A Search in Secret Egypt

by Paul Brunton

Overview

In this book, philosopher Paul Brunton (1898-1981) encounters the mysteries and magic of Egypt in the 1930s, including an eerie yet illuminating night spent alone inside the Great Pyramid. Alongside his explorations of ancient Egypt's monuments and gods, Brunton encounters a variety of occultists, fakirs, and dervishes, and even manages to become initiated into the deadly art of snake charming. His frank interviews with Muslim leaders remain relevant today, and his description of the Hajj reflects the beauty and inspiring faith of Mohammad's true followers. Brunton's journey to discover the furthest reaches of what the mind and body are capable of--and to distinguish various forms of yoga and magic from true spirituality--lead him to the myth of Osiris and to the mystery that is the Sphinx itself. In the end, Brunton turns his attention to his own spiritual path, connecting all of his experiences into a single discovery: that we are more than the body and that the freedom of our spirit can be experienced here and now. This new edition has been updated to incorporate Brunton's final revisions and includes an introduction by the Paul Brunton Philosophic Foundation. 

"Paul Brunton was a great original and got to a place of personal evolution that illumines the pathways of a future humanity." --Jean Houston, author of A Passion for the Possible and A Mythic Life

"Any serious man or woman in search of spiritual ideas will find a surprising challenge and an authentic source of inspiration and intellectual nourishment in the writings of Paul Brunton."--Jacob Needleman, author of What is God?

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781583949825
Publisher:	North Atlantic Books
Publication date:	11/24/2015
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	380
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

PAUL BRUNTON (1898-1981) is one of the twentieth century's most brilliant spiritual writers. He is generally recognized as having introduced yoga and meditation to the West. His books sold over two million copies in 17 languages. He was the most popular and authoritative source of information on Eastern philosophies, gurus, and meditation systems from the mid-'30s to the '60s. In 1954, he withdrew from public life and continued writing the material that was posthumously published as The Notebooks of Paul Brunton--a truly East-West spiritual philosophy. Written with the passion of an authentic pioneer and the thoughtfulness of a seasoned practitioner, his work is re-emerging as a beacon for all contemporary seekers.

Table of Contents

1 CHAPTER I: A NIGHT WITH THE SPHINX
2 CHAPTER II: THE DESERT GUARDIAN
3 CHAPTER III: THE PYRAMID
4 CHAPTER IV: A NIGHT INSIDE THE GREAT PYRAMID
5 CHAPTER V: WITH A MAGICIAN OF CAIRO
6 CHAPTER VI: WONDER-WORKING BY HYPNOTISM
7 CHAPTER VII: AN INTERVIEW WITH EGYPT’S MOST FAMED FAKIR
8 CHAPTER VIII: IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL!
9 CHAPTER IX: AN INTERVIEW WITH THE SPIRITUAL HEAD OF THE MUHAMMEDANS
10 CHAPTER X: IN THE PEACE OF OLD ABYDOS
11 CHAPTER XI: THE INNERMOST RITE OF EGYPTIAN TEMPLES
12 CHAPTER XII: THE ANCIENT MYSTERIES
13 CHAPTER XIII: IN THE TEMPLE OF DENDERAH
14 CHAPTER XIV: KARNAK DAYS
15 CHAPTER XV: KARNAK NIGHTS
16 CHAPTER XVI: WITH EGYPT’S MOST FAMED SNAKE-CHARMER
17 CHAPTER XVII: I BECOME A SNAKE-CHARMING DERVISH
18 CHAPTER XVIII: I MEET AN ADEPT
19 CHAPTER XIX: THE TOMBS: AN ADEPT’S SOLEMN MESSAGE
20 Epilogue
21 COMMENTARY ON EPILOGUE

Editorial Reviews

"Paul Brunton was a great original and got to a place of personal evolution that illumines the pathways of a future humanity."
—Jean Houston, author of A Passion for the Possible and A Mythic Life

"Any serious man or woman in search of spiritual ideas will find a surprising challenge and an authentic source of inspiration and intellectual nourishment in the writings of Paul Brunton."
—Jacob Needleman, author of What Is God? 

“ … an elaborate account of strange happenings and beliefs, A Search in Secret Egypt is an engrossing book.…”
—Times-Union [Brooklyn]
 
“It must be recorded to the lasting credit of Paul Brunton that what he has suffered and achieved very few people would ever be willing to do.… One cannot really help admiring his zeal for daring enterprise, his totally unbiased and critical mind.”
—The Leader [Allahabad, India]
 
“Mr. Brunton's book does not make us wonder whether there are not more things in heaven and earth than are known to our philosophy; it makes us certain that there are.”
—News-Review [London]
 
“For all his love of the untoward, Mr. Brunton clearly distinguishes between what is spiritual and what is magical or super-normal, and it is just this which makes his book not only a fascinating but a valuable guide to the hidden lore of ancient times.”
—The Inquirer
 
“ … his book remains fascinating as the account of a traveler far less prejudiced and much better instructed than the average. A Search in Secret Egypt contains many excellent pen-pictures of the Two Lands and their monuments, as well as numerous accounts of literally marvelous adventures in that 'temple of the whole world' we call Egypt.”
—The New York Times Book Review
 
“Believe it or not—this book will thrill you.”
—Washington Post

From the Publisher