Well, a lot of stuff comes from people who write about them, not from them. They also deal with the moral and psychological domains, which is often confused with philosophy. I am talking about fundamentals. not about "love thy neighbor as thyself." Though it is fashionable to say that all religions lead to the same goal. Buddha, Jesus and RM did not say the same things at all, which makes it even more difficult. At least the disagreements between Brian Greene and his colleagues will be at a different level, and they will agree on all the fundamentals. Once the religious leaders were gone, their followers split into various groups, each claiming they are the true branch.
If you are talking about philosophers, yes, there is some merit. The book quotes Plato (or was it Socrates) who said we experience only a shadow of reality. I suppose you will correlate that with Maya. But these are just good examples of speculative thinking - today we need much more physics and math behind the claims, and separation of human abilities from the physics of the Universe. Though it may be true that quantum mechanics implies a universal thread running through everything, it does not mean a 3D biological entity like us will ever be able to grasp it.
My dear chap, you keep mixing something *else* up with what you are criticizing. I can never pin you down to exactly what you are arguing about or saying is false. You keep coming out with some vague "love thy neighbour" thing which may have been very appropriate in some context.
You can read as many books on Buddhism or any ism as you want but you will
never get it just like someone who keeps looking at the finger and not what is being pointed to.
Anyone who has practiced looking, knows that Jesus and Buddha and RM and Nisargadatta and many others are pointing at the
same one thing. Their analogies may vary.
When Christ says "Be still and know I am", or some Buddhists talk of being in the Now, or the Hindus speak of abiding in the "I am"/beingness/consciousness, these are all identical pointings. Only one who has practiced to the point of having insights knows that they are all identical.
One who has read the entire Vedas/Upanishads and whatever else will keep nitpicking on words and other question-answers. Thousands of people asked questions to these people and their answers and recorded but that is not their basic teaching.
e.g. RM's teaching or instruction was basically self-enquiry which is a practical thing, not a belief or philosophy. But the lay-person will take up each and every question he answered and claim that to be his philosophy.
In each major religion you will find the pointing. Otherwise there was no point going around teaching something that would merely entertain, or help pass time. However, it is my speculation too that the pointing was missed which is why *immediately* followers would have built up their religion around the instruction. Once you make the "finger" into your religion, no doubt people will fight and kill each other over their version of the pointing finger, never seeing where it is pointing.
Anyone, who practices keeping the mind still (as Christ said) or self-enquiry or keeping the mind in the Now,
to the point of insights, knows that when Jesus or Krishna etc say "I" or "I am" or "i am the way", or "take refuge in me", that it is not a physical body that was spoken of as "I". We have glimpsed that which was spoken of, or rather which was spoken
from.
Ironically, many of us have actually come to this insight
independently, which further validates this. I was an atheist, and then went to books to confirm, and found confirmations all over. What is shocking is that religions have got lost in blind-faith and missed the pointing. This is something so enormous that it is mind-boggling that it is such a "secret".
The Gita is more like a practical manual, with clear instructions, not something to be mindlessly repeated.
All your great scientists (some of them are my faves too such as Hawking), are using their authority from one area to debunk something they have never experienced.
Let me just summarize all this in case you glossed over it. There is actually something that is pointed to, something very practical. It is not some nice chicken soup stuff to keep in your mind and keep repeating to be happy. Their is actually a shift, a dimensional shift, that happens when you come out of the mind-stream and are anchored in the present moment/Now/consciousness.
You can choose to remain lost in the mind-stream or be free and see what is here.
