This month’s book review is claimed by ‘Unposted Letter’ – a collection of insights to life by Mahatria. Let me warn beforehand that you will take a long time to finish this book. Not because it is a hard read. But for the sole reason that you will want to understand what is being said, introspect to see how well it relates to your life and take time to incorporate it immediately. This book does not unravel the mysteries of life or preach philosophy and religion. There is a high probability of you already knowing most of its content. What this book actually does is act as a refresher for all that we learnt as we grew up.
Daily life is a struggle, for everybody. Be it rich or poor, young or old. Each one has his own set of challenges. And in trying to cope with the responsibilities, we often find ourselves getting angry, stressed or depressed. But, there are times when we feel happy and contented too. In this state of buoyancy, we often rise above the mundane and wonder why human beings can’t be at peace with what they have. Why is there a constant greed for more? This brief period of enlightenment tells us not to want more but to do more. And we do try to act on it. For the whole of that day, we try to be a bit more patient, a bit more understanding and a bit more selfless. Unfortunately, the next morning we relapse into our usual state of neglect.
This is where the book helps us. It acts as a medium to reach the neutral state of mind, in a faster way. Each of the simple chapters tells us how we can lead a better life just by trying to be a better person ourselves rather than waiting for the whole world to change. Tolerance prevails as the main theme. An old song from the Hindi movie ‘Guddi’ beautifully summarizes the entire book in these few lines -
Humko man ki shakti dena, man vijay karein
Doosron ki jai se pehle khud ko jai karein
(Give us the maturity to gain control of our mind
Let us triumph over our evils before correcting the mistakes of others)
The general attitude when reading self-improvement books is to question and argue with the beliefs of the author. I am not condoning it. In fact, I have almost never accepted any philosophy without question. It is not arrogance. It is genuine curiosity to know the pros and cons of a subject in order to understand it completely. Some of the teachings in the book may seem contradictory. For example, one of the chapters says that “love is not love that pampers”. Love will constantly provide feedback so that you can improve on your shortcomings and become a better person. But another chapter says “Do not benchmark expectations”. Everybody has their positives and negatives. We must stop focusing on isolated qualities and start relating to the whole being. So, should you help others overcome their negatives or cut them some slack and choose to see their positives instead? Of course, mull over it a bit and you will understand that the teacher is asking us not to obsess over the flaws of your loved ones. What I am trying to say is do not take a cynical approach. Read the book with an open mind. You will have questions, which is a good sign, because you are taking the content seriously. However, do not stop there. Discuss it with family and friends, anyone you deem fit. Arrive at your own beliefs. You are fully allowed to develop your own opinion as long as you have arrived at it in a holistic manner.
I won’t dwell on why we should read this book because the reason for picking up a self-improvement book is self-explanatory. This particular book appealed to me because it is not heavy duty like most other books of this genre. It suggests making simple changes to everyday life which can be followed by anybody willing to make the change. I don’t recommend it as a must read. I recommend it as a daily read. Stay in touch with it until it becomes a part of you. Let your heart rejoice in its new found peace.
Daily life is a struggle, for everybody. Be it rich or poor, young or old. Each one has his own set of challenges. And in trying to cope with the responsibilities, we often find ourselves getting angry, stressed or depressed. But, there are times when we feel happy and contented too. In this state of buoyancy, we often rise above the mundane and wonder why human beings can’t be at peace with what they have. Why is there a constant greed for more? This brief period of enlightenment tells us not to want more but to do more. And we do try to act on it. For the whole of that day, we try to be a bit more patient, a bit more understanding and a bit more selfless. Unfortunately, the next morning we relapse into our usual state of neglect.
This is where the book helps us. It acts as a medium to reach the neutral state of mind, in a faster way. Each of the simple chapters tells us how we can lead a better life just by trying to be a better person ourselves rather than waiting for the whole world to change. Tolerance prevails as the main theme. An old song from the Hindi movie ‘Guddi’ beautifully summarizes the entire book in these few lines -
Humko man ki shakti dena, man vijay karein
Doosron ki jai se pehle khud ko jai karein
(Give us the maturity to gain control of our mind
Let us triumph over our evils before correcting the mistakes of others)
The general attitude when reading self-improvement books is to question and argue with the beliefs of the author. I am not condoning it. In fact, I have almost never accepted any philosophy without question. It is not arrogance. It is genuine curiosity to know the pros and cons of a subject in order to understand it completely. Some of the teachings in the book may seem contradictory. For example, one of the chapters says that “love is not love that pampers”. Love will constantly provide feedback so that you can improve on your shortcomings and become a better person. But another chapter says “Do not benchmark expectations”. Everybody has their positives and negatives. We must stop focusing on isolated qualities and start relating to the whole being. So, should you help others overcome their negatives or cut them some slack and choose to see their positives instead? Of course, mull over it a bit and you will understand that the teacher is asking us not to obsess over the flaws of your loved ones. What I am trying to say is do not take a cynical approach. Read the book with an open mind. You will have questions, which is a good sign, because you are taking the content seriously. However, do not stop there. Discuss it with family and friends, anyone you deem fit. Arrive at your own beliefs. You are fully allowed to develop your own opinion as long as you have arrived at it in a holistic manner.
I won’t dwell on why we should read this book because the reason for picking up a self-improvement book is self-explanatory. This particular book appealed to me because it is not heavy duty like most other books of this genre. It suggests making simple changes to everyday life which can be followed by anybody willing to make the change. I don’t recommend it as a must read. I recommend it as a daily read. Stay in touch with it until it becomes a part of you. Let your heart rejoice in its new found peace.
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