Introducing My Book, Strings of the Soul

I’m writing this blog post to introduce to you my first book, a non-fiction titled Strings of the Soul.

A few days back, after dilly-dallying its publication and hoping to find a non-me publisher for a little over a year, I put it out on Amazon.com as a Kindle book (besides the Kindle reader, it can be read on any device supporting the Kindle app). My thoughts: better to suffer the ignominy of being a self-published author than allow the book to gather digital dust.

Not that it’s not gathering dust now: it’s one among millions of books carried in the mighty sweep of "the Amazon," hidden in some corner somewhere. But chances, however tiny they may be, do exist that it will be discovered, bought and (I sincerely hope) enjoyed by readers across ages and nationalities.

So let me talk about Strings of the Soul, which comprises 16 pithy chapters on a few things in life that really matter: Beauty, Wisdom, Truth, Love, Childhood and Happiness, among others.

(What follows reflects the Introduction to the book, plus some excerpts.)

As an evolved species, human beings have achieved great material progress and the wheels of science have rolled on long enough to blur the lines between fiction and reality. But somehow, things just don't seem quite right.

If we look around carefully, much of the wealth is confined to a few. Most people on the planet seem willingly or unwillingly indulgent in a massive loot, and we are caught in a global epidemic of greed. The poor want a little more, the middle class want a lot more, the rich want even bigger enrichment and the super wealthy want every goddamn thing!

The entrails of Earth are being churned viciously to provide for an accelerating cycle of greedy consumption. Social institutions and ethical values are undergoing monumental changes. And much more is getting produced than at any other point in human history.

Yet, in the midst of our apparent abundance, the human soul seems barren and hungry.

Who amongst us is taking pleasure in the scent of real flowers instead of gloating in artificial perfume? Where are the kindred spirits who spoke of such virtues as Truth, Love and Wisdom? How are we to experience the true joys of life through Nature's bounty when we are bent on shutting ourselves into concrete boxes in city upon city?

I agree that in the current structure of society, it is difficult to pull away from the lures of what most people deem a good life. But, what really is a good life? Is it just to have money to buy all kinds of stuff we probably don't need? Is it to flaunt the wealth generated from abuse of the planet? Or is it to live a decent life of quiet bliss and collective harmony?

I think it is time we took a hard look at our notions of goodness and ideas about what constitutes holistic – and not just materialistic – progress.

We are all children of joy but, alas, most of us end up as miserable adults – uncomfortable with who we become and what we achieve in life.

It wouldn't be to wise to become a Luddite, nor is it practical to try and reverse the march of industrialization (except, perhaps, make the march less indiscriminate). But it might not hurt to go over the pristine notions of a few things in life that really matter. To sit back, to take a little while and to think about the so-called abstractions: Beauty, Balance, Faith, Childhood, Happiness...and to consider how we relate – or want to relate – to them.

I do not profess to be a Buddha, nor are the thoughts expressed in my book free from flaws and faults. But I have put them down with a sincere and unabashed belief in some inherent, eternal things that make us what, according to an ancient Hindu text, sometimes even gods envy to be: human.

I hope this little pond of meditation will be able to nurture a few tiny ripples that can help us return to our truer, more celebrated selves.

Book Excerpts

Here are some thoughts culled from Strings of the Soul:

Wisdom is the knowledge that at any given moment, the right choice is the one that helps the most number of conscientious creatures. And what separates wisdom from mere knowledge is the courage and humanity to make that choice.

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Knowledge has to be acquired; wisdom comes.

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When you think of wisdom, there's a warmth in your mind. When you speak wise words, there's love on your tongue. When you do something wise, there's a silent applause all around you.

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Do not give me wisdom at the cost of kindness.

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I may be wise or I may not be. But if I profess to be wise, I might actually be a fool.

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Happiness is a state of mind, all right. But how do we attain it? For one, we should stop trying too hard – because it is that state of mind which requires the least amount of effort.

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Happy is he who laughs in the innermost sanctums of his mind.

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Never laugh at someone else's misery but always smile at your own troubles.

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Each time I see a child laugh delightfully, I know that nothing else in life can matter more than this. And that we must do everything in our power to keep her laughter alive.

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Laughter is the magic with which we can bring the dead to life.

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To cry sincerely is as important as to laugh freely. Perhaps more.

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Like misery, laughter loves company, but it does much more: it creates companions all around.

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The quality of our laughter reveals the constituents of our character.

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To my mind, there are three kinds of beauty: one that appeals to the senses, one that captures the intellect and one that touches our soul.

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The beauty that Character bestows on us surpasses everything else.

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Beauty doesn’t exist anywhere as a complete entity. But fragments of beauty can be found just about everywhere.

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A thing of beauty can enslave our mind just as we ourselves can be the master of something beautiful. Yet both the master and the slave can enjoy an amazing association with beauty.

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Nothing is too beautiful or too ugly for the senses to experience.

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I have learned that we must not always despise what people call ugly, and we must not blindly worship what’s thought of as beautiful. We can, of course, see true reflection of the ugliness or beauty of something through the prism of our mind – but only when it is steeped in the light of knowledge and the warmth of wisdom.

***

When I look at the world with a child’s eye, everything looks beautiful to me. And whenever and wherever I look at children – they just look beautiful to me. Children are one way that nature continues to replenish us with beauty.

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Beauty can make us laugh with pain; it can also make us weep with joy. Isn’t it remarkable that this is not a stark contradiction but a unique human experience?

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If you’ve read this far, you may want to go a bit further as well :) I’m giving the Amazon.com link to Strings of the Soul below: buy the book for yourself, for someone in your thoughts or maybe just share the link with your dear ones…

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W1WLJ6E

Book Review: The Soul of Leadership

At the heart of this book is the idea that leadership emanates from the core of our being

“In eight areas of your life you have the power to be guided by your soul,” says Deepak Chopra in this slim but significant book: “Thoughts, emotions, perception, personal relationships, social role, environment, speech and the body.” The bottomline is that in all of them our behavior affects the people we lead. If we evolve, so will they, he avers. And that's the basic premise on which Chopra builds his concept of leadership that is soul-driven rather than one that exploits people or their insecurities.

Given that the very term 'soul' is attributed more to religiosity than spirituality, it might put off readers not in a mood for religious sermons or some such. But Chopra clarifies what he means by this word within the first few pages. “When I talk about the soul, I'm not referring to the soul as defined by any particular religion...I believe the soul is an expression of an underlying universal field of consciousness,” he says.

Equating the soul with 'awareness', Chopra writes that at the soul level you are seamlessly connected with everything in the universe, to the silent domain from which all matter and energy spring.

In keeping with this explanation, the book often dips into the realm of spirituality or philosophy of the Paulo Coelho kind. At the same time, however, it does detail the principles of leading from the soul and provides useful tips to any leader willing to look beyond personal aggrandizement or material gains.

For one, Chopra hands the reader a map of sorts by spelling out L-E-A-D-E-R-S, with each letter of the acronym unraveling what it means to lead from the soul (L = look and listen; E = emotional bonding; A = awareness; D = doing; E = empowerment; R = responsibility; and S = synchronicity). In further explaining how each element works, he gives examples from the lives of prominent leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru and Nelson Mandela.

A very important building block that Chopra uses and adapts in the book is Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Recognizing the two overriding themes in our lives as 'needs' and 'responses', he says, “As a leader [of a group], if you are aware of the hierarchy of needs and their responses, you will be able to continue to respond effectively as the group's needs move up the scale from basic to increasingly spiritual.” This is the most powerful thing a leader can do, he affirms.

At times, the book tends to get a bit heavy and repetitive. But thankfully, Chopra has peppered it with some interesting anecdotes and titbits. Going into the roots of words, he points out that the word 'inspiration' is derived from the same Latin root as 'to breathe' and 'spirit': “When you inspire others, you motivate them to breathe together in the same atmosphere.” Tales such as the one from his own childhood in Jabalpur in a newly-independent India, in which Nehru, passing by in his motorcade in front of his house, tossed his lapel rose towards his mother (who thus acquired a special status in the neighborhood), make for interesting reading.

Then there are the inspiring stories of two entrepreneurs-leaders who created and nurtured two completely different but similarly 'soul-connected' organizations (Jeremy Moon of Icebreaker and Renata Black of Seven Bar Foundation).

The Soul of Leadership could be dismissed by some who cannot bring themselves to believe the ideas of universal connectedness and core human values, but it will be lapped up by the many who are hungering for something far beyond the clinically logical or transactional.

Bounce: An Amazing Book for Parents, Teachers...Anyone!

A quick review of a truly amazing book, Bounce, written by an equally wonderful author, Matthew Syed

After you read this book, you'll think a thousand times before making statements like “How talented that guy is; excellence is in his genes.” Or, “Oh, she's such a gifted child – no wonder she won the figure skating championship.”

Matthew Syed (himself a Commonwealth table tennis champion) bursts several myths and lays down the principles associated with extraordinary achievement: the popular but ill-conceived idea of talent as a mystic, elusive thing; the myth of the child prodigy (Mozart, Tiger Woods, Shakuntala Devi); the workings of a motivational spark; and the most important of them all – relentless practice.

Unlike the schmaltzy self-help books, Bounce reveals in beautiful precision the inspiring examples of world-class performers and players. What's more, the author relates how “purposeful practice” followed by champion sportsmen can be applied to business or society – and what a lot of good it can achieve. This book can indeed change the way we look not only at the wonderkids of sport but also at the defining principles of education and success.

I highly recommend it...