Book Review: All About Buddhism- The Religion of Peace by Monika Seth

The review for this book would be a short one as the short book is a basic guide about the religion of Buddhism. Monika Seth tells about Gautam Buddha, the principles, noble truths, eight-fold path, objectives, classification of Karma, character of Karma and the teachings of Buddhism.

Buddhism originated about 2500 years ago when Siddhartha Gautma (known as Gautam) at the age of 35 got enlightened. Many people consider Buddhism more than a religion, more as a philosophy or way of life. Born to a wealthy family in Lumbini (now located in Nepal in 563 BC), Gautma realized at the age of 29 that wealth and luxury did not ensure happiness. As a result, he started exploring different teachings, religions and philosophies.  After enlightment Buddha spent the rest of his life teaching the principles of Buddhism till his death at the age of 80.

The author writes that Buddhism depends more on understanding than faith. The Buddhist path requires courage, patience, flexibility an intelligence. Buddhism teaches that the solutions to your problems are within you and not outside. Furthermore, the author says that wants should be modified as wants deprive you of contentment and happiness.

Everything that Buddha taught was based on his own observations of the way things were. The Eight-fold path of Buddhism starts with view, intention, speech, discipline, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, concentration and absorption. In chapter seven, the twelve links of Buddhism are covered.

Karma is different from fate. Fate is the notion that man’s life is preplanned for him, by some external power and that he has no control over his destiny. ‘Karma’, on the other hand, can be changed. Karma is the law of moral causation and is a fundamental doctrine in Buddhism. This belief was common in India, even before the arrival of Buddha.

The last chapter of this book is on the teachings of Buddhism, which gives simple and clear messages to the reader. The author states that a man may emerge victorious in a thousand battles…. “yet he is, as nothing before, the man who has conquered himself. That is the greatest victory of all.” In addition to that the author mentions: “A spoon may spend its life in a bowl of soups, but does it ever get to know the taste of soup?” Last but not least, another one which I find worth quoting is: “Never covet what others have. It is a deadly sin which grows away at all happiness. Learn to share the joys of others. This is the secret of much happiness.”

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Book Review: Islands of Hope- Recollections of Dr Akhter Hameed Khan compiled by the AHK Resource Centre

Never before have I come across a more detailed book on the life and times of Dr. Akhter Hameed Khan who served humanity in a very special way and left behind a legacy for others to follow. Khan was a very different man. Some considered him a social scientist while others added various other titles including poet, scholar, community development expert and philosopher.

Very early in his career he left the Indian Civil Services and opted to become a locksmith. He wanted to experience the misery of the downtrodden class. Later he became Director at the Comilla Project in East Pakistan where he was engaged in community mobilization and encouraged the participatory approach of development.

Akhter Hameed Khan later went to Karachi and initiated the Orangi Pilot Project. This project was based on self-help and power of the people living in the locality. He provided guidance with many aspects of the project. Technical assistance was provided to the resident of Orangi, regarding sewerage system and improvement of the environment. A micro-credit system was also established in the area which emphasized on self-reliance.

Dr. Khan received numerous awards, but paying tribute to him would only be justified when his work and ideas would be taught at university level. This would help his teachings in making their way to the development policies of the developing world. The twelve chapters in this book cover his early life, struggles in achieving his goals, his development works, efforts for a humane society, community mobilization methods and unfortunately the false cases initiated against him. The life of the maverick covered in this book teaches the reader the common lessons in life regarding idealism, sacrifice, hard work and persistence.

Dr. Akhter Hameed Khan said: “Pakistan’s development will not come from the top, it will come from the bottom, and it will happen in pockets – one island formed here, one there and one island will be made by you…”

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Book Review: The New Silk Roads: The Present and The Future of the World by Peter Frankopan

The New Silk Roads is basically an update on the previous classic of Peter Frankopan published in 2015. This one published after three years from 2015 is about interconnectedness of the world, complexities and the emerging patterns in world politics.

From Europe via Russia and Middle East the Silk Roads travel to China. Cooperation, strengthening of state level ties and intricacies of the networks of bondage are greatly debated in this book.  Assessment of the global shifts in power and the regional movements by different states to acquire power linkages is weaved together in a very plain, yet interesting manner. Moreover, food, economy, state politics and political maneuverings in the contemporary world are also covered in this book.

An easy to read book for a student, politician, military strategist or for anybody who cares about world affairs should read this book to analyze the quickly changing political landscape in which we live today.

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Book Review: Hiouen-Thsang in India by J. Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire

Based on three chapters, Hiouen-Thsang in India is a very interesting account of the famous Chinese pilgrim who travelled to India in the seventh century. The first chapter states that Hiouen-Thsang belonged to an honorable family who at the age of twenty completes his novitiate and gets his full monastic orders. Hiouen-Thsang feels that he lacks many things and for this he is determined for travel in the countries of the west. He intends to meet wise men whom he could consult for guidance regarding certain points of the Law. At last he escapes the city and travels during the nights. First he reaches a convent in the country of the Oi’gurs, where me meets Chinese monks.

At Kao-Tch’ang the King wants him as a teacher for his subjects for the rest of his life. To this offer he objects as he wants to travel futher. From there his protest is accepted by the King, as Hiouen-Thsang promises to come back to Kao-Tch’ang on his return journey. Thereon he travels to Kutch. After that he moves to Samarkand and from there to Baktra (Balkh). The pilgrim finally enters India. His sojourn in Maghada and Convent of Nalanda is explained in detail by the author. The way he is treated by different people throughout his journey is also discussed by Saint-Hilaire. The author brings out the character of the pilgrim and also reflects on the superstitions he carried with him. His method of translating sacred Buddhists books are also included in the book.

Hiouen-Thsang visited India before the Muslim conquest, it was still exclusively Brahmanist and Buddhist. In chapter two all the details and intricacies have been narrated by the author of this book. In addition, the pilgrim gives details about the climate, fruits, habits, customs and the religious practices carried out by the people he visited. He even analyses the marriage laws of the Indians, especially the laws forbidding a woman to have a second husband. The pilgrim also includes details on public administration, agriculture and metals in India. For two years he remains in Kashmir, engaged in serious studies.

In the last chapter the condition of Buddhist worship in the days of Hiouen-Thsang is clearly shown. The conflict between the sects and the level of intensity is also discussed by Saint-Hilaire. Moreover, the author also criticizes Hiouen-Thsang for his shortcomings and at places appreciated his efforts. In conclusion, the author agrees to the argument that Buddhist world studied their religion better than the Christian world.

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Book Review: The Greatest Minds and Ideas by Will Durant

Before reading the page of contents I came across a wonderful quote by Will Durant. He says: “If a man is fortunate he will, before he dies, gather up as much as he can of his civilized heritage and transmit it to his children. And to his final breath he will be grateful for this inexhaustible legacy, knowing that it is our nourishing mother and our lasting life”. This particular book has been divided into six chapters. ‘A shameless worship of heroes’ is the first chapter of the book that expounds that now to acknowledge in life or history any genius bigger than ourselves has become unfashionable.  In addition, the author writes that the real history of man is not of the common man but that of the lasting contributions made by geniuses to the sum of human civilization and culture.

Durant makes his case by saying that “the history of civilization has been the adventure of human reason”. The criteria set by the author in gauging the greatest minds and ideas of all times is the extent and persistence of influence upon the lives and minds of men. Starting from number one Confucius, followed by Plato, Aristotle, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Copernicus, Sir Francis Bacon, Sir Isaac Newton, Voltaire, Immanuel Kant and Charles Darwin. Those excluded from the list include Marcus Aurelius, Spinoza, Nietzsche and many others. The author believes that many other lists could also be formed and the lists made by him is not the final.

The criteria set for the ten greatest poets by the author is to record men who have brought him that strange mixture of music, emotion, imagery, and thought, which is poetry. Homer, David, Euripides, Lucretius, LI-PO, Dante, William Shakespeare, John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Walt Whitman. He quotes many different poems of various poets categorized by him.

While categorizing the best hundred books for an education, the author provides a list of the hundred books categorizing them under different themes. The author says in the fourth chapter: “If you have studied with life rather than with courses, it maybe as well; the rough tutelage of reality has ripened you into some readiness to know great men. The first book on the author’s list is The Outline of Science. After that he suggests reading William James book Principles of Psychology.  Durant is of the view that even if a one does not agree with an author one should ‘nevertheless carry on reading, toleration of differences is one mark of a gentleman’.

Chapter five is about ten peaks of human progress. Defining ‘progress’, the author mentions that it is the “increasing control of the environment” and by environment he means “all the circumstances that condition the coordination and the realization of desire”. He briefly writes about the peaks, starting from Speech, followed by fire, the conquest of the animals, agriculture, social organization, morality, tools, science, education and writing. Moreover, the author adds that ‘never was our heritage of civilization and culture so secure and never was it half so rich’. The sixth, which is the last chapter of this book briefly explains the twelve most vital dates in world history. They are as follows:

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• 4241 B.C- The Introduction of the Egyptian Calendar
• 543 B.C.- The Death of Buddha
• 478 B.C.- The Death of Confucius
• 399 B.C.- The Death of Socrates
• ? B.C.- The Birth of Christ
• A.D. 632- The Death of Mohammed
• 1294- The Death of Roger Bacon
• 1454- The Press of Johannes Gutenberg (at the Mainz on the Rhine) issues the first printed documents bearing a printed date
• 1492- Columbus Discovers America
• 1769- James Watt brings the steam engine to practical utility
• 1789- The French Revolution

The author concludes the book hoping that the reader makes his own list, which shall

help him in clarifying human development.

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