Book Review: "Japa Meditation -The easiest way to calm the mind" by Chandrika Shubham

There are many times in our lives when chance conversations lead  to something greater and usher in a new path, wonderful beginnings, oftentimes when you were least expecting such a pleasant surprise. Such was my chance conversation with author and avid blogger Chandrika Shubham which led me to start my journey of awakening my inner self through meditative bliss.

This wonderful lady, is the author of three books on very deep, philosophical subjects namely; ‘Japa Mediation- The easiest way to calm the mind’, ‘Simple Vastu’ and ‘Saral Vastu’. You can check out her blog at Chandrika Shubham : A reserved chit-chatter

I’d like use this opportunity to talk about Chandrika’s latest book on ‘Japa Meditation- The easiest way to calm the mind’. In today’s fast paced lifestyle, freedom from stress and living a happy life seem to be a Utopian dream. The challenges to finding your spot of calm in an ever demanding world are something that everyone can attest to. So what if you were given a step by step guide, which was so simple to follow, just like a conversation with a trusted friend or adviser?

Wouldn’t you jump at such a wonderful opportunity? This is exactly what this wonderful book is. A step by step guide to calming your mind, experiencing meditative bliss and improving the quality of your mental well being by following the guidelines outlined in this book.  The book has easy to understand and very relate-able anecdotes told in a very simple style that helps cement the concepts talked about.

Meditation is a very complex subject which most individuals find very hard to adopt in their daily lives. This book brings to the reader the basics, presents tried and tested methods and serves as a complete friend, philosopher and spiritual guide. If you want to experience the benefits of greater mind control, increase your concentration and improve your general levels of happiness then this book is for you. 

Another aspect that I found worth mentioning was that the author has laid special emphasis on inculcating these values in children as well. She talks about various mind control exercises when practiced lead to greater focus and concentration in children which I’m sure would be a boon in terms of improving attention levels toward studies and arming children form a very young age to develop an inherent coping mechanism with stress and challenges.

I’ve written this poem below which brings out the essence of this amazing book in a few lines.

The guide to ultimate peace of mind

Break away from stress of every kind

Adopt the path to self realization

With the age old secrets of meditation

Begin your journey of meditative bliss

Age old wisdom simplified in easy to understand tips

Awaken your inner self

A positive way of life for yourself

Light up your life

Experience freedom from every strife

Let the meditative light

Transform your life; shining bright

Dreams, Seasons and Promises

Manohar Devadoss is truly one of the greatest people I've ever had the fortune to interact with and learn from. This poem titled Dreams, Seasons and Promises depicts my thoughts and feelings after reading his poignant book of the same name illustrated with his photographs and art .This is an ode to his courage and fortitude. I am truly inspired by him. 

What adds the magical spark to life’s every memory?

And turns them into cherished melodies

Hope that makes one nurture a dream,

Changing seasons like the course of a stream.

Like the magical Oberlin days,

Simply wondrous in so many ways

Camping out in the wild west,

Some of the best memories in your treasure chest

Anyone can make hay in the sun,

But true magic lies in braving all odds and emerging the one.

It is both of your courage and courage alone,

That turned every darkness into a new light and shone.

The promise of togetherness,

Through each and every crisis

You are truly persons of all seasons,

Who can make the world smile where others see no reason.

Dreams are like mirrors into our souls,

When snatched it takes forever to become whole.

Some came true, some shattered,

Yet you triumphed all odds, never once battered.

My dreams did not come true too,

But to chase new ones and to make the best of everything that comes I am inspired by you.

Book Review- Born to Run- Christopher Mc Dougall

Book- Born to Run

Author- Christopher Mc Dougall

Genre- Non fiction; A true adventure story

Running has really being getting attention in all part of the country nowadays. Earlier, one rarely heard of everyday people training for marathons. Switch to today, and marathon training has become a serious business. Corporate barons, employees can all be seen competing with veteran trained runners. It's the new way to bust stress, build endurance and say hello to a fitter, healthier new you. So it was but natural that I was scouring the internet for a must read book for amateur runners.

One lucky day, I chanced upon the Amazon's list of 100 must read books in a lifetime, and Born to run seemed to call out to me saying "Pick me up! I'll change your life!!!". It's really ironic that I only picked up Born to run to read when I was banned from running. I had just been initiated to the joy of running doing 5K's, 10K's and had begun training for my first half marathon when I was advised to stay away from running.

In this real life true adventure story Christopher Mc Dougall take us to the land of the ultra-runners to witness the greatest race the world has ever seen. In my opinion, its not just the best book on running, but the best book on life! The author talks not just about running but about life, building endurance, evolution and even nutrition all through a riveting true story. 

All through my life, whenever I'd face tough times I'd always wonder- 'Why me?'. This book gave me the answer I had been seeking for ages- building endurance! Now when a challenge is thrown my way its 'Yay me!' instead for I eagerly look to spot the hidden opportunity in a trial and seek to learn something new and be a better person.

I fail to understand why most great names have reviewed this book as only the best book on running when its actually the best book written on life ever! I'm amazed that it touches upon everything-  right from how to be a better person, lead a happier fulfilling life, to nutrition (eat like the poor is my mantra now), human evolution and yes running!

I cherished each word of this book I'm really looking forward to the day when my ban on running gets lifted and I can put on my running gear again (since I will be starting from scratch I think I'll still need shoes, but you can bet they definitely won't be Nike :-)!!!).

If you love running, then this is a must read. Even if you don't, read it for the amazing life lessons it has to offer. I wrote a small poem after reading this book which summarized my feelings after reading this book. 

The image is sourced from here. The poem is mine.

It's an image of the author Christopher Mc Dougall running in free flight.

Author Bio: For more on this amazing book and the author bio visit his website here. 

Book Review- Wings of Fire

Book: Wings of Fire

Author: Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam with Arun Tiwari

Genre: Autobiography

I had been meaning to read this book ages ago but somehow engrossed in the daily run of the mill activities, finding time to do anything related to reading was proving to be a big difficulty. Then one fateful day, while dusting the family bookshelf I came across this this book lying untouched beckoning me.  I was looking for inspiration. My life seemed mundane. The spark gone. Setbacks in life to your dreams often make you look for sources to rejuvenate you. This book was perfect and the lesson's I learnt I'm sure will add immense value to my career and personal life.

The first and foremost aspect I loved about this book was that it was the best account I have ever had the good fortune to read not only of Dr Kalam's life but also of my motherland's odyssey into space.

The depth and the details were truly insightful and I felt so connected to each of the events.

Through the course of reading the book I marked out a few pages that resonated with me on a deeply emotional plane. I'd like to share them with you and hope you will too appreciate the wealth of wisdom hidden in these words. 

In the second chapter Dr. Kalam mentions to the readers how he learnt at a very early age the key to influencing events in one's own life by mastering desire, belief and expectation. This truly is a very important criteria for success which the sooner ingrained in our beings, the larger the trajectory of our victories and accomplishments in life.

Another inspirational section I have marked out is the conversation Dr. Kalam had with Von Braun; the father of modern rocketry -a world renowned aeronautical engineer and architect.  Their conversation about hard work really had some important lessons to learn from. Most of us spend our lives working hard, breaking our backs no different than mules. The real hard worker's efforts are accompanied by a strategic goal and vision. This would mean total involvement in envisioning the outcome. For it is working toward a chosen goal and not just aimlessly working hard that makes the real difference. 

We have always heard and read that it is our thoughts that manifest themselves into objects we desire. Dr. Kalam's entire life is the perfect example of how he saw endless possibilities in every project he chose to undertake. His vision, and undeterred dedication no matter what hardship befell him coupled with passion for realizing the dreams of a nation is truly the most moving saga.   

 The part where Dr. Kalam talks about his love for his work he touches on a very important topic- 'Workaholism'. Being a workaholic myself I was very keen to learn his views on the subject. Dr Kalam opined that loving your work and being passionate about your work is a very important part of having a successful career. Yet the word workaholic seem to suggest otherwise. As if people who truly love what they are doing suffer from a dreaded disease that should be avoided at all costs. I totally agree. For some of us, it is our work that guides us, is a driving force and something which we truly enjoy doing. It shouldn't mean addiction in any sense.

Each and every page I turned in this book had something new to teach me and I believe this is one of the best and most inspiring autobiographies I had the good fortune to read.   

I've written this poem to depict what this book meant to me and gave me- it gave hope new wings so I've titled it  New Wings to Hope.

The poem is mine. The image has been sourced from here.

Book Review- Shattered Dreams Part 2 of series ‘Ramayana – The game of life’

Book:  Shattered Dreams- Part 2 of series ‘Ramayana – The game of life’

Author: Shubha Vilas

Genre: Mythology, Spirituality

Shubha Vilas in his latest book- ‘Shattered Dreams’ the second part of the series –‘Ramayana- The game of life’ weaves magic. With his stupendous storytelling he brings the most popular mythological epic- ‘Ramayana’ to life. The first part tells the tale of the rise of the sun prince and ends at the joyful marriage of Rama with Sita. In the second part twelve years have passed since this joyous occasion. The second part takes us through Ayodhya’s exuberant happiness at the announcement of Rama’s crowning followed by the immense grief of his exile.  This book is a poignant depiction of the transformation of Ayodhya from miracle city to the city of all miseries.

With his riveting and gripping narrative style, each character comes to life. A vivid picture is painted in the readers mind. The in depth description of each and every aspect makes visualization very easy. One feels transported into the ancient land of the Ramayana- a totally different era and becomes completely wrapped in the joys and sorrows of Ayodhya’s residents. A timeless epic retold in a powerful, compelling, never before way.

This book is not just about the re-telling of an epic that has been done countless other times. Instead the author, by looking at the lessons learnt from the Ramayana and their application in our daily lives, has given a totally new perspective. This unique method of storytelling makes this work of spirituality a very inspiring and motivating read. With each page, it teaches us how to become better people.

Each page of the book has a footnote denoted by the wooden sandals worn by sages called ‘Padukas’. The ‘Padukas’ reflect and introspect about the learning's gained and their application in our everyday lives. Each characters actions; both positive and negative are reflected upon. The author’s interpretations and questions posed are thought provoking. Simple things like the difference between retention of learning by rote instead of actual comprehension and application of practical learning methods are so beautifully explained that they take your breath away. The importance of goals and how to best achieve ones objectives are very well explained.

The author explains Lord Rama’s reversal of fortune with a very important lesson on how to handle reversals of fortune. When our fortune showers choicest blessings on us we are extremely blissful but when adversity strikes we don’t know what to do except lament. This is what most of us practice in our lives. When Rama embraces both good fortune and its reversal with equal enthusiasm for it teaches us a very important lesson that we must incorporate in our lives to remember that life is a passing phase with both ups and downs that must be taken in its stride.  Also it is imperative for us to realize the permanence of change. The importance of vision and the most essential aspects of leadership often skipped; humility and maturity are discussed in great detail. The author then talks about how the most valuable currency in our lives is trust.

A must read to understand, get closer to our scriptures and imbibe important life lessons.This page turner was one book that I was not able to put down. I would recommend it to be read by everyone interested in mythology or life lessons.

I really enjoyed doing my first book review for blogadda. I’m really looking forward to reading and writing about many more delightful books.

Shattered Dreams

Made the whole of Ayodhya wail and scream

A book of learning of Lord Rama’s life

Ayodhya and the trios greatest strife

Of how fate played its hand

And karma watched from the stands

The Dalai Lama’s Cat (by David Michie)- Book Review

The Most Learned Cat

Title: The Dalai Lama’s Cat

Author: David Michie

Genre: Spiritual Fiction

Spiritual fiction at its best... I never thought I'd enjoy reading the escapades of a cat and her spiritual journey. The below rhyme summarizes my learning's from  this must read book.

                               What could I possibly learn from a cat?

But his Holiness, the Dalai Lama’s cat, and I bought this book in 10 seconds flat from the flipkart ebook app!

My motivation was trending at an all-time low,
I’d failed to stem the tide of negative emotions that continued to flow.

It was then that HHC came to my rescue,
Made me laugh and dispelled my gloom with a single mew!

Snow lion gazing at the Himalayan splendor from her perch on his Holiness’s windowsill,
Contemplating the mysteries of life as time stood still.

She taught me that it was okay to fail,
But I must keep on trying till life got back on the rail.

Leaving no room for laziness,
Or lack of confidence.

The pitfalls of focusing only on yourself,
The futility of being consumed with envy at others success.

How to practice mindfulness,
And be fully aware of the present moment’s greatness.

Discover the true cause of happiness,
And live a life of kindness.

The importance of good karma,
Which I must now make my dharma.

A big thank you to HHC for your gems of wisdom,
From the latest addition to your ever growing fandom.