Title: Make the mind Mt. Kailash
Author: Ravi Valluri
Publisher: The Write Place
Pages: 388
Price: Not mentioned
‘Love and spirituality are the most overused words. They’re now threadbare because of their excessive use’. I’m unable to recall who wrote this. But whoever opined this, must have had a perspicuous mind because there’s almost a redundancy of spirituality nowadays. Without fathoming the real meaning of the word ‘spirituality’, we’re using it rampantly, nay almost flippantly.
But if you can stave off the initial reservation and a lurking sense of doubt while picking up Ravi Valluri’s ‘Make the mind Mt. Kailash’ (Publisher – The Write Place), your perception of today’s commercial spirituality will change by the time you finish Ravi’s 100th perceptive article in this magnificent compilation of hundred spiritually thought-stirring pieces published over the years in FPJ and on a spiritual portal.
There’s nothing didactic about the articles on mind, emotions, feelings, empathy among others. Human mind has been a conundrum even to the most evolved sages, saints, philosophers and thinkers. American sage-philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, ‘What makes the real sense/In the enigmatic human existence/Is to explore and unwind/The numerous mysteries of human mind’.
This is exactly what Ravi Valluri set out to achieve through his profound articles, Exploration of human mind and evolution of human consciousness. ‘An unexamined life is not worth living’, stated Greek philosopher, Socrates before drinking the bowl of Hemlock. Insight and introspection can help us delve into the seemingly unfathomable ocean of consciousness and they enable us to clean and clear the webs of mind.
The essays are straight from the heart and mind of the author who seems to know that obscurity is inimical to clarity. Written in a very simple, lucid and flowing language, all essays are intelligible to seekers and casual readers. Here’s a passage from one of his spiritual essays that causes you to cogitate, “Emotions and avarices such as anger, arrogance, greed, jealousy, lust, obsession, attachments and entanglements stick like glue to our minds. This coagulates our egos and humans adopt unbending positions. Such instances are espoused and become inflexible over a period of time, as our intellect and not superior wisdom cloud the delicate innocence that is within all of us. This predisposition thwarts both our physical and metaphysical growth process.”
Ravi Valluri’s book is a thoughtful person’s constant companion. It comes as a whiff of fresh air and dispels the miasma of over-spirituality. Remember, the staleness of spirituality can be obviated with the help of simple and straightforward spirituality. One loves to read and re-read the essays as every reading begets a fresh perspective on mind and its intricacies.
