19th Akshauhini: Algorithm of the Gita : A Book Review

Author: Haribakth, Vaishnavi

Book Blurb:

19th Akshauhini answers all the questions about the Gita that are plaguing minds. The illustrative list of questions answered in this book are:
How can Krishna who himself ran away from battle & earned the sobriquet “RANCHOR”(meaning one who ran away from battle) advise Arjuna to fight his enemies?
How can a forty minute discourse of the Gita be complete knowledge?
How can a 5300-year-old dialog be relevant to modern times?
If the Gita is unchanging, isn’t it too rigid and unsuitable for modern times?
How can one discourse cater to the needs of diverse types of people?
Does the Gita encourage violence?
Isn’t the Gita sectarian and meant for Hindus?
Read on to get a new perspective on the Gita and its teachings.”

You can view my video review here

My Review:

While there are many books that are based on GITA, this book offers a whole new perspective on this epic. While the book has been written for a specific audience (those who believe in Gita) it offers answers to a lot of questions that one might have. The authors have used research methodology in order to gather information and lay it down for it’s readers in a very simplistic manner.

The first part of the book reads just like an in depth research report would look, with the premise which is followed by data, analysis and finally the conclusion. The next part is the pictorial representation of the data and its results, so we have various sketches of what Gita says vs. what we understood, dialogues between father- daughter and much more. Including the pictorial representations was a stroke of genius as it helps break the monotony and explain all the complex details quite simply, the person who said a picture is worth a thousand words could not have uttered truer words.

The best part was when author explains Gita in today’s terms, how we can follow the principles mentioned in Gita in our real life, as well as the chapter on equality. There are various cases and scenarios that are described in the book wherein there are various interpretations of the text.

What I liked the best in this book is the use of techniques like SWOT analysis, If analysis, etc in order to explain a certain topics. The intense hard work and the in depth research is clearly visible as soon as the book touches your hand.

Also, the quality of publishing is excellent, I was quite surprised by the excellent quality and presentation.

In conclusion, if you believe in Gita, and want to know more about what it stands for, do pick this book up.

BUY THIS BOOK

Practising Spiritual Intelligence: Book Review

For Innovation, Leadership and Happiness

Author: Awdhesh Singh

Book Blurb:

We all wish to attain success and happiness in our lives. However, only a few people are able to live life the way they want and get what they desire in their lives. Our ability to get what we want is commonly known as intelligence. Yet the IQ Tests are not the proper measure for true intelligence as we know that many people with high IQ lead miserable lives as they fail to develop the true intelligence, which must include:
1. Knowledge of the self
2. Knowledge of others- your allies and your opponents
3. Knowledge of the ground situation
4. Knowledge of the various techniques that need to be employed
5. Intuitive ability to select the best technique
Spiritual Intelligence is defined as “the ability to know the self, know other people, know the ground situation, understand the ‘desired objective’ and inculcate the ability to choose the ‘right technique’ that should work in the given situation.” This book explains the concept of Spiritual Intelligence and provides practical methods to develop and practice it for developing innovation, leadership and happiness.

 

My Review:

This was a very interesting book. The way spirituality was explained with different scientific theories and examples made the reading so much more interesting.

The best part of the book was that really complex concepts were written in such simple way that it was very easy to grasp everything. The entire thing was made even more interesting due to the use of humorous anecdotes.

The book is divided into different parts, which made it more interesting, I loved the last part of the book the most, which dealt with all how to implement all the learning and concepts that are highlighted in the previous parts to your advantage.

Intelligence is subjective, everybody has intelligence, but how to utilize your intelligence in a way that would lead to professional success, is what is highlighted in this book.

All in all, I really found this book to be very interesting, if you wish to move on in life, you should read this book. It’s fun, interesting book from which one can learn a lot of amazing information.

( I thank Dr. Awdhesh Singh for sending me a copy of this book. 🙂 )