It isn't usual, surely, for a book to go to a fourth revised edition in a year. Such has been the case with this book. It isn't that the former editions were faulty. Rather, I kept seeing ways of clarifying the thoughts with better wording and examples. In the over eighty books I've written, this is the first time I've so reworked what had seemed good copy. For one thing, however, with the earlier versions of this book I faced deadlines-the writer's curse! Reading the chapters at greater leisure, I saw points here and there that could have been expressed more interestingly. A book like this needs, I feel, to be not only clear and logical, but fun to read. Not an easy undertaking when the subject matter is-well, let's face it-pretty heavy. In fact, I see now that what I've done here is take on the big guns of Western thought. That isn't something one does lightly. I've labored many times now over these pages, and I do think I've got it where I want it-like a wrestler who, after great effort, gets his opponent pinned to the floor.
I am amazed by this book. I find here for the first time a thesis, acceptable because supported by practical wisdom, on how to create a better life on earth. For those who dream of seeing true peace on earth someday, Hope for a Better World! offers a convincing blueprint. In a progressive series of deeply insightful analyses, Swami Kriyananda examines why certain societies of the past failed, and how others in future might succeed. His reflections are the most persuasive I've ever encountered.
In classes that I teach at the University of Hawaii and elsewhere, I have been surprised at how many students nowadays express frustration at the absence of flexibility in their lives. They feel locked into their cultural heritage. In this respect, Honolulu is, itself, a laboratory, for in this city people from many traditions, both Eastern and Western, live together, trying to adapt to, and even evolve, a new society. Those who once came here from many countries felt a need to weave about themselves a sort of mental cocoon. That very cultural isolation now often seems artificial to their descendants, who want to spread their wings like the butterfly emerging from its cocoon, and to soar in a new reality. Naturally, they are also somewhat fearful concerning their new directions. This book may offer them the clarity they've been seeking. I now feel that I, too, have practical answers to give them. I recommend Hope for a Better World! unreservedly. It shows how to draw the best from every culture, and to unite those "bests" in a new future.
This book is not revolutionary. It doesn't reject past wisdom. It is evenhanded, intelligent, and respectful of the genius every culture possesses. At the same time, it repeatedly asks a very simple, indeed obvious, question: "Does it work?" It asks also, How? and, Why?
The author has taken upon himself the awesome task of creating places where his ideas could be tested and refined. Increasing numbers hundreds, now-reside in those communities. They are developing a pattern of living that is above all, in a human sense, realistic. His book is grounded in more than one discipline: scientific, philosophical, and the humanities. He has resolved a major problem that faces anyone who would build communities: how to enable people to live together happily while at the same time challenging and inspiring them to develop their fullest potentials.
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