Spirituality is an aspect of life about which less people know about and the ones who do know do not know in much depth. Jaydip Das in his landmark work, “God, The Best Friend and Guide” attempts to enlighten the readers and tell them the importance of the path of spirituality through his life as an example.
The book itself carries the aura of mysticism and a touch of the divinity reading which will only be a boon to humans. The author begins his book with an unnamed narrator whom the readers eventually infer to be the author who is in conversation with a person named Ganga. Ganga is frustrated and unhappy with her work situation and employment. This is more or less the story of every person working in the present time, as the narrator points out. He begins to explore and try to understand the reasons as to why it is so. Thereafter, he concludes the that the desire, and need of materialistic things compels human beings to enter the rat race to work hard and earn more. To convey his message, the narrator asks Ganga if she would like to know the story which would explain what were the events, and circumstances that led the narrator to become the person he is. Thereafter, the narrator hares his journey right from his school-days when he got his first book that initiated him in the world of mysticism and spirituality. His life has never been easy, and he struggles to get the better of himself at every stage. In his days at college, he lives a tough life which kind of paves the way for the challenges that he was to face in future, and perhaps that was the time when he was prepared not to run away of get worried in any situation. He narrates every detail of his journey from his decision to being a monk to becoming a leading figure in the corporate, Infosys.
There are enough references time and again in “God The Best Friend and Guide” which show how well-read Jay is. He quotes from people that relate to the message of the text, and also from the Bhagwad Gita. To explain his point, he also brings in mythology by bringing the conversation of Krishna and Arjuna, and the teachings Krishna gave.
The author divides the book into 21 chapters of varying lengths where he gives the message to the reader the God is omnipresent and hard work is much more necessary to achieve dreams and goals. Through the example of his life, the author shows how success follows a person when they put their heart and soul into achieving what they desire. Although, capturing a person’s life is a difficult task when it comes to writing about them, but Jay manages to cover every possible minute detail that cast an influence on his life in one way or the other and contributed in changing his perspective and the way he saw things. His life and professional needs take him to different cities in India which gives him an opportunity to observe and know the people, and also learn whatever he could from them.
“God, The Best Friend and Guide” can become a savior in the lives of many and a teacher to many others due to nature of the themes it covers: the importance of spirituality in a person’s life and the key to success is only and only, hard work. These themes open the appeal of the book to a wide range of audiences where the younger generation can read the book to learn to achieve their dreams, and also follow the path of spirituality and at the same time, the grown up generation can find answers to many questions that would trouble them or inspiration to tread the path of spirituality for peace of mind and soul, and also being able to observe and see the beauty of things and not just focus on monetary needs.
The language that the author uses in “God, The Best Friend and Guide” is a fine combination of English and Sanskrit (for the shlokas) with a proper explanation too. Every reader, or non-reader will find the book an easy read as after a certain point, the narrator gets a grip on the interest of the reader, and the reader can’t help but get curious to know what next event would have happened in the life of the author or what life changing experience he would have had that altered his thinking for the better. In the light of this, the author does not urge the reader to follow or do what he did, rather he suggests them to find a path of their own as he says,
“Observe yourself, observe your thoughts, observe your desires. Try to analyze what your desires are, try to understand what is happiness — sorrow. Why do you do what you do? Why do you behave in certain ways in certain situations? This is the first step towards Self-awareness, here starts the quest for life.”
Book Title: God: The Best Friend & Guide
Author: Jaydip Das
Publisher: Evincepub Publishing
Reviewed By: Akhila Saroha at Criticspace
Order Book: Amazon Link
Connect With Author: http://authorjaydipdas.com/