Book – Three Truths of Well Being – by Sadhguru

Been a while since I was so desperate to read a book till its end. No matter how sleepy I was, time had to be made every night to complete a part of this one. Perhaps the word to describe it is “Simplicity”. Sadhguru has actually given a short, sweet and contrite set of material on how to approach life by covering the three most basic simple things.

Body, Food and Mind

That’s it. He has not gone round and round trying to explain something which we don’t even know. Instead, he has left his words for us to decide. Believe it or don’t, doesn’t matter. He has just given instructions based on experiences and the collective knowledge of our elders. What I loved most is that he has not tried justifying anything. He just says “here’s the truth. Here is the checklist. Try it out.”

As icing on the cake, there are simple, clear instructions at the end of each chapter for those interested. They are indeed feasible and anyone can try them for a peek into oneself. No hold barred, no preparation necessary, no religious connotations. Just basic humanity being addressed. There is also an Isha Kriya DVD with the book for a very simple start into meditation for those interested.

I will be reading this book again and would ask you to try it too.

Till the Last Breath – Durjoy Datta

I received this book as a gift from a dear friend. It is a good steady paced read and the author touches upon so many emotions experienced by people who are faced with certain death. The approach towards life and the will to give one’s best contrasted with a feeling of pure negativity gives a see-saw type of mood changes.

The author has nicely captured many angles of suffering and the fragile nature of the human body even in the presence of a strong soul. Anger, sorrow, joy, rage, indifference, love, attachment, giving up, forgiveness and surprise have been weaved together beautifully. Definitely worth a read.

Osho – The Zen Manifesto – Freedom from Oneself

One of the last series of talks given by Osho before his demise, this book is a gold nugget. Osho unravels the mysteries of Zen by approaching it with a totally detached view of religion. It applies to any human who can read and understand or is willing to look at the fact that there could be a key to getting out of the daily routine of days, routine of the life-death cycle, routine of re-incarnation.

The talks made in this book are like a final message with no holds barred on the truths. It has an affinity to the Advaita Vendanta (non-duality) which offers a structured methodology of scriptures and renouncing oneself under the guidance of a Master. However, the major difference is that while Zen too can be practised under a Master, it is more about bypassing or going over the mind completely.

Our identity, our individuality, our saneness are all due to the mind. We call ourselves by an assigned name in this birth because it was given to us. It is important too as we need to survive the lifetime. But after a stage, the search for the Supreme, God, Higher Self, the Nothing or Oneself or whatever one may call it begins to happen only when we question our own actions and decisions.

The Western Zen authors such as Alan Watts and Thomas Merton have also approached Zen but through the intellect which is exactly what Zen is not about. It is about having no mind at all. The mind is the bridge between the soul and appeared sanity. Zen shows that you never had a name or individuality. You were just living in a cage built by others to safeguard your identity. Zen shows you how to open that cage and melt into the vastness and disappear; or what we know as anatta which means ‘‘the freedom from oneself’’.

The complete book can be found here. The Zen Manifesto- Freedom From Oneself - Osho

Many Lives, Many Masters–Dr. Brian Weiss

 

Dr. Brian had great guts to write this book. He went against his career rules of scientific learnings and wrote about what he found when regressing into his patients’ past lives. This book is a strong reminder that all that we see is not all that is.

It also gives us a glimpse of the soul and how we operate in other dimensions. Being metaphysical, it will be hard to digest as nothing is proven. But just because it isn’t does not make it untrue.

The book also shows us how caught up we are in the circle of routine and life. There were some lovely lessons that I picked up. If only I could apply them now.

Most of all, this book was recommended to me by someone who saw in me what I could not myself. I thank this gentleman for seeing me as someone worth spending precious time with. But then, I guess that is how the world goes around. Not by routine, but by what energies we share with one another to ensure a common uplifting of all life.

Hsin Hsin Ming – The Book of Nothing

 

Rarely has a book moved me into just shutting up. Books instill anything from breezy natured laughs to deep crusted messages languishing within us for a few days or months depending on the passion of the author pouring out years of experience transformed into words. But this book has been something of an anoetic paradox. It is a mirror without the silver coating that shows us the simplicity of our existence.

Hsin Hsin Ming is the best known words of the laconic third Zen patriarch, Sosan (Sengstan). The concept of Zen was born sometime when the Buddhism of India met the Tao of China.

Sosan was a Master of very few words. His statements had dimensions of depth in them which was difficult to interpret by the common man. Hsin Hsin Ming has been regarded as such a great set of principles by Osho that he translated it for the benefit of others.

The words in this book are the result of a wonderfully distilled set for you have the best coming out of Sosan, Buddha and Osho merely interpreting our daily predicaments as we search for our true roles in our lives. Existing and living are two completely different things. We desire fame, recognition, individuality while water, earth and air move naturally towards the depths.

I can do no justice any further in describing the book. Below are three humorous excerpts which answer many simple questions. For those confused between the head and the heart, this book offers solace, a path and a figurative slap on the face. A must have.