Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Publisher: TurnKey Press
Release Date: January 2004
ISBN: 0-974468-1-6
Awards:  
Format Reviewed: Trade Paperback
Buy it at Amazon
Read an Excerpt
Genre: Fiction – Religious
Reviewed: 2004
Reviewer: Kristin Johnson
Reviewer Notes: Kristin Johnson, the founder of PoemsForYou.com, released her second book, CHRISTMAS COOKIES ARE FOR GIVING, co-written with Mimi Cummins, in October 2003. Her third book, ORDINARY MIRACLES: My Incredible Spiritual, Artistic and Scientific Journey, co-written with Sir Rupert A.L. Perrin, M.D., is now available from PublishAmerica.
Copyright MyShelf.com

The Supreme Mystic
By Amal Bhakta


     Spiritual, soulful Amal Bhakta, author of The Supreme Mystic, spins an appealing portrait of a god reincarnated as a young boy, beloved by all, with talents that often baffle many, a gifted singer, dancer and musician. Much like many Messiahs, he has a difficult family history and endures a rough childhood. After all, he is taken from his real mother and father, who are imprisoned and tortured because of an Oedipus-like prophecy, and born to a foster mother. Krishna does release his real parents from years of heartbreak.

       Then, the demons sent by the evil King Kamsa, who kills seven of Krishna’s real mother Devaki’s babies, keep attacking Krishna, who saves his playmates from demonic snakes and storks. He conceals his true identity much as Clark Kent does his, and even manages to pull off the trick of duplicating his playmates, who have been put to sleep by Brahma as a test for Krishna.

      Although Krishna may be a god, he’s not an angel. He loves stealing butter and even gets punished! He wants to earn his foster parents’ love on a human level, much like Jesus Christ. In Bhakta’s tale, he doesn’t even have sex with 100 milkmaids as folklore salaciously recounts (the ancient Hindi version of the Enquirer). Only their adoration and worship is enough for him. He even blatantly flouts the strictures of his society in regard to male-female relations. Sound familiar? Look to Margaret Montreuil’s God in Sandals for a parallel with Jesus Christ. Krishna’s spiritual aims, however, are “to destroy all demonic leaders, replace them with virtuous monarchs, and reestablish spiritual principles.”

      Mystic, yogi and monk Bhakta conveys Krishna’s remarkable nature through a tale of heartbreak, sacrifice, boyhood escapades, ancient adventure, fierce demons and powerful goddesses, noble kings, queens and gods, and brave parents, including foster parents. All this pageantry and drama surrounds an ages-old confrontation of good versus evil, a rapacious demon reincarnated as a power-hungry king versus the divine Krishna, who has supreme mystic supernatural charm. Let Krishna’s flute sell out the Palladium. This reader looks forward to Bhakta’s sequel, The Supreme Warrior.