Quick Look
- This thought-provoking book from a key thinker considers the all-important question of the purpose of human existence
- Lachman draws on esoteric, spiritual and philosophical thought to form a counter-argument to today's nihilism
- By the acclaimed author of The Quest for Hermes Trismegistus and A Secret History of Consciousness
Drawing on esoteric, spiritual and philosophical thought, this book considers the all-important question -- why are we here? -- and offers a counter-argument to the current nihilsm prevalent in our world.
Description
Why are we here? Human beings have asked themselves this question for centuries. Modern science largely argues that human beings are chance products of a purposeless universe, but other traditions believe humanity has an essential role and responsibility in creation.
Lachman brings together many strands of esoteric, spiritual and philosophical thought to form a counter-argument to the nihilism that permeates the twenty-first century. Offering a radical alternative to postmodern apathy, he argues that we humans are the caretakers of the universe, entrusted with a daunting task: that of healing and repairing creation itself.
This is an important book from a key thinker of our time, addressing some of the most urgent questions facing humanity.
Reviews
'A worthy and important book.'
-- David Taylor, Psychical Studies: The Journal of the Unitarian Society for Psychical Studies
'This is a cracking book on a cracking subject by a cracking author.'
-- Lynn Picknett, Magonia Review of Books
'A compelling alternate vision in which the human spirit and the material world are both fully real and fully significant. Moreover, Lachman brilliantly argues that human beings have a significant role to play in bringing the entire world -- even the entire cosmos -- to completion and creative fruition... This is one of the most stimulating and significant books on the subject in years. The Caretakers of the Cosmos is an essential work for all who are curious about what makes us uniquely human, and about how we can all participate, each in our own way, in the creation of a fuller and more satisfying world.'
-- David Fideler, Parabola magazine
'[Lachman's] views are set out lucidly, engagingly, tentatively and accompanied by a cloud of illustrious witnesses from the Hermetic tradition and the the Kabbalah, to Blake and Goethe through to Berdyaev and Cassirer (amongst many others).'
-- Nicholas Colloff, Golgonooza blog
'I found Lachman’s user friendly treatment refreshing. Although the caretaker theme is common in enlightened circles such comprehensive expositions in this type of evolutionary context are rarer. Lachman’s depth of reading and research are admirable, and he weaves the story well, developing what is becoming increasingly obvious – that all of human history reflects the evolution of consciousness.'
-- Martin Lockley, Scientific and Medical Network Review
'This is a book not short of accessibility, guts and wry, dry humour… Caretakers of the Cosmos is about our relationship to each other, the planet and the Universe – which superficially might sound rather New Age. But as I hope you might realise by now, this book could hardly be further from such glib platitudes. It’s about consciousness, quantum physics, intention and engagement. In other words about the acceptance of a distinct role and a conscious commitment to it. If it all sounds like hard work, this might be the moment to remember that this relationship is about joy. But most - and to some of us, best - of all, is this book’s insistence on the ‘fallacy of [human] insignificance’. And indeed this is a far from insignificant book.'
-- Lynn Picknett, Magonia Review of Books
Author
Gary Lachman is the author of several books about the links between consciousness, culture, and the western esoteric tradition, including Rudolf Steiner: An Introduction to His Life and Work; Jung the Mystic: The Esoteric Dimensions of Carl Jung’s Life and Teachings; The Quest for Hermes Trismegistus; and A Secret History of Consciousness. He is a regular contributor to newspaper columns and radio programmes. A founder member of the rock group Blondie, in 2006 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He lives in London.
