Dec 08, 2007 05:07 PM
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I am an avaricious reader of books on multivarious subjects; particularly these Self help types. And honestly speaking, this book hasn't lived upto the amount of hype that it had generated. I always had a feeling even before starting to read this book that the title of the book itself is a gimmick.
A monk and a Ferrari is enough of a bait to attract potential buyers. But we cannot conclude immediately that this is another snake oil which makes its way to platform shops. No. Here is some insight into what this book is all about.
*The story in brief :
This is a self help book in a fictious frame. A very famous ( actually infamous ) lawyer by name Julian Mantle is the prime character in this book who is introduced as a materialist, workaholic, playboy, who was always after fame, money and possessions in life. Consequently, his married life becomes a failure, he has no good terms with his parents and eventually suffers ill health. This becomes a turning point in his life and he suddenly realises that he has lost / compromised subtle beauties in life beacuse of his " busy " ness in his career.
He heads on to the Himalayas in India where he meets the sages of India who follow ancient principles that kept them young and made their life fulfilling and joyous. He learns their principles - art of living a fulfilling life like a " crash course " and returns home as a monk to spread the message to his brethren. The entire book is in the form of narration of the techniques learnt by Julian mantle to his erstwhile friend cum junior in law practice, John.
Who can benefit out of this book:
Well, at least as far as Robin Sharma is concerned, there is no target audience as he needs to sell his book to everybody possible. But I reckon that this book will be of good use to all those people who are a bit worn down due to excessive working / exhaustion. The author doesnt deny that Work is worship, but conveys that we shouldnt miss the little beauties in life searching for an illusory bigger happiness - money. So if you are a heated up engine this book is a good pitstop.
Whats good about this book :
This book is best described as a traditional Ayurvedic medicine in the form of an allopathic pill. It brings out the fruits of ancient Hindu and Budhist philosophies in a way that the present generation would be able to ingest.
Though most of the points in this book are something that we already knew or came across in some other self helper, the way it has been presented is quite persuading and encouraging.
The crux of this book itself is really good as it advocates moderatism. This is very much needed nowadays as people are fast forgetting the real purpose of life and existence and have become workaholics, hunting for money. The so called "competitive or aggressive people" will have no love lost for this book.
There are plenty of good thoughts in this book including a crisp " Ten rituals of radiant living " which is the crux of this work. If practised diligently, the author guarants a real transformation in the way you live in about a month's time
Robin Sharma hasnt tried to play with words. He hasnt been bombastic and has put things straight and simple. So it is an easy to read and understand - book and you wouldnt have to sit with a dictionary alongside.
Flaws in the sculpture :
The book could easily have been reduced to half its size and the message could have been condensed well. I got a feeling that the author had added a few more pages in this book just to make justice to the Rs.175 per copy of this book.
The author has an annoying habit of repetition in this book. He repeats the phrases "The sages of Savanna used to... and Yogi Raman used to... there is another powerful technique which wil transform things... and so on... You can come across these phrases a couple of dozen times and this peeves the reader.
The author keeps telling throughout the book "there is yet another powerful method which is going to transform your life completely."
You get lured into it everytime and keep waiting for that very powerful technique only to realise that you have reached the end of the book and never came across any powerful tecnique. One gets a feeling that Robin Sharma should have done away with silly touting within his book.
The author preaches that there shouldnt be extremities in life and that everything in life should be moderate. But the biggest " direction mistake " is that all these techniques are taught ( narrated by Julian Mantle, the monk ) to John overnight !! and both of them are awake through out the night. Such a flaw in this book makes one question the credibility the authors' work.
Books of this sort are best written with some examples and anecdotes but we find a dearth of these in this book. So it becomes a boring conversation and at worst a monologue. It is more of a narration of Julian's odyssey to the Himalayas.
The book gets quite boring inbetween and the author has failed to incite interest in the minds of readers. If it was just a fiction, readers would probably have hurried on to the last few pages, read the climax and closed the chapter.
*Some thoughts that really inspired me in this book :
The only limits on your life are those that you set yourself ( meaning do not limit yourself ).
Spend some time in solitude everyday in contemplation
Dont race against others ; race against yourself
Visualize yourself as a disciplined, firm person fully in control of your mind
Take a break from what you are used to do ( in career ) and start doing something you actually
have a tase for - ( this this one was revolutionary isnt ? )
*Conclusion :
So with the good and bad points about this book almost evenly poised, is it recommended and worthy ? I would say still say YES for this book has a wonderful plot and is a must read for anybody who wants to graduate to a higher level of thinking about life and have a better quality of living a fulfiling and purposeful life. Most recommended for those IT and ITES guys who have confined their lifes inside cubicles. ( I am one of them )
If you still feel that 175 bucks is a heavy price for this book, you may borrow one from your friend, read this and duly return in a week's time just as I did !!! :-)
