Sign-In
Cart
The Conquest of Illusion
Paperback
Comparative ReligionReligion General Fiction Anthologies
Please select the version of book you would like to purchase.
ISBN13: 9798868978937
Publisher: Independent Cat
Published: Nov 8 2023
Pages: 196
Weight: 0.59
Height: 0.42 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Publisher: Independent Cat
Published: Nov 8 2023
Pages: 196
Weight: 0.59
Height: 0.42 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Certain books should be required reading for serious spiritual seekers, I think, and The Conquest of Illusion is one of them. Knowledge of its existence came down to me through my primary spiritual mentor, Richard Rose, who used to crisscross the country in the 1930s in search of teachers and information about spiritual enlightenment. The story goes that one day he was talking to a cab driver who had similar spiritual interests and asked him if he'd found any teachers or books of value. The cabbie said, Yeah. One teacher, Alfred Pulyan, and one book, The Conquest of Illusion.
By the time I came to know Rose I was in my forties and had twenty years of spiritual seeking under my belt, but I'd not heard of The Conquest of Illusion. It was out of print but I found a used copy and eagerly dug in. My reading was slow going at first. Van der Leeuw was writing in the 1920's and I had to get used to his formal, erudite style and long periodic sentences. The impact of the book, however, was immediate and powerful. It was as if the most logical, intelligent, clear-headed, well-educated philosopher imaginable got enlightened and wrote a book. Actually, more than as if-apparently that is what happened. At any rate, the result is a jewel that belongs on every earnest spiritual seeker's bookshelf.Van der Leeuw writes with the unmistakable perspective of an enlightened master, always grounded in a personal experience of Truth. No matter how deeply into the details of philosophy he leads us, he always circles back to That Which Is. He expounds on each problem of philosophy so evenly and so well you think he's putting forth his own belief. Then he comes back to Truth and pulls the rug out from under everything he just carefully explained. Beautiful, really.I have lightly edited this version to read slightly more smoothly to modern ears, but nothing has been deleted and Van der Leeuw's engaging style remains completely intact. Everything else about this 90th Anniversary Edition, including the front matter and illustrations, are as they were in the 1928 first edition. Bart Marshall
4 different editions
Also available
Also from
Van Der Leeuw, J. J.
The Dramatic History of the Christian Faith from the Beginnings to the Death of St. Augustine
Van Der Leeuw, J. J.
Hardcover
$49.94
The Dramatic History of the Christian Faith from the Beginnings to the Death of St. Augustine
Van Der Leeuw, J. J.
Paperback
$31.19
The Dramatic History of the Christian Faith from the Beginnings to the Death of St. Augustine
Van Der Leeuw, J. J.
Paperback
$28.69
The Dramatic History of the Christian Faith from the Beginnings to the Death of St. Augustine
Van Der Leeuw, J. J.
Paperback
$34.94
Also in
Fiction Anthologies
On Quality: An Inquiry Into Excellence: Unpublished and Selected Writings
Pirsig, Wendy K.
Pirsig, Robert M.
Hardcover
$25.64
James Weldon Johnson: Writings (Loa #145): The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man / Along This Way / Essays and Editorials / Selected Poems
Johnson, James Weldon
Hardcover
$60.00
Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Stoker, Bram
Shelley, Mary
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Paperback
$9.45
Sez I to Myself: The Collected Essays of Frank and Malachy McCourt
McCourt, Malachy
McCourt, Frank
Hardcover
$28.50
Here in New England: Unforgettable Stories of People, Places, and Memories That Connect Us All.
Allen, Mel
Paperback
$19.00
The Greek Tragedies: Seventeen Plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides
Sophocles
Euripides
Aeschylus
Paperback
$23.75
Learn Russian with Beginner Stories: Interlinear Russian to English
Van Den End, Kees
Hyplern, Bermuda Word
Gettys, Serafima
Paperback
$17.99
Obvious Adams -- The Story of a Successful Businessman: New Business Edition
Updegraff, Robert R.
Paperback
$12.49
The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings: Poems, Tales, Essays, and Reviews
Poe, Edgar Allan
Hardcover
$27.00
Bookin' in the Big House: What I Learned Leading a Women's Prison Book Club
Devoto, Pat Cunningham
Paperback
$26.55
Japanese Folktales for Language Learners: Bilingual Legends and Fables in Japanese and English (Free Online Audio Recording)
Sato, Anna
Sato, Eriko
Paperback
$18.99
The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories, volume 1
Pedraza, Pilar
Fager, Anders
Cubas, Cristina Fernández
Paperback
$33.34
The Serpent Mound, Adams County, Ohio (Facsimile Reprint)
Randall, E. O.
Randall, Emilius Oviatt
Paperback
$14.43