The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari - Robin Sharma

Self Help Books are "preachy" and don’t generally resonate with me, except a few like the ones written by Stephen Covey. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari has been a "must-read" book recommended by many; I had it lying in my book shelf since a while but never got to read it. However the phase that I am going through possibly prompted me to read this one. And I must say that I am not in the least disappointed! In fact, I am now planning to explore some of the highly recommended self help books.

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari is an easy to understand guide for leading a simple and spiritual life. It talks about the key 7 virtues of life via a dialogue between Julian and John. Julian is a high profile lawyer; with everything going good his way until he collapses in the middle of the courtroom due to a massive cardiac arrest. Julian decides to leave the luxuries of his life in pursuit of true happiness and the real meaning of life. He returns after several years as a transformed and a healthier being. Julian narrates to John the learnings and the journey of his new life; and he also encourages John to follow the same. Some of them are bizarre (IMO!) but none of them are really new, all of us are aware of the basic fundamentals of life. Its just that we get sucked into the "rat race" and never get time to lead a proper life. The disillusion of a happy life misleads all of us into being someone we are not or into doing something we are not happy doing.

Julian teaches John the 7 virtues of enlightened living via simple stories. The 7 virtues are:

1. Master Your Mind

2. Follow Your Purpose

3. Practice Kaizen

4. Live With Discipline

5. Respect Your Time

6. Selflessly Serve Others

7. Embrace The Present

It’s a well written and quick read book. Recommended for those who are on the path of self discovery!

Most of the thoughts / quotes in this book are inspirational and deep. Here are some which I loved:

"An average person runs about 60,000 thoughts through his mind everyday and 95% of these are the same as the previous day! This is the tyranny of impoverished thinking"

"Even the best conditioned minds are using only 1/100th percent of their mental reserves!"

"These is no such thing as objective reality or real world. There are no absolutes. The face of your greatest enemy might be the face of my best friend."

"There are no mistakes in life, only lessons"

"Things are always created twice, first in the workshop of the mind, and only then in reality"

"When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all of your thoughts break their bonds: your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great  and wonderful world."

"Find out what you truly love to do and then direct all your energy towards doing it"

"Every second you spend thinking about someone else's dreams you take time away from your own"

"The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts"

"The purpose of life is a life of purpose"

"Lasting happiness comes from steadily working to accomplish your goals and advancing confidently in the direction of your life's purpose"

"Luck is nothing but a marriage of preparation with opportunity"

"You can never hit a target you cannot see"

"Stay focused on your purpose. The Universe will take care of everything else"

"Busy productive people are highly efficient with their time"

"Never be a prisoners of the past, become the architect of your future"

"Happiness is a journey, not a destination"

Myths & Legends of India - JM Macfie

Trust a foreigner to write a concise book on the myths and legends of Indian mythology! This book was lying in my old book shelf since a few years now - dunno how it landed there! Everytime I visited my parents house, I would plan to read this book...it never happened. During this trip, I actually got to read this book and even finish it!

I loved the Amar Chitra Katha comics which had really cool stories about Indian mythology - this book is along the lines of Amar Chitra Katha. It has a wide range of stories on Indra, Brahma, Rama, Krishna and a whole bunch of other deities.

Some snippets from the book:

There are four ages (yuga): Krita, Treta, Dwapara and Kali yuga, each lasting 1.728M, 1.296M, 0.864M and 0.432M years respectively. Each is an incremental multiple of 0.432M starting from Kali yuga. After each of these yugas the universe, cosmos etc is destroyed and re-created. One thousand such cycles equals 1 day of the Lord Brahma and Lord Brahma's life span is 100 years. Whew!

Gods and demons were born from the same father - Kashyapa, the mind-born son of Brahma. Kashyapa had eight wives. Aditi, the mother of the 33 Gods (12 Adityas, 8 Vasus, 11 Rudras and 2 Ashwins), Diti was the mother of the demons, Manu the mother of men and the rest were mothers of beasts, birds, trees etc. Amazing!

The Churning of the Ocean is an interesting story, which tells us that neither the gods nor the demons were immortals. So in order to gain immortality, both the gods and the demons decided to churn "amrita" from the sea of milk. They used the Mount Meru and the snake for churning the sea to produce the amrita, the elixir for immortality. However, greed got to the demons and they waged a war against the gods to keep the amrita for themselves. At this point Vishnu intervened and tricked the demons. However, Rahu demon managed to disguise himself and drink the amrita. The Sun and Moon noticed this and while the amrita was in Rahu's throat, Sun and Moon informed Vishnu who cut off Rahu's head…..although Rahu lived on, he has never forgiven Sun and Moon for being the whistle blowers and hence the eclipses! :D I love such stories….

The book is filled with stories about Rama, Savitri, Shakuntala, Agatsya, Durvasa etc. It is a quick read, because each chapter is a story in itself.

For someone from the younger generation who is interested in knowing all about Indian mythology, this book is a good starter. Why I say younger generation is because the "parents variety" would find this very superficial and very "English" flavored.

In Search of Sita - Malashri Lal & Namita Gokhale

  

Who was Sita? A goddess, a dutiful wife, a doting mother, a victim of the patriarchal society or a survivor? I had never given any thought on the role of Sita in Ramayana, till I read this beautifully written book. The book is a collection of essays, insights, various forms of Ramayana, role of Sita, characterization of Sita in modern times and snippets of dialogues with some of the well-known personalities who have done extensive research on Sita. It is a very different concept for a book - very well-written and a must read for the one and all!

Ramayana has 300+ variants, with different messages. While the Valimiki Ramayana, which we are all aware of, talks about the greatness of Rama and the wifely obedience of Sita and how Ravana lusted Sita and abducted her, there are other Ramayana's which throw light on why Sita was abducted.

In one variant, it is said that Sita was Mandodari's daughter. Mandodari had drunk the forbidden blood of the sage, to spite Ravana, because he did not pay attention to Mandodari while he was doing his penance. When Ravana returned from the tapasya, Mandodari was pregnant with Sita, so she hid Sita in a pitcher and sent her away. Sita was eventually discovered by King Janaka in Mithila.

In another variant, it is said that Mandodari had asked Ravana to get lotus from the pond to show his valor. When Ravana tried to capture the lotus, it kept moving away and finally he had to go underwater / to hell to retrieve the lotus. In order to get the lotus, he was asked to either build a ladder to heaven or to marry Sita. Ravana chose marrying Sita as he thought it would be easier….

Then another variant talks about Ravana being captivated by Sita's culinary skills rather than anything else. He had tasted her food which was carried by a crow!

And then there is this variant, which serves inspiration for all our Bollywood movies, where Surpankha has been insulted and disfigured by Lakshmana and ridiculed by Rama is also interesting. Surpankha is in her teens when this incident happens, she is enraged and seeks Ravana's help. In order to avenge his sister's insult, Ravana decides to abduct Sita - an eye for an eye! However, Ravana doesn’t molest Sita, instead treats her with respect and honor.

The book portrays Sita as a survivor - she was not a submissive wife. She had a mind of her own! When she was asked by her husband to prove her chastity once again when Luv-Khush and Rama were reunited, she flatly refused Rama and instead chose to leave him and return back to Mother Earth. One of the essays mentions that Sita challenged Rama publicly about the concept of chastity. Chastity is not a physical thing, but it is a psychological thing. And why was Sita alone asked to prove her chastity - wasn’t Rama also alone when she was abducted by Ravana? Why dint the people question Rama's chastity? In a patriarchal society, the woman is always questioned, she is the one who has to prove her innocence. Come to think of it, a woman who is promiscuous, is always looked upon like dirt, she is an outcast...but at the same time a man with the same "qualities" is not an outcast! 

The book has some heart wrenching stories, based on Sita, especially the one where the husband accuses his wife of infidelity based on what he has overheard from the drunk dhobi!!

Even today some of the traditional songs sung during marriages tell the bride to be pure, to be coy, to be submissive and what not! Gender equality will become a reality when the men who aspire to have brides like Sita, will themselves want to emulate Rama!

All in all, a well written book with a wide variety of insights about Sita - a must-read esp for the male chauvinists :)

Innovation and Entrepreneurship - Peter Drucker

A complete WOW! No wonder Peter Drucker is 'the GOD' in the management world. Rather than review the book, such books should be summarized and the key points should be used as a framework!

It’s a must read book for understanding how innovation should be cultivated and what enablers are needed from the govt, society and people to cultivate innovative and entrepreneurial thinking. For the ones, including me at times, who think that entrepreneurship is not his cup of tea, this is what PFD has to say " Entrepreneurship is behavior rather than personality trait, its concept and foundation lies in concept and theory rather than in intuition

The first part of the book explains the principles and framework of innovation. PFD says that in order to innovate systematically, one needs to explore the seven sources of innovation opportunities:

(i) The unexpected - failure/success/outside event

(ii) The incongruity

(iii) Innovation based on process need

(iv) Changes in industry or market structure

(v) Demographics

(vi) Changes in perception, mood and meaning

(vii) New knowledge, both scientific and non-scientific

While the first four happen within the enterprise or industry, the next three are observed outside the industry. The examples mentioned in this book for each of the seven sources are brilliant - right from Macy's to IBM.

Some of the key things to remember for innovative thinking:

(i) In order to practice innovation, one needs to systematically scan and analyze the various opportunities.

(ii) In order to be innovate, one must go out to look, to ask and to listen! And serial innovators are dexterous in their thinking i.e. they are both left brained and right brained.

(iii) The innovation will be effective only if it focused and simple

(iv) Effective innovations start small - they cannot be grandiose!

(v) Successful innovation aims at leadership, and not necessarily at becoming eventually a big business

And some of the key things to remember to avoid are:

(i) Don’t try to be too clever in your idea, whether design or execution :)

(ii) Don’t diversify, stay focused

(iii) Innovate for the present, not for the future

The second part of the book explains entrepreneurial management - how to hone it in a person, in an enterprise and in a society.

And the last part, which I found the most interesting, talks about entrepreneurial strategies. And these are:

(i) Being "Fustest with the Mostest"

(ii) "Hitting them where they ain't"

(iii) Finding and occupying a specialized "ecological niche"

(iv) Changing the economic characteristics of a product, a market or an industry

In order to understand and absorb all these key points, there are very interesting case studies which cannot be skipped. All in all there is a wealth of information for the minds which want to be innovative and entrepreneurial.

Games Indians Play - V Raghunathan

This book is definitely not for the weak-hearted Indian - it is a hard hitting book. The book tells us (Indians) what is wrong with us, it cuts into your wounds with a sharp knife and twists it in all possible directions! Trust me, if you are a "hard core" Indian, then as the author rightfully mentions, this is not a book for your reading. Although I disagree with some of the points mentioned by the author, I loved the innovation in the writing. The author has used theories and frameworks from Economics to better understand Indian behavior. The author-cum-professor, or I must say professor-cum-author simplifies game theory in this book and narrates very simple everyday examples / scenarios which help the reader understand the concept of game theory and thereby, Indian behavior. However, at times the book does go into circles explaining game theory, Indians tendency to defect at every given opportunity etc.

Some of the incidents shared by the author are absolutely hilarious. Imagine if you come across a person at the airport queue who tries to break the queue. And when you confront him, he flips the situation around asking you if you are in a hurry to go somewhere, or he says well all of us are boarding the same flight!! I would definitely fall in the trap of not knowing what to do. The one incident which I found absolutely hilarious was that of the author declaring all the goods (cash, watch etc.) when he disembarked a domestic Air India flight. I just cannot imagine how the customs officer must have reacted.

The author does a fantastic job in explaining the Prisoners Dilemma Payoff Matrix and other frameworks in behavioral economics. How many times have you encountered situations where your Indian colleague "hides" information to get some brownie points over you, in front of the manager? How many times have you come across a situation where people cut across the queue at the airport check-in counter? How many times have you visited one of the best malls or restaurants in the city, and found the toilet in an "un-entering" condition? How many times have you come across people glaring at you on the streets? How many times have you seen people litter the hallway of a mall, theatre, airport? How many times have you seen your office's common area / cafeteria being littered with food? Well I can go on endlessly, but the answer is "SEVERAL TIMES". I completely agree when the author points out some of these embarrassing incidents. However, I think these situations are relevant only to a certain section of our society - mainly the ones who have access to opportunity, who have been exposed to the worldly wise tales! How and why should you expect the people to obey the queues when they barely get their subsidized benefits by standing in long queues, and when they need to fight to get there first so that they don’t miss on that day's benefits? Similarly the people who do not have basic hygiene conditions cannot be expected to utilize the public places properly. All of this comes via experience and education. So a generalization of Indians having trust issues and not being team players is not entirely true. The particular strata that the author is addressing in this book is typically the strata which has access and exposure to opportunity. If that would have been scoped out, I would completely agree with what the author says.

It would be interesting to use the same frameworks and theories and apply them across the various cultures at a global level. It would be a giant research but worth reading for sure!

Non Stop India - Mark Tully

Mark Tully opens the book with his experience of Ambassador ride back in the 80s in Yamunanagar. The car broke down because there was a radiator leak, the mechanic fixed the leak 'temporarily' by putting turmeric powder. Does this happen in India? Very much! Mark Tully has stitched together the various dangers ahead for us as a nation, which we need to tackle effectively to make the "India story" a reality.

Mark Tully doesn’t shy away from bringing out the harsh realities that we are today facing as a nation. He very rightfully points out that the Jugaar approach - coined by Swaminathan Aiyar as a positive spin Indian to innovate isn't necessarily the right thing because jugaar also attributes to taking shortcuts, shoddiness and a "quick" fix. The book brings out the fact that numbers are not what they should be - according to WHO, people with 1 dollar income in India are considered below the poverty line and we have 42 percent of people below poverty line in India. However, if you calculate the number of people with 2 dollars as income, the figure rises to 76 percent!

Mark Tully very beautifully weaves the facts facing Indian society today. He starts from the Naxalite movements which are rampant across certain pockets of India, he then gives a very strong perspective on the caste system. Our entire country today runs on the vote bank system which is primarily governed by the caste system. How the dalits have been establishing their own identity, with the rise of political leaders like Mayawati, and how slowly but steadily they are influencing some of the major political decisions in the country. However, there is still a lot that needs to be done to break the perception barrier amongst the people where caste is concerned. In the chapter "Ramayana Revisited", Mark narrates the rath yatra led by Mr Advani, the BJP leader which had adverse effects on the religious equilibrium in the country. Akin to the great epic of Ramayana, the rath yatra was run to instigate the religious sentiments of the country, thus helping the BJP to their own political advantage. Building Communities and Farming futures is all about the various initiatives done at the grass-root level. While some initiatives like NREGA have been started with the intent of helping the rural poor, the stark reality of the execution of the program which exists today is very different! Additionally, in our country the majority of people are still involved in farming as an occupation. While there are various companies which are helping farmers by getting into contract farming, there are some companies which have done so only to establish their manufacturing plants in those areas. In the next couple of chapters, narrations about the importance of English and how the British left a mark of that in India, which in the long run has helped us, have been illustrated. And from there on we are introduced to the great entrepreneurs of this country - the Tatas. The history of Tata steel, and how it has helped transform the country is very insightful and crisply written. From entrepreneurship, we are taken into the forgotten land of the North East, and the challenges that the people of those states face today cannot be ignored for long. And lastly, Mark Tully focuses on the environmental issues and the dangers of extinction of the tigers from India.

The book touches a wide variety of topics and gives a brief overview of the various issues burning in India today: the naxal movement, caste and its role in the governance of the country, the blind faith in religion , the semi-failure or failure of the various initiatives at the grass-root level, the neglected parts of the country and the environmental issues are some of the pressing concerns for India. While the book gives a good breadth of these topics, it fails to cover the depth of each of these issues. It is a good narrative of the problems at hand for India today; however it does not attempt to give a solution or dwell deeper into the problem. However, it is a well written book especially for readers who would like to get a good concise summary of the larger part of India today, which definitely does not include the IT world!

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!!