The Only Permanent Solution to All Human Problems is the Rational God

by Sajith Buvi

For far too long across the modern world, intellectuals have ignored religion as an irrational belief. They’ve kept religion out of intellectual discourse. In intellectual circles, science, technology, politics, history, and even the life of celebrities are often given far more importance than religion. Consequently, religion has been left to the whims, fancies, illusions, and above all beliefs of religious leaders to propagate and preach. For lack of alternatives, the majority of humans are forced to follow the interpretation of God preached by these religious leaders. It is high time intelligent people took charge and led religion. Religion, an idea that impacts the lives of billions of people all over the world, is too important to be left in the hands of religious believers who keep proclaiming the existence of a God in the heavens, waiting to punish each of us in the afterlife. These believers have hijacked religion to propagate their belief systems. As long as God is perceived only from the perspective of belief systems, humanity will never build a world of coexistence and peace. Most importantly, the truth of God will always remain a mystery. If there is a God, that God must be rationally explained to the masses. If there is a God, that God must be accessible to all humans. There is an urgent need to humanize and rationalize God. There is an urgent need to bring God down to earth. Only a rational God can bring sanity to religion and thereby to humanity. Only a rational God can elevate humanity to a higher plane of evolution beyond its animal instinct.

Genres: Spirituality, Religion, Nonfiction, Psychology

288 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2015

Reviews

[Slowlygainingknowlege · Rating 1 out of 5]

"The truth is, humanity lacks the guts to face the truth as truth. They hide behind either the stupidity of religion, or the contrived intelligence of rationalism. More than callousness, it is cowardice that keeps humanity in the darkness."

Well, how am I supposed to read a book, let alone consider it seriously when it bashes, not only on my beliefs, but everyone else's? Basically the author is saying: 'I'm right, and everyone else is wrong.'

If this book is a rational argument for the existence of a God, I do not know, because I wasn't able to get past the misanthropic and arrogant intro.

[Megha Goyal · Rating 5 out of 5]

*** GOODREADS FIRST READS WINNER *****

It brought me one step closer to the real God.

[Chris Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very luckily, I received a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from Sajith (thank you Sajith)through Goodreads. However, I have not let that fact colour my judgement in reviewing this book.

Sajith Buvi would probably not describe himself as a 'religious' person. However, at the same time, he is definitely not against religion. Rather, Sajith transcends religion. He supports all religions in their attempts to bring us closer to awareness of God, but shows how he believes they may not be able to fully achieve this and can also be divisive.

Sajith guides us in the wisdom that to find God, we need to become aware of our conscience. The mind is not the ultimate power in us, but rather our conscience is. Just like Sajith transcends all religions, he helps us realise that the conscience transcends the mind. It is only through gaining an awareness of awareness (consciousness of our conscience) that we can truly experience God. Sajith, in this book, helps us see how the mind is formed by our experiences and, therefore, cannot be entirely pure. It is through becoming aware of our conscience that we can become closer to God.

Sajith proposes that people of any religion need to understand that no religion is superior to any other religion. They are all just ways of attempting to bring us closer to God. We will not gain full peace in ourselves and in others until we realise this and accept all religious teachings in the same way that we accept our own. Thankfully, as a teacher of Religion in a Catholic school, this is also something that we teach our students. Using an analogy, God is like a sun. There are many different rays emanating from this sun, just like there are many different religions and religious perspectives emanating from God. We need to accept all and encourage other faiths, rather than persecute them.

Key to becoming fully aware of God, in Sajith's view, is practicing yogic meditation. This is not so much the physical yoga, but more yoga of the mind. It is not too dissimilar from deep meditation. It is very interesting that psychologists are now strongly advocating practices such as this and Mindfulness as the way to mental health. As a person who has suffered from chronic anxiety, I find it amazing how science is gradually catching up with religious practices. As Sajith proposes the use of yogic meditation, religions have for thousands of years.

Although I may not fully adhere to all of the points made by Sajith in 'The Only Permanent Solution to All Human Problems is the Rational God', I gained a lot from reading it. I would encourage all people who enjoy philosophy or would like to explore spirituality or to read this book. It will certainly be a positive experience. It is also recommended to anyone who reads 'self-help' books or would like to gain a greater understanding of how to be the best we can be to read it. The yogic meditation proposed by Sajith is definitely good for the soul, as many psychologists will attest to. You may also become aware of your awareness, conscious of your consciousness.

[Gianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given a copy of this book in advance of the publication date to review. I am personally interested in the subject matter for several reasons. One is that I studied World Religions at university and have always been interested in how religion has changed and shaped our world over the centuries (in both good and bad ways). I am also a meditation practitioner and have regularly experienced the feeling of 'oneness' that the author writes about that arises from both meditation and yoga. Finally, I believe, like the author, that if we put aside our thinking as humans that one religion is superior to another and trust that we can all connect to the divine consciousness within us all, we can take steps towards eradicating judgement, hatred and extremism in the world.

The author states that there is an urgent need to liberate God from religion. There are so many important teachings in this book and one of the most important threads is that the realised teachers (Jesus, Buddha, Prophet Mohammed, etc.) are all doors to the same truth - absolute consciousness. If people continue to see religion as helping them on a surface level or acting as an insurance policy for the afterlife, a deeper exploration of the mind and consciousness throughout life may be left unexplored.

Instead, the author argues that by experiencing and cultivating kindness, compassion, peace and love through the practice of yoga, meditation or other introspective means, people will begin to move towards liberation on earth, and closer to a connection with the divine.

The messages in this book are of utmost importance at a time when religion, instead of helping people to liberate, is creating more division between groups and communities than ever before. The book is broken down into easy to digest sections with clear and insightful advice that may not only change your life, but can have a positive impact on the world. Highly recommended.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where do I start here? First of all, I won an advance reader copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Sajith Buvi's “Rational God” was a very thought provoking read. In my academic career, I explored religious studies classes on and off again. In retrospect I was searching for something that had been absent from my life for a significant period of time. I was raised in a Christian church by my mother until about 12 years of age. My father is non-religious and never felt it important to have me or my brother involved in church. I have sporadically attended different churches since then, never committing to any one in particular and often only going once. I became apathetic for several years towards religion until recent years. So needless to say, it was a surprise that I won this book since I had entered drawings for many books on Goodreads. But enough back story, let me get into the review.

In “Rational God” I liked how Buvi uses many religious examples from around the globe to show that, in spite of us labeling ourselves “Christian” or “Buddhist” or “Muslim”, we have far more in common in our search for ultimate truth than we tend to believe. “Even if one fights off a wild animal, the strength behind such an act is far inferior to the courage of a human who explores his inner world.” Humans are often fearful in searching for truth, whether it is because they do not know which path to take or if there is even a truth beyond the world we each know. Buvi argues that yes, there is an ultimate truth, and that it does not matter which “doorway” (Buddha/Christ/Krishna/etc) you use to reach that truth, and come to know God. In studying God, the human experience is often seen as subjective to that individual. Rationalists will ask for physical proof of God, while the religious will cite their scriptures and experiences as proof. On some level it needs to be accepted that these experiences are not just subjective if anyone wants to truly know God.

Prayer is one of several ways someone can learn about God. The most prominent technique cited is yoga (not just for the physical exercise but for the meditation and breathing exercises) as it is supposed to help clear your thoughts and help you realize the pure consciousness within yourself. The Bible or any official religious text can help you learn about God, however if you are seeking ultimate truth you need to transcend any one text and understand many. Christ was just one “realized teacher” as he put it. Also, we need to stop searching for truth in our materialistic world and turn our attentions inward in order to discover God. “The perfection of perfection you seek in your life is God.” The journey towards this level of awareness is far from an easy one, but worthwhile for the honest seeker. This book brought many excellent points to the table for open thought and discussion on a topic we all know of but rarely seem to want to talk about. Definitely a worthwhile read. If nothing else, "Rational God" will make you think critically about what you've been taught about religion in all its aspects.

[Padma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thought provoking and enjoyable read. The book discusses ways to reach a higher level of existence and that Truth/God is eternal.Sajith Buvi the author has written the book for both a religious and non-religious person. As a religious person it did open my eyes to the view that the aethist/non religious person is no different from a religious person. They have different set of beliefs. The author through this book has explained the complex nature of consciousness in a very lucid manner. Rightly the author tries to help us understand that a tranquil mind can achieve far better success than a troubled mind. In order to achieve consciousness we need to go beyond emotional attachment and all religions.
The book is for one and all. A MUST READ for one who is trying to begin the journey of attaining self realization
I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. This was an excellent exploration of spirituality and God. This rather engrossing read has truly changed my perspective on my faith and my connection to religion, not only informing the way I view my religion, but religion in general. I feel I can better appreciate both the commonalities and the differences of all religions, as well as their limitations. This book for me seems like the piece to the puzzle that has beem missing from my spiritual path, and I want to share it with everyone in my life. I think if you have any desire at all to strengthen your spirituality and to reconcile your beliefs with the religion you were raised with you would be remiss not to read it.

[Jenell Hollett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sajith Buvi writes well. This book is well-organized, well-written, and full of complex concepts that inspire a broadened view of God. Although my personal belief system is markedly different than the author's and I would debate some of the generalizations and opinions about specific religions, I enjoyed exploring the logical paths the author presented. I especially appreciated the concept that many religions have been hijacked by personal agendas and misrepresentations that deviate from their founder's ideal.
The book is worth reading. It's not an easy read, but any book about God deserves to be thought-provoking and should inspire deep discussion and debate. This book achieves those goals.

[John the Ponderer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book, and I would recommend it to anybody that is searching for understanding. I have been on the search for a long time now, and while I found many aspects of the book interesting it did not provide any new insights for me. The title intrigued me enough to purchase the book, even though I doubt there will ever be a permanent solution to human problems. Humans are so good at coming up with new ones.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this in the giveaway. It's so well written. It really gets you thinking. I like that. Really interesting read

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads . I enjoyed reading this book .I will be looking for more books from the author , Great book !!

[Richa · Rating 4 out of 5]

cant wait to read this...