April 16, 2006
Khalil Gibran and my 100th post
So my blog is finally 100 posts old.....and for someone who doesn't write many posts in a month, this is a milestone in itself......
But what an apt entry for the 100th post.....so a friend of mine had sent me 'The Prophet' by Khalil Gibran a long ago, but I had never bothered to read it till yesterday when I went to the bookstore to get my hands on 'The Da Vinci Code'. I saw this book there and finally decided to read poetry for a change.
At first my impression was like - 'poetry' oh! how not what I want to read, but this book surprised me. Truly amazing and one of the most inspiring and exceptional books I have ever read in my life. The book is about everyday life and morals which even though we might have been taught sometime in our lives, we tend to forget them. Also the book is not about preaching, if you know what I mean. It's about simple truths put in a very simplistic and understandable manner.
I also went onto read some of the reviews and found that people shared the same experience as I had. I think this book can speak volumes to those who want to read it.
I very highly recommend this book to everyone. I think this is one of the classic books of this century and will share a very important position in the coming ones too. Some of the passages from this book which I love are:
On Self-Knowledge
And seek not the depths of your knowledge with staff or sounding line. For self is a sea boundless and measureless.
Say not, "I have found the truth," but rather, "I have found a truth."
Say not, "I have found the path of the soul."
Say rather, "I have met the soul walking upon my path."
On Teaching
No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of our knowledge.
The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness.
If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.
On Prayer
And if you but listen in the stillness of the night you shall hear them saying in silence, "Our God, who art our winged self, it is thy will in us that willeth.
It is thy desire in us that desireth.
It is thy urge in us that would turn our nights, which are thine, into days which are thine also.
We cannot ask thee for aught, for thou knowest our needs before they are born in us:
Thou art our need; and in giving us more of thyself thou givest us all."
On Beauty
And beauty is not a need but an ecstasy.
It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth,
But rather a heart enflamed and a soul enchanted.
It is not the image you would see nor the song you would hear,
But rather an image you see though you close your eyes and a song you hear though you shut your ears.
Free PDF ebook link : The Prophet by Khalil Gibran
Posted by Anuj at 04:01 PM | Comments (0)
October 25, 2005
The World is Flat
I am writing an entry after a long time. It's been a roller-coaster this past two weeks. Loos like Fall is just whizzing past and already it's end of October. Well I was on my way to Houston to attend my cousin's marriage and had initially planned to read a couple of papers on the 3 hour flight.
I just happened to walk past the Penn bookstore and found that a couple of books were on a sale including this one by Thomas L. Friedman. I had seen one of his interviews on PBS and had liked it immensely. I also wanted to buy this book from the very begining and I know that I made the right choice having bought it now. A great book which talks a lot about the current trend in globalization and the 'flattening' of the world. The interesting thing in his book are the experiences he has had in India and which prompted him to write this book. I have read close to a third of the book and find it very interesting. The development of the globalization process right from the 1800's to the present day is beautifully summarized. The ten major causes for the so-called 'flattening' are discussed next. The tone of the book is one of excitement and astonishment which keeps the reader glued to the book. Tom Friedman is also a regular columnist on the New York Times and has won the Pulitzer Prize three times.
A must book for everyone who is interested in understanding the process of globalization and its implications in today's world and the future.
Thomas Friedman official website
The World is Flat-Amazon
Posted by Anuj at 03:22 PM | Comments (0)
June 14, 2005
The Catcher in the Rye
I picked up this book yesterday from the bookstore and immediately got hooked to the 'slang way' of the novel. I read a couple of pages and already Holden Caulfield-the protagonist, who is a happy-go-lucky kind of a guy with little or no care for anything, captured my imagination. I intend to finish this novel pretty soon and hopefully it would live upto its reputation. The reviews in Amazon were good and seems like this book is banned in many book lists. Very interesting indeed.....
Posted by Anuj at 07:00 PM | Comments (0)
March 11, 2005
India the Siege Within
M.J.Akbar's style of writing is at its best in this book. Very old though, written in 1985, after the "Operation Bluestar" is a very sincere and honest effort to bring to light the facts which others have eluded for so long. The book is divided into 3 parts. The first part talks about the partition of India, the formation of Pakistan, the reasons and hidden agendas behind the two-nation theory, the fight for a separate nation for the Tamils. The second part is completely devoted to the insurgency in Punjab, the rise of Jarnail Singh Bhindrenwale and the Operation Bluestar. This part is by far the most well written in the book. The third part discusses the Kashmir issues starting from the problems the state faced since 1947. It talks about the great and charismatic leader Sheikh Abdullah who died fighting for the cause of secularism and democracy in Kashmir.
M.J.Akbar correctly discusses the formation of India not as a Hindu state but being based solely on the Constitution of India. A Sovereign ,Secular, Democratic Republic. The communal disharmony created inside is rightly advocated to the fundamentalists, both Hindu and Muslim, who cannot see these two communities living together. He also discusses somewhat in the end as to how even History has been distorted to show that Hindu Kings always fought against the Muslim tyrant rulers but fail to bring out the fact that both sides had equal share of Muslims and Hindus. The wars that were fought were not communal wars but were fought for the aquisition of Kingdoms or land and were feudal wars.
I had never read any book by him so far, and this was definitely the best book to start with. A brilliant book. He also does not merely narrate the facts, he analyzes them very deeply and presents his opinions. That makes this book different from others (other authors). If you want to really know about the problems that free India has faced or is facing since 1947 or before, please read this book.
India-The Siege Within -- M.J.Akbar
Posted by Anuj at 11:30 AM | Comments (1)
January 03, 2005
Chaos
I finally finished reading the amazing book "Chaos" written by the bestselling author "James Gleick".
The book talks about the historical development of the theory of Chaos and nonlinear dynamical systems. The works of Edward Lorenz, Stephen Smale, Benoit Mandelbrot and others have been beautifully explained. The topics covered include turbulence, climatology, physiology, oscillations etc. The book is much more than I can write about. All in all a must for every science student I feel!
As an aside, James Gleick has also written a book called "Genius" on the great theoritical physicist "Richard P. Feynman".
Posted by Anuj at 07:26 PM | Comments (0)