by James Traverse
Knowing via Being: You are That is a deep, comparative journey into non-duality (Advaita). Subtitled A Journey Through the Wisdom of the Ages, the book weaves together classical Eastern teachings (such as the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and Kashmir Shaivism) with the insights of modern spiritual teachers (like Ramana Maharshi and Jean Klein). Crucially, Traverse draws constant parallels to Western mystical traditions, demonstrating that non-dual realization is a universal human truth reflected in Christian mysticism, Jewish Kabbalah, and Islamic Sufism.
The book’s central thesis is that the Self (Atman or Brahman) cannot be known as an external object of experience; it can only be known by being it. Traverse asserts that all human suffering stems from ignorance (avidya) of our true nature, caused by superimposition (adhyasa)—mistaking our transient thoughts, bodies, and personal stories for our infinite, formless reality.
A Chapter-by-Chapter Guide to Knowing via Being
Introduction: The Fundamental Ignorance
Traverse lays out the root problem: we superimpose the unreal on the Real, mistaking the limited body-mind (“John” or “Mary”) for formless awareness. Using the metaphor of the ocean and the wave, he explains that while a wave has a temporary form and size, its true substance is water. When the wave crashes, the water does not die; similarly, when we stop identifying with our temporary form, we realize our birthless and deathless essence.
Chapter 1: The Rope and the Snake
Focusing on the classic Advaita story of mistaking a coiled rope for a snake, Traverse shows how illusory fear instantly dissolves when light is brought to the situation. He introduces the method of Neti Neti (“Not this, not this”). Through this systematic practice, the seeker peels away false identifications with the body, sensations, emotions, thoughts, and ego to reveal the silent, underlying witness consciousness. This is compared directly to the Kabbalistic concept of Ein Sof (the limitless, unnameable infinite).
Chapter 2: The Two Birds
Drawing from the Mundaka Upanishad, this chapter explores the metaphor of two birds sitting in the same tree. The first bird represents the active individual self (jiva) eating sweet and bitter fruits (experiencing karma). The second bird represents the true Self (Atman), which simply watches with perfect equanimity. Suffering ends when the first bird looks up and realizes that the two birds are actually one. Traverse links this with Christ consciousness and the Shabbat commandment to “rest in being” rather than doing.
Chapter 3: King Janaka’s Dream
Using the dialogue between King Janaka and the sage Ashtavakra, this chapter examines waking life as a masterful illusion. Both the dream-beggar and the waking-king are temporary projections; only the witnessing awareness remains constant across waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. Traverse parallels this with Jacob’s Ladder in Genesis, interpreting HaMakom (“The Place”) as the divine space of consciousness in which all worlds appear.
Chapter 4: Nachiketa and the Secret of Death
Based on the Katha Upanishad, this chapter tells of the courageous boy Nachiketa who demands that Yama (the Lord of Death) reveal the secret of what survives physical demise. Yama teaches that the Self is unborn, eternal, and deathless. Traverse connects this to Jesus’s conquest of death (“I am the resurrection and the life”) and the Talmudic story of Honi the Circle-Drawer planting a carob tree to transcend personal, ego-centric timelines.
Chapter 5: Shvetaketu and “Tat Tvam Asi”
Traverse explores Shvetaketu’s journey from intellectual pride to true wisdom. Shvetaketu’s father, Uddalaka, uses everyday metaphors—clay pots (which are only clay in reality), banyan seeds (which contain the invisible essence of a massive tree), and salt dissolved in water (which pervades the water invisibly)—to reveal the truth of Tat Tvam Asi (“That Thou Art”). This matches the Hasidic teaching of the Baal Shem Tov: Leit atar panui minei (“There is no place devoid of Him”).
Chapter 6: Arjuna’s Crisis and the Bhagavad Gita
Analyzing Arjuna’s battlefield paralysis, Traverse outlines the Four Yogas Krishna offers as paths to self-realization: Jnana (Knowledge/Inquiry), Bhakti (Devotion/Love), Karma (Selfless Action), and Raja (Meditation/Concentration). This triune pathway is mirrored in the Jewish Pirkei Avot: Torah (understanding/Jnana), Avodah (service/Bhakti), and Gemilut Hasadim (loving-kindness/Karma).
Chapter 7: Action in Inaction, Inaction in Action
Deconstructing Bhagavad Gita 4:18, this chapter explains that the true Self (Atma) is all-pervasive and inherently actionless, like space. Suffering arises when the ego claims doership. By cultivating “double awareness”—acting in the world while remaining anchored as the silent, untouchable witness—we achieve ultimate freedom. Traverse relates this to the Kabbalistic concept of Tzimtzum (divine contraction).
Chapter 8: The Quest of “Who Am I?”
This chapter focuses on the spontaneous self-realization of Ramana Maharshi during a death inquiry. It details the practice of Atma Vichara (Self-Inquiry)—tracing every thought and emotion back to the primal “I-thought” until it dissolves into the pure “I AM” presence. Traverse connects this with the biblical revelation of God’s name: “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh” (“I AM THAT I AM”).
Chapter 9: The Mahavakyas—The Great Statements
An in-depth study of the four “Great Statements” of the Upanishads that trigger immediate self-recognition. Traverse synthesizes Prajnanam Brahma (Consciousness is Brahman), Tat Tvam Asi (That Thou Art), Ayam Atma Brahma (This Self is Brahman), and Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman). He draws a beautiful parallel to absolute non-duality in Judaism’s central prayer, the Shema (“Hear, O Israel… the Lord is One”), indicating that there is only one true Existence.
Chapter 10: The Mandukya Upanishad—The Four Quarters
This chapter maps human experience using the sacred syllable OM (AUM). It analyzes the waking state ( Vaishvanara / A), the dream state (Taijasa / U), and the deep sleep state (Prajna / M). Beyond these three lies Turiya (the silent background, pure consciousness). This fourfold template is contrasted with the Kabbalistic Four Worlds of divine emanation.
Chapter 11: The Kena Upanishad—That Which Cannot Be Known
Traverse investigates “the ear of the ear, the eye of the eye”—the hidden, subjective power that allows our mind and senses to perceive. Through the Upanishadic allegory of the gods humbled by Brahman, Traverse explains that our powers do not belong to the ego. He matches this with the Hasidic practice of Bittul HaYesh (self-nullification), where we realize our independent existence is an illusion.
Chapter 12: The Isha Upanishad—Seeing the Divine in All
Focusing on the immanence and transcendence of the Divine (“all this is pervaded by the Lord”), this chapter highlights panentheism—recognizing God in all things and all things in God. Traverse equates this directly with the Shekhinah, the feminine, indwelling divine presence of Kabbalah.
Chapter 13: Meditation and Yoga Nidra—Pathways to Recognition
Traverse explains that practices do not create self-realization; they simply polish the dust of identification from the mirror of awareness. He details the effortless presence of Nididhyasanam (Vedantic meditation on the Mahavakyas) and Yoga Nidra (using conscious deep sleep to recognize Turiya). This is compared to Rabbi Nachman’s practice of secluded, heart-to-heart meditation called Hitbodedut.
Chapter 14: Jean Klein and the Ease of Being
This chapter describes the state of a realized sage (jnani) through the approach of Jean Klein. It introduces the “Yoga of Non-Doing/Listening,” neutral witnessing (Sakshi), and “the ease of being”—the natural state of alert, open presence that flowers spontaneously when we stop trying to “become” something else.
Chapter 15: The Sufi Path—Polishing the Mirror of the Heart
Traverse bridges Advaita Vedanta with Sufi mysticism. He describes the heart (qalb) as a mirror that must be polished of the “dust” of ego-identification. He maps the Sufi practices of Fana (annihilation of the separate self) and Baqa (abiding in the Real) as perfect parallels to Vedantic liberation, using Rumi’s song of the reed flute to illustrate our homesickness for the Divine Source.
Chapter 16: Knowing Via Being—The Pathless Path Home
In this concluding synthesis, Traverse reminds the reader that the spiritual journey has actually brought us nowhere because we are already exactly where we have always been. Liberation is not a future event or a special state; it is simply dropping the adjectives that limit you and resting in the eternal, silent now