THE ALCHEMIST

                             A FABLE ABOUT FOLLOWING YOUR DREAM

                  Author-Paulo Coelho

         A review by RAJESH CHANDRA

 “ When you want something, the entire Universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

It is a story of a Shepherd who is contented in his world of Sheep and little wonders of the world and follows his recurrent dream to his destiny through the wisdom of a Old King  who teaches him to read the Omens and to believe in his dreams and destiny.

A series of dreams takes him to a dream reader who points him to the direction of his destiny of treasure. His dreams bring a wise old King to him who ignites the flame in him to find the treasure and follow his dreams to his destiny. With the adage-  “ When you dream and set out to your destiny, the entire Universe conspires to achieve it for you.”, the Shepherd gets his wise adviser in the old King  who teaches him about the world of dreams, destiny, omens and universal language of the nature.

The protagonist risks his entire possession in pursuit of his dreams and set out on his journey to follow his dreams even walking past the girl whom he has dreamt about for an year. He crosses into an alien land with alien language, religion and culture; it was Egypt, the mighty  Arab land of Desert and Pyramids.

He is tested by his destiny on his strength of conviction to his dreams. Robbed off all his possession, he works hard in a crystal shop and earns enough to cross the desert. Here his destiny favours him and the owner of the crystal shop in which he works too. And he learns his next lesson, Perseverance on the path of dreams pay off more than what you ever risked. Also, that some people stop short of their destiny and amass the means to achieve it and then remain stagnant and rooted short of destiny.

He, once again is at the cross roads, whether to  return back and be satisfied of a comfortable life but short of his destiny or to go on trail of his ultimate destiny risking his possessions and life across the mighty desert. He chooses  to follow his dreams again and becomes a part of a caravan. He learns the ways of Camels and the Caravan, the omens of the desert and reaches a Oasis where he finds the next love of his life. He gets rooted on the oasis due to  a war between the tribes. Here he finds Fatima, the girl of the desert who becomes a part of his destiny.

The Shepherd meets  an Alchemist whose eyes show the strength of his soul and inspires him to read the omens of the desert and he guides him to explore his capabilities to converse in the universal language. The boy, in adversity learns in communicating with the elements of the desert, the wind and the sun. These elements in turn guides him to his inner self, the hand that made the world.

After arming with the language of the nature he sets out to his destination of treasure, the pyramids. Here the Universe conspires again to bring his destiny closer and is tested close to death and whispers the secret of treasure. The man who chose to shun his dreams, gifts his destiny to the Shepherd.

The Alchemist is the one who has mastery over the nature of metals; they can change metals  into Gold but the real Alchemist is one who can play with the forces of nature itself and shape his own destiny rather than the destiny of few metals. This book is full of deep insights and may this book lead to the discovery of Alchemist in You.

            RAJESH CHANDRA

The Book

   Of

 Secrets

 ( Author- Deepak Chopra )

    A review by Rajesh Chandra.

The Book of Secrets by Dr.Deepak Chopra is a book of universal spiritual secrets with a difference. It consists of 15 secrets assorted as chapters. The book plays its role as a magnifying glass to magnify the minute secrets of spirituality unfathomable to an ordinary person. The secrets encompass various dimensions of soul, philosophy,science, psychology, healing, universal macrocosm and microcosm.

The various Chapters as Secrets are:-

• Ø    The Mystery of Life is Real.
• Ø    The World is in You.
• Ø     Four Paths leads to Unity
• Ø    What You seek, You already are.
• Ø    The Cause of Suffering is  Unreality.
• Ø    Freedom tames the Mind.
• Ø    Every Life is Spiritual.
• Ø    Evil is not your Enemy.
• Ø    You Live in Multidimensions.
• Ø    Death makes Life Possible.
• Ø    The Universe Thinks through You.
• Ø    There is no Time but Now.
• Ø    You are truly Free when you are Not a Person.
• Ø    The meaning of life is Everything.
• Ø    Everything is pure Essence.

The author seems to be diving deeper than most of the religious founders in exposition of secrets connecting the Soul, Mind and body to science, psychology, poetry, creativity, positivity, negativity and the Universe. It is a more than a Self Help book in its endeavour to convince the intimate  relationship of the Universe with every objects and living being as its subsystem. The projection of mind ,the perceptions, reality and unreality concepts reminds one of the ancient Hindu scriptural concepts although the author has peeled off the religious leanings and has stuck to objectivity.

The analysis of belief, reality, perceptions, self image, pain , suffering and cementing of suffering by the magician mind is beautifully narrated with examples and followed by its dissection and practical exercises to tame and cope it.

A special mention has to be made about the secrets revealed about good-evil, predetermination- freedom, Vidya-Avidya, and life-death companions,

           Some of the enchanting aphorisms  dug out from among the secrets are:-

Apoptosis- “ For every cell, there is a time to live and a time to die.”

Perception is the world; the world is perception.

Being a creator is more important than the whole world.

Everything I am experiencing reflects myself.

The Universe is mirror of consciousness.

You are living in many dimensions at once; the appearance of being trapped in time and space is illusion.

Whatever I pay attention to will grow.

You are dying every moment so that you can keep creating yourself.

The purpose of death is to imagine yourself into a new form with a new location in space and time.

The absolute break between life and death is an illusion.

The Universe thinks through You.

Even as motion is inherent in the air, manifestation is inherent in the consciousness.

            It is a book of treasure  for every spiritual enthusiasts, philosophers, seekers who want a peep into the realm of beyond, psychology enthusiasts, self help freaks, healing enthusiasts, atheists, agnostics and religious fanatics who want to have a speck of real spirituality

            Even the spiritually blind can have some vision of deep connectivity of the self to the universe. Its the book of transformation. The author’s impeccable logic , facts and insights lead you to your inner trip of knowledge. A must read book for your MIND.

Rajesh Chandra

                                    The freethinker’s

     Prayer Book

  And some words to Live by

     Author- Khushwant Singh

           A review by Rajesh Chandra

          

             Its an agnostics  peep into the spiritual sphere. Khushwant Singh, the dirty old mischievous man, as he likes himself to be portrayed as, reveals an entirely different persona, who has a penchant for beyond the horizon.

            This book comes from a man who is in his 90’s and staring into death's eyes boldly, fully contended, not scared of an eternal hell waiting to burn him or enthusiastic about heavenly afterlife.

            The agnostic in him appreciates the magic of poetry, aphorism, songs and maxims from the stalwarts of the spiritual world. He has shared this space with the mavericks, founders of religions, mystics, philosophers, messiahs, prophets, saints, statesmen, Poets, Avatars , across religion, geography and timeline.

            The collection spans over many years recommended by his friends, visitors, inspired from books and other sources.

The book is divided into four parts-

1.The Books and other Holy Texts.

2. Prophets, mystics and Saints.

3. Philosophers, Poets and other Wordsmiths.

4. One Last Miscellany

            The book starts with a rationale for agnosticism and a mild critique of religions as they have become prescriptive, intolerant, violent and prejudiced. Apart from the outer hard shell of exclusiveness, religions still share some common thread of spiritual and moral moorings

            Khushwant traverses from the hymns of the Rig Veda, Upanishads, Bible, Quran, Guru Granth Sahib, Avesta to the poems of Keats, Maxims of Kabir, Hafiz, Manzur, Mahavira, Victor Hugo, Oscar Wilde, Tagore, Khalil Gibran, Confucius and many more thinkers and philosophers.

                              Some of my favourite maxims that find a space here are:-

                  

                                    He whose mind is free from anxiety in the face of suffering,

             Who is indifferent to pleasure as to pain

             Who is beyond passion ,fear, anger and hate

             He alone is the most excellent sage.

             *** The Bhagvad Gita ***

                   Whosoever destroys a soul,

                It is considered as if he destroyed an entire world.

                And whosoever saves a life,

                It is considered as if he saved an entire world.

                 *** Hillel the Elder ***

                     If God has spoken,

           why is the universe not convinced?

             *** Percy Byssche Shelley ***

                     Is God willing to prevent the evil but not able?

               Then he is not omnipotent.

                Is he able but not willing ?

                Then he is malevolent.

                Is he both willing and able?

               Then  whence cometh evil ?

                Is he neither able nor willing?

               Then why call him a God

                 *** Epicurus***

                           He that gives should never remember.

                     He that receives should never forget.

                    *** The Talmud ***

                The author has penned down his own life codes with an emphatic emphasis on  Ahimsa or non violence. Many of the universal quotes can be found scattered on the internet. But Khushwant's  lucid presentation of  insightful  precepts through the eclectic poetic words of mystics, mavericks, eccentrics and poets will be a inspiration, entertainment and treat to the discerning readers.

                Enjoy the different role of the grand old man of Indian literature in an entirely new version.

*** Rajesh Chandra ***