Book Review : The Magic of Friendships by Shubha Vilas

A true friendship energizes the soul and refreshes the mind. Sometimes it is so deep that words are not necessary to understand each other’s emotions. A true friend is always with you whatever happens in your life, accepts you as you are and loves you unconditionally. Do you have a true friend in your life? Nah! Then become one for someone!!

The Magic of Friendships by Shubha Vilas explained how one can make good friends and how one can become a good friend. According to the author, there are four types of friends – Badhus or associates, sakhas or friends, priya sakhas or confidential friends and suhrits or best friends. The Wheel of Friendship helps in analysing all kind of friendships one have. In our friend circle, there are many bandhus, some are sakhas, a few are priya sakhas and rarely is a suhrit. From bunch of posers, how to trace out a true friend is a difficult task but it becomes quite easy after reading this book. It includes questionnaires, quizzes, inventories, test and some fun activities that inspire one to enrich friends as confidential friends and strangers as friends.

The author very well explained that friendship is a responsibility and not a competition. He also throws light on creating value in friendship, peer pressure effecting self-esteem and friends beyond friendship. The language is simple and state forward.

It includes heart touching stories from Mahabharata, Ramayana, Panchtantra and modern times. It guides readers to find out simple solutions to the complex problems in friendships and teaches the art of becoming a good friend. The narration is appealing and motivates one to be good friends with parents, pets and self. It also discusses about the pros and cons of online friendships.

Author has embedded some beautiful gems in it. Some of the quotes which I liked are as follows :

1.      It is easy to see fault in others, but it is difficult to see fault in oneself.

2.      Friendship should not be about competition, it should be about helping each other grow.

3.      It’s not the quantity of friendship that matters but the quality of it.

4.      Before you beat others, you need to achieve victory over yourself.

5.      Every time you enjoy their (Priya Sakhas or Confidential friends) company, you come back supercharged and happy.

6.      Sakhas or friends encourage you and push you way more than you can push yourself. They can see the good in you even when you can’t see it in yourself.

The author is a TEDx speaker, lifestyle coach, storyteller and author. Ramayana : The Game of Life is his bestselling series. He has written Roar with Courage, Conquer Fear, Adopt Patience, Stand Strong  and Radiate Confidence based on Bala Kanda, Ayodhya Kanda, Aranya Kanda, Kishkindha Kanda and Sundara Kanda of Ramayana epic respectively. He is also the author of Open-Eyed Meditations and Perfect Love : 5.5 Ways to a LastingRelationship. The focus of his work is the application of scriptural wisdom in everyday living, addressing the needs of corporate and youth through thought provoking seminars. Curious to know more about him, then visit his website – www.shubhavilas.com.

G. Randolf quotes that good friends are hard to find, harder to leave and impossible to forget. This book is the best gift for your best friend that will always be a bond between you and your friend. J

Book Review : Radiate Confidence by Shubha Vilas

Radiate Confidence is the fifth book in the series of Ramayana – The Game of Life by Shubha Vilas. The author has written Roar with Courage, Conquer Fear, Adopt Patience and Stand Strong based on Bala Kanda, Ayodhya Kanda, Aranya Kanda and Kishkindha Kanda of Ramayana epic respectively. Radiate Confidence is the modern retelling of the Sundara Kanda of Valmiki’s epic Ramayana. According to the author, the Bala Kanda covers a period of almost 13years, the Ayodhya Kanda almost a year, the Aranya Kanda stretches over roughly 13years, while the Kishkindha Kanda describes a period of a little over two months. But the Sundara Kanda covers just five days and more than three-quarters of the book covers a two-day period when Hanuman leapt to Lanka.

Sundara Kanda is about Hanuman’s journey across ocean to Lanka in search of Sita, Lord Ram’s wife. Hanuman was fondly called ‘Sundara’ by his mother Anjani therefore Sage Valmiki (author of Ramayana in Sanskrit) named this Kanda as ‘Sundara Kanda’. It tells the adventure of Hanuman and his selfless service, strength and devotion to Lord Rama.

Sundara Kanda is about our purpose of life – our own search for a goal in life. Hanuman shows is that the goal of life is Sita, who he is searching for in this kanda. For a gyani, Sita is shanti or peace. For a devotee, Sita is bhakti. For a yogi, she is adishakti or subtle energy. The truth is that everyone is in search of Sita.

The language is lucid and simple to understand. It guides readers to find out easy solutions to the complicated problems and teaches the art of ‘being patient and finding success’. The narration is mesmerizing and motivates one to overcome obstacles in one’s journey. It helps in expanding one’s steadfast focus and faith to accomplish mission.

Author has embedded the story with beautiful gems. Some of the quotes which I liked are as follows :

1.      When a leader plants the seed of encouragement on one’s mind, it grows into a tree of hope for many minds.

2.      One must keep on going toward one’s goal and not be perturbed by people’s reactions and treatment.

3.      Enthusiasm is the chemical that keeps the milk of life from turning sour.

4.      Winning wars is about breaking confidence. Winning hearts is about building trust.

5.      The highest form of compassion is kindness shown to a person one hates.

6.      Those who live in the past are often blind to the present realities.

The author is a TEDx speaker, lifestyle coach, storyteller and author. Ramayana : The Game of Life is his bestselling series. He is also the author of Open-Eyed Meditations and Perfect Love : 5.5 Ways to a Lasting Relationship. The focus of his work is the application of scriptural wisdom in everyday living, addressing the needs of corporate and youth through thought provoking seminars. Curious to know more about him, then visit his website – www.shubhavilas.com.

It is an excellent read for mythological readers. The best part of this book is the ‘Lessons from Hanuman’s Jump’. I am sharing a part of it here. To read it full you can buy this book from the link given below.......

Guru’s Blessings

On Facebook, I have subscribed to various pages about movies as I love to know more and more about movies. I can watch anything and everything – drama, comedy, action, romance, thriller, historical fiction, philosophy etc. One day, while surfing on Facebook, I came across this clipping about Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa. It was from Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna, a Bengali movie with subtitles in English.

In this movie clip, Totapuri, an itinerant Naga sannyasi initiated Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa into sannyasa. Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa experienced Nirvikalp smamdhi. Totapuri said, “How strange! What I have attained after 40 years of strenuous practice, you have achieved in only 3 days.” (T-11.15) Guru’s blessings can reduce 14600 days of hard work to only 3 days. I liked this clipping so much that I not only watched this whole movie but also decided to write a post on it.  

My personal experience is also similar to it. I have committed thousands of mistakes while chanting and hundreds of errors while meditating. Many times I am not able to pronounce the mantra correctly, numerous times I am devoid of bhakti (devotion), several times I am not able to focus on the deity even then just because of Guru’s blessings I have divine experiences in my meditation.

On this auspicious occasion of Guru Purnima I want to express my gratitude to my Guru by humbly saying, “Thankyou ji!”

Photo – Sketch is drawn by me.