was done in the name of cutting through the ego. How do you argue with someone who has your best interests at heart and is telling you that your ego is blocking your vision?

Disturbances grew to such an extent that Andrew’s own mother, Luna, (an early follower) left the fold and authored a scathing book about her son and the prototype dysfunctional family she believed he had created.

Andre had respected Luna, and her words mirrored some of his own feelings. However, he had committed his life to this relationship with Andrew and the others. When we commit to someone or something, we commit to our dream of what we think that is and what we believe we’ll receive as a result of our commitment. Ultimately, the dream may keep us in a situation long past the time when its reality has become untenable or even unbearable.

Several questions arise. For instance, why would intelligent people continue to delude themselves and mistake megalomania for enlightenment? What did Andrew provide that allowed them to shut out their own better instincts? Why do we stay in situations that hurt and betray us?

My assignment in this article is to make Andre’s situation understandable to the reader. How his situation reflects on our own lives? On one level, the question is where do we sell ourselves out in order to have what we perceive as our true needs met? And another level is the psychic or even mystic one. Why do we engage with the people we do? What is being completed? What healing are we searching for via our connections in the world?

I don’t think the majority of us are likely to move into a guru situation, such as Andre’s, but I do see the similarity in our relationships. To me, we’re dealing with the issue of seduction and betrayal. In the infatuation stage of a relationship, we’re in projection, seduced by what we perceive or even project upon the object of our affections. Sometimes that person is actively saying or doing what they sense will draw us in. Take a look at what’s currently being revealed in the news about Scott Peterson’s seduction of Amber Frey.

However, seduction is often followed by betrayal because people's real selves and real issues tend to reappear.

Nothing is ever one-sided. The seducer is hoping for the same level of enrichment as the seducee. In effect, both people are projecting the hope of their needs for fulfillment onto each other. We’d all like to think we were beyond this. People don’t become followers just through lack of intelligence. Andrew’s coterie was composed of highly intelligent people. They filled a need for each other, but ultimately they couldn’t fulfill the earlier unmet needs that had brought them together.

Andre’s search for enlightenment took him to Andrew, where initially he entered a state of bliss, of shared approval, a kind of high at having connected with like souls and being recognized for his true self. Then personalities took over and love turned into a kind of drudgery of people reacting to each other and trying to win Andrew’s increasingly rare approval.

Isn’t this one of the reasons people seek fame, in order to fill themselves with love and approval on a more massive level, a desire to be actually seen and heard?

What Would I Advise Him If He Sought A Psychic Reading?

First of all, he would need to seek my advice, and I’m not sure he would have been in a place to do that before his final disillusionment with Andrew. He was relying on his best thinking and on others in the group. And everyone still believed that Andrew was in some way above them, more gifted, able to bestow something upon them that they couldn’t give themselves.

It’s interesting to me that Andre and Andrew have such similar names. It’s the difference of a "w" that separates them. Edgar Cayce, one of the most documented psychics in history, said that like always meets like. We come to face ourselves through others and to face our past lives through our current issues with others.

Andre already had a strong sense of dissatisfaction about how he and the other devotees were treating each other. He’d observed the changes in Andrew’s mood and his teachings, and he’d certainly experienced the negative side of Andrew’s personality but he had not trusted himself.

Instead he rationalized. After the person who sponsored their move to Amherst dropped out of the group, Andre silenced his misgivings by deciding that the sponsor must have succumbed to the pull of his ego. "It’s a reminder to us all," he thought, "how important it is to have clarity of intention and to guard the precious realization of enlightenment against the poison of our own mind." Andre was still in some of the infatuation stage.

If you cannot trust your own mind, or your inner guidance, then whom do you trust? In this case, Andrew recommended that the devotees hold regular house meetings where they could hold each other accountable to living up to his standards. "Andrew’s message had been, nothing has to change, everything is perfect as it is, just realize this and surrender to it deeply and all your problems will be over. So what is all this talk about having to change now?"

Even though Andrew’s time was much less available, Andre at first tried to share his concerns with Andrew. "You have to align yourself with the standard of enlightenment," Andrew told him. However, the standard of enlightenment now seemed to be subject to Andrew’s whims and upsets.

Victims

There’s a saying that "there are no victims, only volunteers," which probably makes no sense when you’re in a situation in which you feel victimized or abused because it doesn’t seem like there’s a choice. The question is, why stay in those circumstances? As I’ve mentioned above, one has committed to an ideal; in Andre’s case the ideal was based upon another person, and there was still the hope that what he’d once received (or perceived) would be available again.

Often when I ask people when their relationships changed, they’ll say 10 years ago, or after the first few months. Werner Erhard used to talk about an experiment in which rats were given cheese at a certain point in a maze. Then the cheese was removed and yet the rats kept going back to that same place for the cheese. It was even worse when the cheese was occasionally there. Are we are like rats running back for that sensual reward that was once there?

Relationships

Andre formed three successive, meaningful love relationships in the group, and ultimately after leaving the group, married a former devotee. The women in his relationships were portrayed as having an easier time than Andre letting go of the intimacy that he struggled to give up, and still intensely needed. Andre was able to bond, even in the relationships that were arranged for convenience. Perhaps there was something in his bonding that was non-specific and co-dependent.

If Andre were willing, I would look at where he had been open to being "hooked," where there was a loop in him for a hook to sink into. After all, there were many people who heard Andrew Cohen who did not feel the need to give up the lives they were leading in order to become a meaningful part of his. So, I would question where the unfinished business of Andre’s childhood was resting. For instance, did he need a mentor/father figure that personified the unique potential he saw in himself but was unlike the more forceful or rigid father he had internalized?

From a Cayce perspective, following a leader, such as Andrew, would be suspect. Cayce, a Christian mystic, didn’t even like to channel entities. He believed in strengthening our relationship with our Creator. He often referred to Jesus Christ as our older brother and role model.

Andrew’s devotees saw themselves as the apostles. It seems relevant to note that the apostles made their mark in history, as well, though it was through recording the works of Jesus. Andre actually was instrumental in facilitating the book of Andrew’s teachings, though without any appreciation, with considerable abuse, and without acknowledgement.

The seduction for Andre was being recognized, considered special. He didn’t see this happening in the regular world. How many of us truly feel seen or understood? Apparently there is a mechanism in the human brain that creates longing, and that longing is ultimately satisfied by connection with the creator.

I think Andre was led by this longing but he was also searching for outside validation in order to find peace inside. Most of us may need that but we don’t necessarily join groups such as Andrew’s. Most of us find solace in romantic relationships and in business, and it’s here that we’re likely to confront the issue of seduction, feeling deceived, being deceived, or being a deceiver.

There were rabbis who were brought to Los Angeles during the 1970’s in order to confront the issue of why so many young Jews were joining cults. What was discovered is that the lack of strong religious affiliation or convictions within the family of origin was creating a need for these people to see that connection elsewhere.

And later, when the Dahli Lama met with the rabbis to find out how they kept their people together in Diaspora, he was asked to supply the answer as to why so many Jews became Buddhists. Judaism was not making its spiritual path available. Heeding the Dahli Lama, the rabbis made Kabbalah study more accessible. (See The Jew In the Lotus, by Roger Kamenetz)You no longer needed to be 40 years old, male, married, or to ask a rabbi three times. Still, it required work.

Who isn’t enticed by the promise of instant enlightenment, which is what Andrew Cohen offered? Similarly, what makes Rabbi Berg’s Kabbalah Centre, which Madonna has made famous, such a popular place to study Kabbalah, despite its cloudy reputation? First, Rabbi Berg’s Centre is fun. Whether it’s true or not, everything is given significance, and there’s instant gratification, though at a monetary price. There you need only purchase and scan the very expensive Zohar, and you’re promised your life will change. Running your fingers along the page is a whole lot faster and easier than deep study, and there may well be some immediate resonance with the act.

For $26 you too can buy the red string (you’ll see Madonna wearing it) to ward off evil. Also, it’s inclusive. It doesn’t matter what your religion; anyone can come into the shop and buy Kabbalah water, or purchase the names of God, or attend classes. You’re immediately part of the community.

In an abusive relationship, there is generally a point where something turns. The good that lured one begins to darken. Looking back we can spot red flags, even where we saw them and chose to ignore them because the desire for what we wanted was greater than what we chose to ignore.

As a psychic, I can point out where the red flags were and why the client may have overlooked them. The purpose would be to own the whole experience, integrate it, release it and not recreate it.

One of the red flags with The Kabbalah Centre is its immediate gratification for a considerable monetary price. Yet it does offer considerable spiritual insight, primarily about love and sharing. It’s when you relinquish yourself for the illusion of what some organization says it has the power to offer that you’re in trouble.

Cayce talked about cooperation, about each person setting an ideal and looking to see how one’s thoughts and behavior measured up to that ideal. He encouraged reading scripture, to learn from the sages and to apply our learning daily. In fact, he counseled people to be "long suffering," a term that conflicts with our desires for immediate happiness.

I take "long suffering" to mean staying with my principles despite whatever currents may be shifting. The I-Ching often encourages us to take no outward action but to keep right attitude and await the changes that will inevitably occur if we maintain proper thinking and being. So Cayce also encouraged us to become more spiritual. Becoming something implies a process.

In writing this article, I’ve been asked to posit how we might empathize with Andre rather than judge him or see his life as something completely separate from our own. What I see is the need to be loved and accepted by someone of quality, or renown.

In any community, no matter how great their purpose, there is the reality of personalities clashing. Twelve step programs speak to that especially, cautioning seekers to follow principles rather than personal issues.

Cayce said we were here to learn cooperation, and ultimately to become soul mates with everyone. No matter what situation you find yourself in, you have that opportunity. The higher the supposed calling, perhaps the bigger the shadow or the cloud that can build around it.

There’s an illusion that other people don’t have to struggle, that they have self-esteem, security, whatever the issue. Living in Los Angeles, I’ve seen the cover of People Magazine with the glossy picture of perfection and the inside story suggesting the cover girl had it all together. The unairbrushed reality was actually quite different, but if you didn’t know the person, you bought the illusion.

If only I had that, whatever that may be, then my life would work. If only I could fall in love and mate the way Andre did, then my life would be….If I were close to someone famous, or had the glow of that fame, that approval, then I’d feel as if I were at the center of something, as if my life had meaning.

Andre’s mission now may be to create a sense of the sacred in life without having to go outside himself for the center. He is still processing his experience and perhaps reeling from the abuse he allowed himself to undergo. Ultimately, the betrayal is about our betraying ourselves. People can do what they do but more important for us is to see where we got hooked, what steps we hoped to bypass in order to find an easier, softer way. And ultimately our freedom rests in forgiveness and release.

Currently, and like an abused spouse, the author recounts his story as if to make it real for himself and to reveal an underside that he hopes will save us from going down the same path.

Pascal said most of our problems stem from an inability to sit quietly alone in a room. Perhaps that has something to do with the nature of being human? We are, however, able to look within and to perceive on numerous levels. "

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From The Light Connection, February 2005

"Enlightenment Blues is the author's not-always-so-pleasant chronicle of eleven years he spent as a follower of the prominent spiritual teacher Andrew Cohen. I found this book an interesting read, as much for its ruthless honesty of self-examination as for its commentary on the personality and practices of this well known guru.

Van der Braak demonstrates a commendable level of emotional maturity as he depicts his personal evolution from initial attraction to Cohen, his protracted dedication in the face of growing doubt, and his final decision to leave Cohen's community in the face of growing personal disillusionment.

Opening with his initial encounter with Cohen in 1987, van der Braak takes us with him through the intoxication of being drawn in by a charismatic figure whose influence skyrocketed and claimed the lives and souls of hordes of spiritual seekers. Initiated into enlightenment by Poonjaji (spiritual heir of Ramana Maharshi, and teacher of other American gurus including most notably Gangagi), Cohen emanated a rare aura of enlightenment. Certain that his brand of spiritual revolution would take the world by storm, followers sacrificed worldly possessions and ambitions to follow his teachings with abandonment. Centers were established first in Boston, and later in London, Amsterdam, Rishikesh, Tel Aviv, Copenhagen, and Paris.

But as the years wore on, van der Braak relates, he began to see serious changes in the message being put out by Cohen. What had begun as “all you need to reach enlightenment is to know what you really want” began to take on more demanding tones, presumably as the guru came to realize that enlightenment for others seemed to be more elusive than he had expected. Followers were forced to live up to rigid but undefined “standards,” and many were banished from the community at Cohen's whim. Forced to give up control over even the most personal decisions, many were told who to become intimate with and then unceremoniously yanked out of those relationships (and sometimes away from their children) at the whim of the guru. Van der Braak relates how Cohen's own mother bowed to him as her guru initially and entered the community, only to leave and sever her relationship with him in reaction to his heavy-handedness.

But equally interesting is the author's retrospective look at his own submissiveness and continuing obedience long after he became convinced he needed to leave. As I turned the pages I wanted to scream “Get the (bleep) out of there!” more than once. When he finally did, I breathed a sigh of relief. The terrible thing was knowing that the neediness of the human psyche would prevent many from ever finding their way out."

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From Alaska Wellness

"This well written, nonfictional account describes the author’s eleven years living within a spiritual community while studying with teacher/guru Andrew Cohen, a man often described as both controversial and challenging. In an easy to read, engaging way, the book weaves together several stories: Cohen’s rise to popularity in both America and Europe; the growth (and a behind the scenes view) of his community; the young author’s enthusiasm over Cohen and life in the community (first, as a transcriber of Cohen’s lectures and, later, as an editor of Cohen’s newsletter and books); and, van der Braak’s subsequent disenchantment with Cohen and the community as he struggles to find his own reality. Although van der Braak is not a sensationalistic writer, he does liberally spice his account with plenty of specifics: enforced celibacy or matching of couples; compulsory shaved heads for many; the required purchase of flowers for thanks or apology; and what seems to be an endless barrage of ego battering and battling of wills. The particulars of van der Braak’s life (as well as that of others) are often decided by members of the community or by Cohen himself. Ultimately, of course, Cohen does not fare well in van der Braak’s view, but neither is this a black/white portrayal of a guru and spiritual community gone bad. Indeed, there are many shades of gray and even the author notes this is simply his experience (albeit a very convincing one in regards to the pitfalls of surrendering authority to the teacher-guru relationship). Overall, this is an absorbing, thoughtful account of a man (van der Braak is now a philosophy teacher in Amsterdam) and his search for spiritual freedom."

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From Christopher Titmuss

"Enlightenment Blues is a bit of an understatement for a title. Perhaps it should be called Dark Night of Enlightenment. I also took a look at Amazon.com to read the comments on the book, and particularly what Ken Wilbur has to say in the Amazon reviews. While finding Ken's sophisticated explorations on spiritual evolution thoughtful reading, I was a little bemused with his enthusiasm for the magazine, 'What is Enlightenment.' Ken claims the magazine is 'slaughtering sacred cows.' 'deeply courageous' and asking 'hard questions' etc. I have a somewhat different perception. As far as I hear, "What is Enlightenment' excludes the significant teachings of Poonja-ji, Ganga-ji and other 'enlightened' teachers from the Lucknow stable, as well as colleagues such as the influential Jack Kornfield, and others who Andrew has a long-standing issue with. When WIE publishes teachings on their merit, not on inter-personal issues, then we might speak of the courage of WIE. For surely enlightenment challenges a censorship defined by the selective memory of the editor.

(I remember in the late 1960's working as a hack reporter for a daily newspaper in the Australia Outback. One night, the editor of our newspaper got blind drunk - refusing to accept the bar was closed so he and his drinking mate began lobbing glasses at the metal shield pulled down in front of the bar. My editor got arrested, put in the gaol for the night, and convicted. He insisted I wrote the court story for the front page of his paper. It could be considered as an impersonally enlightened attitude from the editor. He certainly won the respect of the news room. Enlightenment Blues deserves to be reviewed in a spiritual magazine that slaughters sacred cows, asks hard questions and is deeply courageous).

I read the responses to the book both on the back jacket and on the inside page. They share much in common with the 20 plus Amazon reviews in terms of their perception and strong, understandable concerns of the dynamics of Andrew and his spiritual organisation. Of course, we have heard these stories before, and I have heard a number firsthand in the 18 years that Andrew has been teaching. The power of the book is its quiet, incisive description of the author's 11 years with Andrew. In Buddhist terms, it is an account of the First Noble Truth of Suffering, of the distressing inter-personal dynamics of Master and follower where power clung to and power given to generate a duality of control, fear, mistrust, and, at times, profound despair and subsequent withdrawal. I had the feeling reading the book that any reactivity from the author has been skilfully edited out so the book isn't a polemic about Andrew Cohen, but an attempt to give an honest account of events over the years.

The Amazon comments confirms the book has struck a chord as former students wish to share their experiences but I get the feeling some old students and others fail to undestand the humanity of Andrew. I feel concern for him. He has identified himself strongly with the tough guy image, a kind of hard-hitting Frank Tyson of the spiritual world. Emotionally, he is not suited to be the strict, no nonsense kind of teacher. It is foolish to compare him with the classical Zen Master or the ucompromsing Achariya living in the forest. Although a teacher of Non-Duality, Andrew appears trapped in the nightmare of duality - such as himself and others, liberation and ego, impersonal and personal enlightenment, master-follower, perfection and imperfection, Absolute Oneness and evolving universe. He told me a few years ago in Bodh Gaya that he woke up every morning in pain for months after he broke off his relationship with his teacher, Poonja-ji, who he publicly condemned. ‘My Master is Myself" – the title of his first book, with its litany of ego massaging statements in both directions – became a year or two later in everyday reality ‘my Master is not myself.’

It would be all too easy to read Enlightenment Blues and use it to slag off Andrew. And that is the danger of the book. While the book deserves credit for offering the potential to raise hard questions, it may not take us further in our understanding, except to encourage spiritual aspirants to keep clear of situations where there appears to be unresolved issues around power, beliefs and projections in a group committed to spiritual exploration. It would be also easy to endlessly psychoanalyse the mutual dependency issues of Andrew and his followers but, frankly, I regard it as a peripheral issue, except for the suffering.

All the reviewers seem to be coming from much the same level of concern. One has to cut much deeper than that. For example, it seems to me that from the onset that Andrew and his students agreed consciously and unconsciously to some kind of transcendent norm in Andrew's possession called 'enlightenment' or, as Andrew would also say 'Absolute Oneness." In the name of this transcendent norm, Andrew acts as the knower of Absolute Oneness who defines what enlightenment is and the students (not knowing what it is) submit to the definition. Both Master and followers have reified this mental construction and lived out of it. I believe that this approach reduces Truth to that which is conceived of, and consequently the one who defines enlightenment produces a narrow spiritual orthodoxy. Enlightenment has become restricted to the mind set of the leader and outside of that, some students feel that there is only the mediocrity of secular life, banal existence and the triviality of ego. Hence another duality - of being with Andrew or leaving him. I regard both the spiritual and the secular as mundane, painfully so.

Hopefully, Enlightenment Blues will not lead to a further haemorrhage of Andrew's disillusioned students. I hope Andrew and his students will sit down together to engage in some hard questioning about what they urgently need to acknowledge. There is sound wisdom in the feedback from seasoned voices in Western spirituality and the book reflects one common concern. WIE needs to engage in some soul-searching as well. I believe that Andrew has much to offer as a teacher in many areas. I'm glad he is around. He is a dedicated spiritual teacher and, frankly, I support his unapologetic criticism of some of the lightweight teachers found in the Buddhist tradition. But Andrew has to understand that he is an outsider to the Buddhist tradition so it is unlikely that any Buddhist teachers will take any notice of him. That’s why he didn’t last very long teaching in Bodh Gaya.

I believe genuine enlightenment remains hidden from those who cling to the notion of some transcendent norm and the 'knower' of it, remains hidden from the pursuers of it, and equally hidden from those who settle for devotion to the soul murdering mundanity of work, money and pleasure existence. I regard a transcendent norm, an enlightened self and evolution as the stuff of the conceiving mind. As teachers and students, we have to learn to understand the sun of enlightenment can embrace the passing clouds of our humanness.

If we blindly hand over power, either to a spiritual leader or to a secular/scientific belief system (or rely upon our 'self'), then enlightenment will continue to be a secret - firmly out of reach and obscured through our unwise investment in authority, inwardly or outwardly.

To look inwardly or outwardly for enlightenment is to be looking in the wrong direction. Not to look is utterly irresponsible, a waste of a human beings precious existence. When this is understood in the guts of our being, it will put an end to enlightenment blues. The end of the search becomes a clear liberation. The conceiving mind is finished with. Perhaps then, and only then, are we ready to speak about waking up."

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From Jerry Katz

"Enlightenment Blues is a chronicle of eleven years with Andrew Cohen. The author came to a place in his spiritual search where he was disillusioned with his Buddhist meditation practice. He met Andrew, fell into deep love, and surrendered. "(Andrew) seemed to possess an uncanny ability to transmit a deep glimpse of enlightenment, inspiring people to leave everything behind and become his disciples. Thousands of people still full of hope and longing flocked to see him."

Life afterward played-out in an atmosphere rich in ideals. The qualities of higher level consciousness -- love - truth - transformation -- were constantly impressed upon the followers. Cohen was lovable, charismatic, driven, smart, enlightened, and immensely capable of speaking about enlightenment and his vision of transformation.

Yet attainment of the higher qualities could only be achieved through control of devotees via lower level consciousness: humiliation, contempt, blame, rigidity, punishment, exploitation, pettiness, and paranoia. Such is the dichotomous Ashram: using the lower to achieve the higher. The examples range from initiation and forced termination of relationships, to the singling out and humiliation of all the women, to destruction of property, to the forced extraction of two million dollars from one student, 80% of her net worth. There is one such incident after another described in this book. It is a record of the misuse of power. It is experienced by the reader through van der Braak in a work that is honest, without a hint of self-pity (in fact, mild gratitude), and utterly engaging.

This book will give intimate and realistic insights to anyone having a relationship with a Guru, whether the degree of involvement is committed and formal, or as casual as an encounter on an email discussion forum. In these days where there are relatively many gurus and teachers of nonduality, and where they are so easily accessible via the internet, seekers of spiritual development would find it valuable to be opened to the possibility that gurus are no different in their behaviour than any other person. Dr. Harsha K. Luthar, the founder of HarshaSatsangh (www.harshasatsangh.com), after reading an early version of this review commented in a private email reproduced below with his permission:

"All of these things -- abuse, aggression, humiliation, scorn, superior positioning, manic behavior, belligerence, dictatorial leadership, .....are part of human nature. Therefore they are present to some degree here and everywhere. We only recognize these things in others because they are present in us. They are present in the human condition. These are present in many of the so called gurus. Wisdom calls for awareness and offering of compassion for ourselves and others.

According to our scriptures and ancient sages and teachers of the last 5000 years, Self Realization manifests in the world as gentleness, amity, and good will towards all. All yogic texts, including Patanjali's yoga sutras proclaim clearly that nonviolence is the supreme principle. From that perspective, (a declaration of) enlightenment (from any guru) need not be accepted as a license for legitimizing violence, abuse, and control of others."

The author, Andre van der Braak, possesses the wisdom about which Dr. Luthar speaks, not that it matured easily: "The writing of this book has been a sobering process of soul-searching, of delving into some moments which were extremely painful, of redefining and understanding not only these eleven long years, but also my basic philosophy of life, my ideals. I don't feel personally angry anymore with Andrew or his community. Although I see Andrew's shortcomings more clearly and soberly, his adolescent all-or-nothing mentality, his need for affirmation and power, I feel no need to go on a crusade against him."

This story is told with a breathtaking ease of flow -- from the highs of Andrew's love and attention, through the declines initiated by doubt, and into the troughs of abuse, then the ascent back into the presence of Andrew's favour and light -- that testifies to van der Braak's wisdom, compassion, and ability as a memoirist.

Finally, after ten years with Andrew, the author realized, "In the beginning it was effortless; I felt intimacy, love, and passion. Now it feels like I'm just trying to please him, trying to prove something, show myself to be a good student. With a shock I realize that I'm actually afraid of him. I've experienced too often how he holds my fate in his hands and that staying on his good side is crucial for survival."

Within a year, van der Braak left Andrew Cohen and the community, but not before Andrew menacingly called him "evil." "I can't believe that someone who calls me evil has the best intentions for me," van der Braak writes. This was followed by several weeks of separation which were characterized by messages from Andrew in which he made appalling suggestions in an effort to win van der Braak back, conversations with his long time friend Harry, and a stunning 15-page report of conversations with Marianne, his live-in partner, which serves to summarize the misuse of power. In the latter conversations, Marianne absolutely defends every action of Andrew, while van der Braak offers his perspective. The author does not take the easy way out in reporting these conversations. He would seem to represent Marianne's side well: "You're just indulging in your anger and your cynicism," she says bitterly. "Why do you have to damage all the love? Can't you just humbly accept that it was too much for you without needing to throw dirt on Andrew?"

Van der Braak left Andrew and spent five years writing Enlightenment Blues. The Epilogue is a look back at the years with Andrew: "When people ask me whether I feel I've wasted eleven years of my life with Andrew, I tell them I wouldn't want to have missed them. I went for the greatest adventure I can imagine, the journey towards love and truth, and I sacrificed everything for it. It took me a long time to learn my lessons, but I'm sure that nothing was wasted."

This is excellent reading for anyone involved in any way with gurus and teachers of nonduality. Especially those who are active on the internet discussion groups and encountering self-proclaimed gurus, will find this book insightful.

While one will become immersed in Enlightenment Blues as though it were an excellent novel, the reader might want to close the book from time to time and feel the breeze of reality, the place where one is at, a place refreshingly free of the lows and highs of the dichotomous ashram."

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From Parabola, by Joshua Leavitt

"Worthwhile accounts of personal work with a spiritual teacher are hard to come by. Because of the intensely intimate nature of the relationship, it is difficult for most authors to maintain the critical distance necessary to present their experience in a way that is meaningful to readers outside the circle of their particular community. Most attempts at this genre fall either into the trap of thinly disguised hagiography or embittered reprisal. In this memoir of his years with spiritual teacher Andrew Cohen, author Andre van der Braak skillfully avoids such oversimplification, primarily through keeping in sight his most basic task as a writer: to tell a compelling story. In this he succeeds admirably.

Van der Braak evokes his experiences in a gradual but ultimately gripping way, beginning with the intoxicating bliss of the early days through his progressive disillusionment and final break from Andrew eleven years later. Written almost entirely in the present tense, the narrative’s honesty and immediacy draw the reader in from the first page. The author wisely allows events to speak for themselves, presenting his struggles and questions as he experienced them at the time rather than in sweeping conclusions or personal diatribes.

Aside from its literary merits, this is an important work because of its subject matter. A controversial figure in the spiritual landscape since his earliest days as a teacher, Andrew Cohen has provoked heated reactions in many people over the years and is likely to be an important figure in the history of alternative spirituality in America. His teachings on the nature of liberation have tremendous depth and clarity and, taken together, form a potent contribution to contemporary Western formulations of spiritual wisdom.

Enlightenment Blues is the first reliable published account of Andrew’s intimate work with his students. It raises complex issues about the dynamics of power, control, and human imperfection in positions of formal spiritual authority, both in Andrew’s case and in the student-Teacher relationship in general. It presents the picture of a heavy handed, “direct attack” approach to dealing with ego in Andrew’s community that is, at the least, unskillful, and quite possibly simply a well rationalized form of personal aggression.

This points to a dangerous blind spot on Andrew’s part, one that will continue to jeopardize his work until it is acknowledged and accepted. The book is, among other things, a powerful invitation to van der Braak’s former teacher to reexamine the myth of his own perfection, and to consider the personal psychological basis from which it has been created. Should Andrew, who has always been a risk taker, prove willing to engage that risk, he might discover subtler and far more effective methods for the transformational work he is attempting.

For his part, Andre van der Braak has shown great courage in chronicling the intimate aspects of his personal spiritual journey in Enlightenment Blues. In doing so he has produced a moving, thoughtful, heartfelt testimony that will serve any sincere seeker on the path to spiritual realization."

Joshua Leavitt is a writer and consultant who lives in a formal spiritual community in Montana. His first book, Playing with Fire, is currently under completion.

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