Perfect Brilliant Stillness by David Carse

Perfect Brilliant Stillness by David Carse. Paragate ,2007, 406pp

[***Book Review*** J R E Harger]

This book is long but it is a very valuable read however, it is really two volumes in one. The first is a relatively short and pithy account of the absolute as ex perienced from the viewpoint of the personal aspect of the Ultimate Reality. This (apparently absolute) state is known in Hindu scripture under seve ral terms & one is Saguna Brahman - with attributes - or perhaps also Atman (in Davids case retaining the mind-body vehicle with nobody at home) and obtained as the direct result of destruction (by unreported means) of his ego-consciousness. The david-vehicle recognizes/experiences a state of  consciousness/being that he characterizes as: "all is presence in which all apparent thoughts and and concepts, events and actions, arise spontaneously" . This insight is absolutely true insofar as no further investigation appears to have been attempted. But, ther e is an additional dimension (we may observe) in that this knowing which David calls presence arise w ithin his own "true" self" (not of course the ego-self david-carse- that died in the jungle). Now if one can see that the term "non-dual reality" is a sanitised (objectivised) name for "The Atman" (which David calls "presence"), then of course there is a further "responsible party" involved and there are thus no grounds for the use of the phrase "spontaneously arise" and this is readily admitted in Davids statement: "Now it is seen so simply - you are all myself ". ". Good! But spontaneously arising (even if non-real ?), scarcely. So this naturally raises the question "what is this "myself " or "from whence this "myself " (presence)? The answer to this involves a further extension into the profound wherein maybe found or detected as by difference, Nirguna Brahman (ParaAtman), a state "outside of or beyond" consciousness which has no attributes and, as such, is only an object of meditation and knowledge. This aspect of the Ultimate Reality is beyond conception, beyond reasoning and beyond thought ie it does not exist in directly re ferenced consciousness at all, cannot exist. But it is the ultimate source The second 2/3 of the book is a very complete review of pertinent lite rature, both established and recent, in relation to the Valid I nsight that David has obtained for us (empty, phantom non-entities though we are from one standpoint at least  even if we are only ever as real as we think we are including {being blown-out}). Davids review of presence is highly recommended to all seekers. Conclusion: an excellent and Valid Insight, well worth the price and the time-expenditure involved in reading.