Book Review - Life's Amazing Secret by Gaur Gopal Das

 LIFE is the most valuable asset of one, but what would it be we never try to find out. We never try to assess how is it going. We keep on going with flow with all our daily practices ignoring the wrong practices we do unintentionally. Majority of us have this habit. In this materialistic & cheap internet world, we are having fantasy of good looks, expensive outfits, earning more and more etc. which is completely normal  but at the same time we all are forgetting the core and abstract values of a human like sense of selflessness, forgiveness, gratitude, spirituality, sensitive speaking, self-discovery, sacrifice, service to nation. Either we all know this but we don’t understand the value and importance of these things in one’s life or we are completely ignorant to these true values. These are the values which make balance in our life and makes our journey smooth. The book which I would like to bring among you all is “Life’s Amazing Secrets” by one of the most loved and followed monk worldwide, Gaur Gopal Das. He is an engineer turned monk who completed his graduation in electrical engineering from college of engineering, Pune and worked in Hewlett Packard (HP) before he joined ISKCON. This book contains in depth analysis and description of core values in humans with excellent real-life examples. A well written book which explain every core value separately with some or other real-life instances. Whole life has been compared to a car which runs in a balanced way if all 4 wheels are in good condition. For a smooth journey of life 4 things which one needs to maintain throughout are: Personal Life, Relationship, Work Life & Social Contribution. Every wheel of life is explained in brief by dividing it into chapters on values which are needed to maintain it. I will like to share a small plot from book which I liked the most. The scaling of selfishness and selflessness and connecting it with Ice cream & Candle respectively. The ideology behind the ice cream is to enjoy your life before it melts and on the other hand candle is symbolizes giving light to others before it melts. No one is completely selfless neither no one is completely selfish. Everyone lies between these two depending upon situation. The example of announcement (“Make sure that your mask is securely fastened before you help children, infants or others”) in flight by cabin crew is well articulated to understand the scale of selflessness and selfishness. The journey of life is lies in moving from being an ice cream to being a candle.

 

(Source: Life’s Amazing Secrets – Gaur Gopal Das)

 

Concluding the review, this book is complete package of all abstract values one should have in their life which can help them to find purpose for their life as well as good balance. So, if you are NOT finding balance in your relationship, purpose for living life, finding peace in work life having utter competitiveness or why should a person contribute some of his time to society. All these questions are answered in a very simple manner by Gaur Gopal Das in his debut book by narrating his life experiences.