Book Review-11: "Billion Dollar Lessons" by Chunka Mui and Paul Carroll

Billion Dollar Lessons: Chunka Mui and Paul Carroll look at the flip side of Jim Collin’s study of successful companies (Good to Great) and how they got there. In this book, Mui and Carroll take a point look at corporate failure. They review case studies showing how companies, who were sailing along nicely, blew it.

http://rblb.wordpress.com/2008/10/15/book-review-billion-dollar-lessons/

Courtesy: The New Indian Express, Chennai, Oct.16, 2008.

Grateful thanks to The New Indian Express and rblb.wordpress.com.

Book Review-10: “Philosophy and Science of Value Education in the context of Modern India”

Philosophy and Science of Value Education in the context of Modern India
Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Gol Park, Kolkata-700029, E-mail: rmic@vsnl.com
2006
x + 332 pp.
Rs.50/-

If by ‘education’ is meant ‘character-building’ and ‘man-making’, then value education is the crying need of the hour. Value education is needed not only for students in various educational institutions but also for all human beings in all stages and walks of life. How to do it constitutes the theme of this book, which contains thoughtful addresses delivered by twenty dignitaries, including educationists, scientists, media persons, monks, and philosophers, at a national seminar held at the Institute of Culture.

The seminar comprised six academic sessions with fourteen papers presented, discussions on twelve of those papers, two panel discussions, and inaugural and valedictory sessions, held over the course of two days in January 2005. In his address of benediction, Swami Ranganathananda, fourteenth president of the Ramakrishna Order, says: “The problem for India in the modern age is the assimilation of the forces released by science, technology, and democracy, which are being grafted on to her traditional tree. The success of this experiment depends upon two factors: one, the vitality of the spiritual sap running in the tree, and two, its hospitality to the new forces contained in the grafts’.

In his inaugural speech, Prof.Kireet Joshi points out that yoga is a valid means for realization of values. Dr.Saibal Gupta draws our attention to the daivi sampad, a detailed catalogue of universal values that appears in the Bhagavadgita. He also narrates how Niels Bohr, the famous physicist, had deep interest in some ideas of the Upanishads, an interest that was shared by Erwin Shroedinger. The Indian value system is based on the experience of the unity of existence. The doctrines of innate human divinity and oneness of existence, according to Swami Atmapriyananda, have the potential for ushering in a new world order. According to Prof.J.S.Rajput, the term ‘value education’ implies valuable education, education through which humans are enlightened. An education based on the Upanishads, Gita and yoga is valuable because it enlightens.

The topics covered in the volume range from the plight of family values in modern times, to scientific, genetic, and political aspects of value education, to value-based leadership and the role of the media. Unfortunately, a number of careless typographical; errors litter the pages of the book; more careful proof-reading would improve a second edition.

Every participant has contributed to the literary and knowledge content of the book. It is recommended especially to our political leaders as a wide-ranging treatment of a vitally important subject.

Dr.S.C.Goswami
Former Reader in Chemistry
Dayal Singh College, New Delhi

Courtesy: ‘Prabuddha Bharata’ (Awakened India), English monthly from the Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata, April 2008 issue.

Grateful thanks to Dr.S.C.Goswami and ‘Prabuddha Bharata’.

Book Review-9: “Search after Happiness” by Swami Ramakrishnananda

Search after Happiness
Swami Ramakrishnananda
Ramamrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai-600004
E-mail: srkmath@vsnl.com
2006
iv + 195 pp
Rs.32/-

The book under review is a revised edition of two notable publications of Sri Ramakrishna Math, The Message of Eternal Wisdom and The Ancient Quest, bringing together the plenary wisdom of Swami Ramakrishnananda, one of the foremost disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. It contains fourteen lectures of the eminent swami delivered between 1893 and 1911, one of which lends its title to the book.

The search for happiness begins from birth. Strangely, a higher standard of living is accompanied by a steady erosion of peace and happiness. This is a global phenomenon.

The search for happiness should begin with the basics: What constitutes life, existence, death, body, mind and soul, maya, consciousness, and reality? Without this fundamental understanding, a search for happiness in the psychophysical plane becomes a futile ex, bringing together the plenary wisdom of Swami Ramakrishnananda, one of the foremost disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. It contains fourteen lectures of the eminent swami delivered between 1893 and 1911, one of which lends its title to the book.

The search for happiness begins from birth. Strangely, a higher standard of living is accompanied by a steady erosion of peace and happiness. This is a global phenomenon.

The search for happiness should begin with the basics: What constitutes life, existence, death, body, mind and soul, maya, consciousness, and reality? Without this fundamental understanding, a search for happiness in the psychophysical plane becomes a futile exercise. Swami Ranganathananda addresses all these issues; his convincing presentation of these concepts will infuse confidence in the distressed. He explains:

Our present life is ‘only a tiny chapter in a big volume whose beginning as well as end is the one eternal God’. We are only dwellers in the body and should quit it when it becomes uninhabitable. Wants number in the millions; one cannot satisfy all of them. The ‘flame of desire … increases with enjoyment’. If we have many wants, we are never happy. We need to realize that we are masters of and not slaves of desire. The self is not the body but exists everywhere in the body; it is also distinct from the emotions that bathe the body and mind. The ‘real man’ is infinite, without hunger, thirst, or desires. Religion is necessary ‘for the foolish as well as the wise’. Also, multiple religious faiths are necessary and inevitable.

The book covers topics like ‘Who am I’, ‘Mind and Maya’, ‘The Necessity of Religion’, and ‘Is a Belief in Transmigration Consistent with Reasoning’, and appropriately concludes with a focus on the divine life of Sri Ramakrishna and the ‘universal doctrine’ he unfolded. Despite an orthodox upbringing, Sri Ramakrishna was not a ‘religious aristocrat’. He demonstrated how orthodoxy must blend with liberalism and how Truth is not the monopoly of any person or nation.

The search for happiness is not an endless journey if the path unvei8led by the Great Master and presented by Swami Ramakrishnananda is adopted. This moderately priced book will be valuable to young and old. – P.S.Sundaram, Mumbai.

Courtesy: ‘Prabuddha Bharata’ [(Awakened India), (English monthly magazine from the Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata)], April 2008.

Grateful thanks to Mr.P.S.Sundaram, Mumbai for the excellent review and ‘Prabuddha Bharata’ for publishing it.

Book Review-8: "Yoga and the Sacred Fire"

Yoga and the Sacred Fire: Self-Realization and Planetary Transformation
David Frawley
Motilal Banarsidass, 41, U.A.Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi-110007.
2006
xviii + 291 pp.
Rs.195/-

Human civilization is often supposed to have commenced with the invention of fire. It is the use of fire that made it possible for human beings to give up a nomadic way of life and to establish communities. The story of human civilization is nothing but the development of human settlements, from villages to towns, cities and nations.

The concept FIRE itself has a deeper meaning. Physics tells us that fire is the most subtle form of visible energy and dominates the physical world, so much so that an entire branch of physics called thermodynamics is devoted to it. Apart from this gross meaning, fire also has a subtle meaning, which covers all of human existence. It is the unraveling of the deeper meaning of fire that is the theme of this book.

The book commences with the study of the concept of AGNI as described in the Vedic texts. The very first mantra of the first mandala of the Rgveda is in praise of Agni. It is Agni who is the chief priest in any ritual sacrifice. He is also the messenger who conveys the essence of all oblations to the gods in the heavens. Without him a ritual sacrifice or YAJNA is impossible. There are innumerable Vedic mantras in praise of Agni, attesting to the prominent place accorded to it by Vedic culture.

Frawley then moves on to the manifestation of fire in the mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms. Agni represents consciousness present in all these forms of creation. But the most explicit manifestation is in the human realm. Frawley discusses these ideas in great detail, the fire of breath, and even the presence of the fire principle in the human voice.

In an interesting interpretation , Frawley compares the eight limbs of Raja Yoga to eight fires and establishes a relationship between fire and yoga. This theme is further elaborated by incorporating concepts from Ayurveda. All yogic practices are linked to fire, because all of them should lead to the realization of the Divine Fire within us. The text closes with a discussion on a new planetary approach to yoga and the postulate of a new Sacred Fire, symbolizing a new consciousness.

The book encompasses within its pages a plethora of new ideas which ask to be explored in greater detail. In this sense, Frawley has opened up fresh paths for a reinterpretation of the Vedas and yoga. The book deserves serious study.

Dr N V C Swami, Dean of Academic Programmes, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, Bangalore

Courtesy: ‘Prabuddha Bharata’ (English monthly from Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata), March 2008

Grateful thanks to Dr NVC Swami and ‘Prabuddha Bharata’

Book Review-7: SRIMAD BHAGAVATA – An Introduction by Shri R.Ravi Shankar

SRIMAD BHAGAVATA – An Introduction
By Swami Tapasyananda
Published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai
2007
pp.114
Rs.20/-

Once again, Sri Ramakrishna Math has brought out a little, handy book titled, “Srimad Bhagavata – An Introduction” by Swami Tapasyananda. The Bhagavata is the most celebrated of our Puranas (“narratives of ancient times”), consisting more than 18,000 verses and also occupies a central place for all the followers of bhakti movement. The book consists of 8 chapters. It begins with the Origin of the Puranas, followed by Their Principal Features and Contents. The subsequent chapters described the Date of Bhagavata, Sri Krishna and the Bhagavata, the Bhagavan in the Bhagavata, Philosophical outlook, the Problems of Modern Readers arising from the Pauranika outlook and the Supra-historical Validity of the Puranas.

The book highlights the efficacy of Bhakti movement and love. The language of the book is lucid and simple, yet powerful and effective. It contains 114 pages and is priced at a nominal rate of Rs.20/-. The book is mainly descriptive without illustrations.

All in all, the book is certainly a valuable addition to the Hindu lore. This will be a useful book for one who wants to get initiated in our Puranic literature.

Courtesy: ‘Yuva Bharati’, March 2008

Book Review-6 : MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE OF WORSHIP

“MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE OF WORSHIP”
Meaning and Explanation by Swami Achalananda
Compiled by Swami Muktidananda

Published by Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Yadavagiri, Mysore-570020, Karnataka, 2007, Paperback, pp.213, Rs.50/-

Science without its practical application, confined to books and academic discussions, is of little use to a commoner. Religion without practice, too, confined to scholarly expositions and dry theories, is of little use to a commoner. A man of religion must be a man who practices religion, does spiritual practices earnestly and steadily.

Among all the well-known spiritual practices, ritualistic worship (puja) occupies the most honourable place. Puja is a combination of a number of visible and invisible activities which a worshipper takes up for his or her spiritual benefit. While ‘doing’ a puja is easy, doing it with awareness and total involvement is not. One requires understanding of what one is doing. This is what this book attempts to do – to explain the meaning of puja and mantras in order to make the whole process of puja spiritually fruitful and fulfilling.

The book is based on the compiler’s class notes taken during the classes conducted in 1985 by Swami Achalananda, a scholarly monk living in Mysore Ashrama then. The Swami was well versed in the theory and practice of ritualistic worship. His short introduction to the book ably highlights the purpose of the book. The compiler, Swami Muktidananda (then a novice) has carefully preserved the class notes, giving them the present shape.

Based on the earlier book on similar subject (Worship of Sri Ramakrishna published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai), the present book gives English meaning (including a word-by-word meaning) of the mantras along with their transliteration. A detailed flowchart describing successive steps of puja as well as lit of Upacharas (acts or things offered in order to honour a deity) add additional value to the book. “Become Divine in order to worship the Divine’ – the idea underlying all steps in puja – has been well brought out through the scholarly annotatio0ns and explanations. However, a note on the symbolic meaning of mudras (which the book skillfully describes but does not explain) could have been added and one looks forward to it in the second edition.

Four appendices by Swamis Nikhilananda, Prameyananda and Bhajanananda, all eminent monks of the Ramakrishna Order and well-known for their insights on this subject, also make the book valuable.

The book has an attractive get-up and is neatly printed. Besides being useful for the spiritual aspirants, lay as well as monastic, the book is an excellent addition to the existing literature on this subject.

Reviewed by Vedanta Kesari Office

Courtesy: Vedanta Kesari, March 2008

Book Review-5: ‘Book of Verse’ by Ruskin Bond

Book Review: ‘Book of Verse’ by Ruskin Bond
Penguin Books India P Ltd
11, Community Centre
Panchsheel Park
New Delhi-110 017
Rs.160/-

Reviewed by Prema Nandakumar

There has always been a poetic elegance in Ruskin Bond’s fiction which he has been blending in choice flavours for nearly six decades. It is then natural that here is also some of the humdrum conversationalese of prose fiction in his poetry. For the first time he has chosen the medium of verse for publication. Why so? He says the poet was always in him when he had wished to become a writer, “but having to make a living from the written world, he became a writer chiefly of prose, for as we all know, you can’t make a living writing poetry.”

Nature

Apparently an established can sell poetry. Ravi Singh knows his market well. Blest be the publishing industry! Else we would not have had this Panchatantram animalia and allow nature to be our teacher.

“Most lives run riot –
But the bud
opens silently.
And flower gives way
to fruit.
So must we search
For the stillness
Within the tree.
The silence within
the root.”

Certainly a lesson for us caught in this cacophonic world of human affairs. Bond has helpfully divided his poems under various headings like love and nature and we enjoy the vignettes with a smile. Tikkies and chat eaten on the sly; second-hand goods shop that has “tales of hundred failure/And ten hundred broken dreams”; granny climbing a tree; and if we thank the Lord for having given us mangoes and fishes to eat, it falls within reason for a bedbug to express gratitude to the Creator for providing it with luscious human things, “those nooks and crannies/Where the blood runs sweet.”

Charmed circle

The charmed circle of the Bond-narrative has held us in thrall all these years. The mountains generous with purring streams and crumbling buildings, forlorn cemeteries and eerie ghosts have become our companions.

The Book of Verse flings alike a net of charm. The pages are brief, sometimes an entry is just four lines, but the rasa flows into our heart – be that of a child, a youth, a middle-aged commuter or a toothless ancient, bent over his walking stick.

Bond is the universal writer who makes us relax and watch the lone fox dancing, a bat flying quite low, the firefly in the room, the hooting owl, the snail, the snake, kites, and tigers; oh, is so much of flora and fauna left on the Earth in spsite of man’s acquisitive nature and deadly pesticides? Good to know that you can still hug a deodar, blow a kiss to the cherry, and muse upon the tapping of an oak tree.

The verse cluster, “A Song or Lost Friends” has seven sections for the seven notes of music. An autobiographical fragment carrying the private tragedies of a very public World War, Bond’s aethesis leaves us waving silently:

“Goodbye, Goodbye!
Into the forest’s silence,
Outside the dark tunnel,
Out of the tunnel, out of the dark….”

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, February 5, 2008 (Book Review)

Book Review-4 : "Ayurveda and the Mind" by Dr David Frawley

This book has been planned in four parts:

(i) Ayurvedic psychology or yogic mind-body medicine;
(ii) The energetics of consciousness;
(iii) Ayurvedic therapies for the mind;
(iv) Spiritual applications of Ayurvedic psychology: the paths of yoga.

What all these four parts discuss is ‘personality’. But ‘personality’ is a multivalent, subtle, and exotic term whose meaning has eluded some of the finest psychologists of the past. Dr.Frawley’s is an interesting, thought-provoking, and highly readable account of what the Indian system of Ayurveda has to say about ‘personality’.

That Ayurveda classifies constitutional types as vata, pitta and kapha is well known; but what this means is not often clear to the modern reader. A statement like ‘Vata governs movement and is responsible for the discharge of all impurities both voluntary and involuntary’ is crisp, clear, and readable. The same can be said about the three gunas. Not many know that sattva is intelligence and imparts balance, rajas is energy and causes imbalance, and tamas is substance and creates inertia. Dr Frawley has explained the Ayurvedic concepts and terms in the contemporary idiom – and there lies his credit.

As this book is mainly a guide to healing, it dwells at some length on etiology and treatment from the Ayurvedic viewpoint. The all-important role of ahara (diet) is well discussed. Ahara is not merely what we chew and eat but whatever we incorporate through our senses. This concept comes very near to the psychoanalytic concept of introjection/incorporation/interiorization. The book also has an interesting chapter on mantras. Mantra is a well-known word with an ill-known meaning. Anybody studying this book will get a clear idea of what mantra is and how it can affect our health, for better or for worse. Last, but not least, is Dr Frawley’s explanation of ashtanga-sadhana, the eight-fold practice of Raja Yoga. The concept of ‘meditation’ has been described with characteristic clarity.

Dr Frawley has given us another valuable book. One word of caution, though: The book discusses many ideas, and the reader has to proceed carefully and slowly. This volume needs to be read with both head and heart.

“AYURVEDA AND THE MIND” by Dr David Frawley
Published by Motilal Banarsidass, 41, U A Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi-110 007. e-mail: mlbd@vsnl.com. 2006. 346 pp. Rs.250/-
Reviewed by Professor Somnath Bhattacharyya, Former Head, Department of Psychology, Calcutta Uni9versity
Courtesy: Prabuddha Bharata, December 2007

Book Review-3 : "Consciousness: A Deeper Scientific Search"

Despite the ongoing ‘meaningful dialogue’ between spiritual scientists or experientialists and physical scientists or experimentalists all over the world, the riddle of consciousness has defied an unambiguous solution till date. It is perhaps destined to be so for the simple reason that philosophers and scientists can discuss consciousness only within the realm of duality or maya. Therefore, they have not been able to give a precise description of consciousness which not only permeates the visible universe but also transcends it. According to Vedanta, the objects of the phenomenal world are like small whirlpools in the infinite ocean of consciousness; they appear for a while only to disappear, and reappear again; and the process goes on for ever. But the problem remains: How does one consciousness appear as many?

Twenty-two renowned scientists and scholars, including representatives of the major religions of the world – Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism – have made a very bold attempt to answer this and many other related questions about the nature and location of consciousness, through their presentations and discussions at a seminar held at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Gol Park, from 13 to 15 January 2006, the proceedings of which are presented in the book under review. This seminar is the third in the series of international seminars dealing with the theme of consciousness organized by the Institute; the earlier two being ‘Philosophy and Science: An Explanatory Approach to Consciousness’ and ‘Life, Mind and Consciousness’ held in February 2002 and January 2004 respectively6.

Prof.Samdhong Rinpoche, Chairman of the Central Tibetan Administration of the Dalai Lama, has rightly raised a doubt whether consciousness – which is completely different from matter – can at all be scientifically researched. He equates consciousness with the realization of shunyata, which is the central theme of Buddhism. His concern is shared by Prof.M.G.K.Menon, who suggests that higher levels of consciousness should be scientifically investigated to the extent possible using time-tested methods.

The book gives vivid descriptions of the personal experiences of the experientialists as well as experimental details of the experimentalists in connection with consciousness. The panel discussions that follow the presentations reveal both he questioners and the panelists at their best. At the end of the seminar the following points emerge: (i) Consciousness is all-pervasive. It is non-dual. (ii) It constitutes the foundation of all value and all knowledge. (iii) It is ineffable. It is an experience of ‘wonder’. (iv) Modern science, especially quantum mechanics and neurobiology, can provide only some useful hints about the nature and seat of consciousness. For example, when consciousness shines on the substrate – metal or plant or animal or human – the degree of reflection would vary depending on the substrate. It is least reflected in the mineral kingdom, and fully reflected in a Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. The experiments conducted by Prof.J.C.Bose, and later the well-known double-slit experiment conducted with the help of the electron gun, are also suggestive of the all-pervasive nature of consciousness.

Swami Prabhananda forces the reader to ponder over not the mysterious vastness of the universe but also the mystery of humanity.

The book is interesting, inspiring, and useful for the general reader as well.

“Consciousness: A Deeper Scientific Search” – Eds.Jonathan Shear and SP.Mukherjee

Published by Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Gol Park, Kolkata-700029. e-mail: rmic@vsnl.com. 2006. x + 538 pp. Rs.200/-
Reviewed by Dr.S.C.Goswami, Former Reader in Chemistry, Dayal Singh College, New Delhi
Courtesy: Prabuddha Bharata, December 2007

Book Review-2: "One Red Paperclip" by Kyle MacDonald Kyle

MacDonald had a paperclip. One red paperclip and a dream. And bills to pay. Oh, and a very patient girl-friend who was paying the rent while he was once again ‘between jobs’. Kyle wanted to be able to provide for himself and his girl-friend, Dominique. He wanted to own his own home. He wanted something bigger than a paperclip. So he put an ad on Craigslist, the popular classifieds website, with the intention of trading that paperclip for something better. A girl in Vancouver offered him a fish pen in exchange for his paperclip. He traded the fish pen for a doorknob and a the doorknob for a camping stove. Before long he had traded the camping stove for a generator for a neon sign. Not long after that, avid snow-globe collector and television star Corbin Bernsen and the small Canadian town of Kipling were involved, and Kyle was on to bigger and better things.

In ‘One Red Paperclip’, Kyle takes you on a journey around the globe as he moves from paperclip holder to homeowner in just 14 trades. With plenty of irreverent and insightful anecdotes and practical tips on how you can find your own paperclip and realise your dreams on your own terms. Quirky and inspirational, this story of a regular guy and a small, red, now-legendary paperclip will have you looking at your office supplies and your life in a whole new way.

(Source: Amazon.com )(Youth Express, Wednesday, August 15, 2007)

Book Review-1: A delightful Book-Review from Vedanta Kesari

Some book-reviews make delightful reading. I found this particular book review not only delightful but also very funny and thought I would post it on my blog for the benefit of everybody else. An excerpt from Book Review in Vedanta Kesari, October 1990 of “Knowledge, Freedom and Language” by D.P.Chattopadhyaya:

“DP is at once the darling of the academicians and despair of readers of general philosophy and social sciences. Obviously, he is aware of it as is evidenced by his delightful observations in his “Acknowledgements”. He writes: “At different stages of preparing the essays collected in this volume, I have been influenced by three members of my family in different ways: Supriya, my daughter-in-law, and my most fierce critic, never ceased to remind me how biased and prejudiced I am in all human affairs, domestic as well as academic. Debabrata, my son, all along a silent critic of mine, could hardly conceal his wonder at the ‘futile’ labour of his ‘otherwise sensible father’ on writing a spate of ‘unreadable’ books on philosophy. Sohini, my grand-daughter, and the lone supporter at home, often sitting on my writing desk and taking away my pen and papers, tried to convince me ion vain how NOT to write useless things.”