Man's Search For Meaning - Viktor Frankl

• He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how!
• Don’t aim at success, the more you aim at it and make it your target the more you are going to miss it
• Success cannot be pursued, it must ensue and it only does as the unintended side effect of one's dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself.
• Life is not a pursuit of pleasure, it is not a pursuit of power but it is a pursuit of meaning
• Suffering completely fills the human mind and soul. Think of a gas chamber - irrespective of the size of the room, the gas will fill the room evenly. Similarly human mind and soul is such that irrespective of the size of the suffering, it spreads across the entire body and mind. Hence the "size" of human suffering is relative
• If everything is taken from you, you still have a choice: to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way of how to react to a situation
• That which does not kill me, makes me stronger
• No one has the right to do wrong, even if wrong has been done to them
• Suffering is not in one's control, but how one reacts to suffering is completely in one's control
• Everything great is just as difficult to realize as it is rare to find

What a range of beautiful and meaningful quotes! It is a soul wrenching experience of Viktor Frankl. Viktor was one of the millions of victims of the holocaust. He suffered under the Nazis and the Capos in three different concentration camps. He suffered and yet he survived where the chances of survival were 1 in 26. The book is about his experiences in the concentration camps and his will to stay alive because he had to achieve a purpose - to reunite with his wife and also to share his experiences to the world. The Holocaust is a reminder to each one of us that human race is capable of stooping down to such unimaginable atrocities. It is not about Hitler alone, but about the entire army of his followers, and even worse the prisoners who were promoted to work as Capos and make the other fellow prisoners suffer. The book is written in two parts, in the first part Viktor talks about his experiences in the three concentration camps. In the second part of the book, he talks about logotherapy - a psychoanalysis technique invented by Viktor himself.

Right from the first time when Viktor is on the train, and he along with his fellow passengers realize that the train is not stopping at Auschwitz, which was known to be the most brutal concentration camp, there is actual happiness and joy amongst all the people. The delusion of reprieve - the false optimism can play wonders on human mind. All the fellow passengers knew that their fate was sealed, but they were happier to be in a less brutal concentration camp, they were happy that they could prolong their fate for a longer time! The entire environment of concentration camps was unimaginable - imagine men cuddled up together without even an inch of space to move around when you are asleep! Using mud-soaked shoes as pillows, grabbing the clothes, shoes, SHOE STRINGS of the dead person. After back-breaking hard work in the fields, each of the prisoner was given only 290 gms of DRY bread and less than a litre of watery soup. The atrocities imposed by the Nazis on innocent people, just because they were of a different race is something which I can never comprehend!

The book leaves one to think about the complex human race and mind! The mindset of the Capos is truly a reflection of the 'survival of the fittest'; however can one be so ruthless as to be brutal to the extent of being inhuman towards fellow mates, just to survive! Leaves me speechless. The book also makes one reflect on what is one's purpose in life, what is the meaning that one is pursuing, what is that one thing that drives human mind. If you can identify that, you will have a more meaningful life rather than just drifting with the flow!

One of the best books I have read after Ann Frank! Hats off to people like Viktor, they survived and emerged out of the nightmare! The ones who did not, they were brave enough to meet their end with dignity rather than becoming Capos and succumbing to the lowest possible level of brutality!

The Holocaust is a lesson to mankind which cannot be forgotten ever! The Hate Crime imposed during The Holocaust should be a constant reminder to one and all that mankind is capable of stooping to any level of atrocities and such people are capable of wiping off civilized societies!!