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The Autobiography of a Schizophrenic man

by Lama Surya Das (Goodreads Author)

2.5 of 5 stars 2.50 · rating details · 4 ratings · 0 reviews

This book gives us the rare and meaningful insight that is not often to be found in the world of psychiatry and mental health, an area which even today a large proportion of society still associates with stigma and shame. The main reason the author chose to devote his time to this project was to help raise awareness about mental health, particularly in India. This book is This book gives us the rare and meaningful insight that is not often to be found in the world of psychiatry and mental health, an area which even today a large proportion of society still associates with stigma and shame. The main reason the author chose to devote his time to this project was to help raise awareness about mental health, particularly in India. This book is invaluable in that it presents a patient’s perspective to the reader, shedding new light on the amount of suffering a mental illness such as schizophrenia can cause. The quality of mental health care in India, the social stigma arising from such an illness when described by someone who has firsthand personal experience makes a greater impact.

One of the greatest successes of the author in writing this book is in the lucid way he presents his material. We, as the reader, are taken on a journey of the life of this man right from his earliest school days till present, we read and learn about the author as a young boy, a student, and as a young man when the first symptoms of his illness begin to manifest. We then follow the whole course of the authors’ struggle with his illness, his slow, then rapid decline, and then recovery. Throughout the entire course of the narrative the author does a brilliant job of explaining the thoughts, the experiences and the struggle he experienced as a victim of mental illness in such a way that the reader is unable to read without empathizing and question how it would feel if their own mind were to turn against them in such a way.

The mental health care available in India is another pertinent question that this book raises , true we have come a long way from the days of asylums and isolations, with social acceptability slowly increasing and treatments now being much more effective and available , we still have a long way to go, to reach all those who are suffering. There is a dire need for increased awareness about mental health throughout India particularly in rural areas, an issue which needs to be taken up at the national level. Works like this help to forward the cause ...more

Kindle Edition , 44 pages

Published May 16th 2012

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About Lama Surya Das

Lama Surya Das is one of the foremost Western Buddhist meditation teachers and scholars, one of the main interpreters of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, and a leading spokesperson for the emerging American Buddhism. The Dalai Lama affectionately calls him “The Western Lama.”

His most recent book is Make Me One with Everything: Buddhist Meditations to Awaken from the Illusion of Separation. He is well Lama Surya Das is one of the foremost Western Buddhist meditation teachers and scholars, one of the main interpreters of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, and a leading spokesperson for the emerging American Buddhism. The Dalai Lama affectionately calls him “The Western Lama.”

His most recent book is Make Me One with Everything: Buddhist Meditations to Awaken from the Illusion of Separation. He is well known for his internationally bestselling Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World and the sequels in the “Awakening” trilogy, Awakening to the Sacred: Creating a Spiritual Life from Scratch and Awakening the Buddhist Heart: Integrating Love, Meaning and Connection into Every Part of Your Life. His other books include:

Buddha Standard Time: Awakening to the Infinite Possibilities of Now
The Mind Is Mightier Than the Sword: Enlightening the Mind, Opening the Heart
Natural Radiance: Awakening to Your Great Perfection
Buddha Is as Buddha Does: The Ten Transformative Practices of Enlightened Living
The Big Questions: How to Find Your Own Answers to Life’s Essential Mysteries
Letting Go of the Person You Used to Be
Awakening the Buddhist Heart: Integrating Love, Meaning,
Natural Great Perfection: Dzogchen Teachings and Vajra Songs, with Nyoshul Khenpo
The Snow Lion’s Turquoise Mane: Wisdom Tales from Tibet

Lama Surya Das has spent over forty years studying Zen, Vipassana, yoga, and Tibetan Buddhism with the great masters of Asia, including the Dalai Lama’s own teachers. He is an authorized lama and lineage holder in the Nyingmapa School of Tibetan Buddhism, and a personal disciple of the leading grand lamas of that tradition. He is the founder of the Dzogchen Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts and its branch centers around the United States. Surya has brought many Tibetan lamas to this country to teach and start centers and retreats over the years. As founder of the Western Buddhist Teachers Network with the Dalai Lama, he regularly helps organize its international Buddhist Teachers Conferences. He is also active in interfaith dialogue and charitable projects in the Third World, and has recently turned his efforts towards youth and contemplative education initiatives, what he calls “True higher education and wisdom for life training.”

As a sought after speaker, Lama Surya Das teaches and lectures around the world, conducting meditation retreats and workshops. He is also a published poet, translator, and chant master. His blog, “Ask the Lama,” can be found at www.askthelama.com and his lecture and retreat schedule are listed on his website www.surya.org . Follow him on Facebook--Lama Surya Das--and Twitter--@LamaSuryaDas.
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More about Lama Surya Das...

Books by Lama Surya Das

Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight Steps to Enlightenment

Letting Go of the Person You Used to Be: Lessons on Change, Loss, and Spiritual Transformation

Buddha Is as Buddha Does: The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Living

Awakening the Buddhist Heart: Integrating Love, Meaning, and Connection into Every Part of Your Life

Awakening to the Sacred: Creating a Personal Spiritual Life

More…

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