The Pneumaton , like all the books of Avatar Adi Da Samraj, is an unparalleled gift-written, as He has said, for the sake of "all who would find heart-breaking Freedom". Although The Pneumaton deals with a defined set of topics, the ultimate purpose of the book is not to offer information or argumentation but to draw the reader beyond the usual human ways of thinking and being into what Avatar Adi Da calls "the Reality-Truth". -- From the introduction by Jonathan Condit, Ph.D. What did Jesus really teach? What is the esoteric meaning of "the Holy Spirit", "the Kingdom of God" and "the Morning Star"? What about "sin", "soul", "Satan", and "God as Father"? How do the spiritual transmissions of Jesus and Saint Seraphim in the West compare to the spiritual transmissions of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Muktananda, and Bhagavan Nityananda in the East? How do exoteric religion, traditional mysticism (East and West), and Avatar Adi Da's seventh-stage revelation relate to each other? If you want answers to these questions, or many others about the real meaning and purpose of religion and of spirituality, The Pneumaton is the book for you! In this over 1300-page masterpiece, Adi Da Samraj examines the devotional and spiritual traditions of humankind in a way only an adept-realizer can. In this generously illustrated book, which includes writings that span from throughout all the years of Adi Da's teaching-work, he considers and makes clear: •The essence of all true spirituality •The difference between true and false religion • The spiritual secrets that have been hidden from humankind •The gift of real ecstasy given by the spiritual master •How to participate in Adi Da's unique spiritual transmission in each moment, without seeking •The main body of this "Spirit-Breath" book has seventeen parts; the following can only hint at the treasures waiting for you within this astounding work: Part 3 contains parts of Avatar Adi Da's unique life-story, particularly his thorough process of investigating and transcending the traditional realms of mysticism (especially Christian and Hindu) and his most perfect re-awakening as the "Bright". In Part 5, Adi Da distinguishes between exoteric and esoteric in ten chapters on Christianity. Here are just three sample chapter titles: --The "Official" (Exoteric) Fabrications and The Secret (Esoteric) Truth About Jesus of Galilee --Beyond The Scapegoat-Christ (The Original Way of Jesus of Galilee) --The Universal Non-Religious Message of Jesus of Galilee Adi Da's free-rendering of the New Testament gospels, The Spiritual Gospel of Saint Jesus of Galilee , is Part 6 of The Pneumaton . In Part 7 you will find an exclusive new translation of Saint Seraphim's conversation with N. A. Motovilov. There are also chapters on spiritual masters from the Hindu tradition, including Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, Swami Muktananda, and Bhagavan Nityananda. Two absolutely mind-blowing and beautifully illustrated testimonials to the power of Adi Da's unique spiritual transmission comprise Part 15. These testimonials are given by renunciate devotees who confess their reception of Adi Da's love-blissful state and eternal embrace, without holding back. There is much talk today of ancient gnostic gospels, secret teachings, and the renewal of a mystical form of Christianity that can answer people's spiritual hunger beyond all the unbelievable beliefs and social-control mechanisms of public "religion." Here, with The Pneumaton , we have what amounts to a modern gnostic gospel, a re-telling and re-interpretation of the life of Jesus the Spirit-Baptizer presented as a principal aspect of Adi Da's examination of the world's mystical traditions (both Western and Eastern) and his summary of his own Spiritual Way. The result is a vision that is as radically critical of exoteric religion as it is profoundly appreciative of what Adi Da calls the "mystical Ascent" of Christian esotericism. --Jeffrey J. Kripal, holder of the J. Newton Rayzor chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, Houston, Texas. Author of Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred and other books. Adi Da Samraj incarnated in 1939 and passed from the body in 2008 all the while, and even now, existing as the all-pervading and eternal Divine Presence of Conscious Light. During his lifetime, he created a legacy for humankind of inexhaustible profundity and limitless Blessing-Power. Adi Da's primary gift to humankind is his eternal Divine Presence, which now and forever radiates perfect Freedom and true Happiness to all beings. And his Reality-Way of Adidam establishes the means by which anyone can discover his Divine Presence, and transcend egoity in devotional communion with him. (Currently, there are more than 1,000 individuals formally practicing the Reality-Way of Adidam, in communities and Spiritually empowered Sanctuaries around the world.) A graduate of Columbia University (BA in ph