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Showing posts from October, 2016

Book Review: The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma

The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari is a very engaging fable which teaches as it delights. Through the chief protagonist Julian Mantle’s life story readers come to know the timeless virtues of enlightened living. Through the use of symbols, Robin S. Sharma has been able to objectify and deepen the teachings which otherwise may have seemed as dull morals. With the revelations of Julian Mantle the meaning of life is revealed to the readers. In the story Julian gets a wake-up call, a massive heart attack which was symptomatic of materially-sick life. He ventures into the timeless tradition of the East. He meets Yogi Krishnan of Kashmira in India and learns from him that every event has a purpose and every setback its lesson. He also learns that life is all about choices. One’s destiny unfolds according to the choices one makes. He finds Yogi Raman, the chief sage of Sivana whose life was one of simplicity, serenity and harmony. From him, he learns that self-mastery and the constant ca

Book Review: Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Siddhartha, the chief protagonist of the novel is a seeker after truth of life. He explores it in the Bramanic tradition which he feels lacks systemacy. Then, he moves among the Samanas and finds their system as temporary escape from the torment of life. In the Buddha’s teachings, he finds overall satisfaction except that “it does not contain the secret of what the illustrious one himself experiences.”   Siddhartha concludes that what he seeks cannot be acquired from teachings or teachers but must be acquired from contact with the world. When he turns to life among the people, he encounters the river and the ferryman, Vasudeva who takes him across. He spends the night with the ferryman and with the river which seems to speak to him. As he proceeds to the city he encounters the beautiful courtesan Kamala, who agrees to teach him the art of love. Kamala also explains to Siddhartha that he must become a wealthy man if he is to court her favour. Siddhartha becomes an assistant to t