Nityanand Charan Das’s new offering, A Monk’s Almanac, starts with a ‘mind-blowing’ chapter — Mind Control: Managing Our Best Friend. He introduces the reader to the three bodies concept — Gross, Subtle, Spiritual. It is the subtle body that the mind resides in. ‘… it cannot be seen and what cannot be seen, cannot be dealt with easily.’ (sic) This said, he goes on to quote Kathopnishad where the relationship between mind, body, senses is clearly defined. The rest of the chapter is attributed to mind management in different ways, where he uses anecdotes, stories, management principles to drive the points home.
The book is based on the fact that spirituality has answers to all problems as it tackles the root cause of the problem. Our scriptures are steeped in management principles followed by our sages and gurus. They guided the rulers using the ideologies mentioned in the scriptures during crisis. Nityanand Charan Das’ book derives from the same ideologies and accentuates that our ancient wisdom equips us to sail through tough times with ease and dignity. At the same time, it uses quotes by known personalities and life coaches of today. For example, a quote by Laurence Peter — ‘Speak when you are angry, and you will make the worst speech of your life’ (sic) at the beginning of a chapter on anger management gets your immediate attention. This is followed by Bhagvad Gita references to anger where at one instance Lord Krishna says anger is gateway to hell but emphasises the importance of anger in certain circumstances.
In the chapter — Let Go, Live Free, the author talks about detachment and the ‘let go’ concept by giving example of two monks. He also underscores the necessity of gratitude, patience and purity in the same chapter. The chapter Dealing With Toxic People is an essential advice to survive in today’s world.
The best part of the book is that each chapter ends with a section — In A Nutshell. This sections explains the gist of each chapter point-wise making it easy for the readers to go back and try to imbibe the said principles in their lives.
All in all, A Monk’s Almanac is recommended for all readers who are looking for a good self-help book that guides them to overcome their day-to-day challenges.
Title: A Monk’s Almanac – Life Sutras for Troubled Times
Author: Nityanand Charan Das
Publisher: HarperCollins India
Pages: 216;
Price: Rs 299
