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In the second chapter, he deals
with the law of goodness. He impresses upon the readers that
certain cardinal principles common to all are essential for
guiding human conduct. Goodness, he says, is an individual as
well as a social need for acquiring happiness. Goodness is
strength, not a weakness, he maintains. To be good implies to
help someone without an ulterior motive and goodness leads to
positive living just as to forgive, to share, show compassion,
gratitude, etc.
The next step he
suggests is the attainment of faith in God because it solves all
our problems. Faith does not imply lack of effort, rather doing
our best and when our activities are carried out with such a
belief, excellence becomes a way of life, giving us greater joy
in return. The law of affluence gives a feeling of empowerment
and completeness.
In the chapter
dealing with purity, he observes purity is something absolute,
while honesty is a state of mind related to our belief systems
and our circumstances. A thief and a prostitute, he argues are
far from being pure but they could be honest in their dealings.
To elucidate his point, he takes up a peculiar situation in
which two individuals are placed. One is honest about his
deviations, while the other is dishonest, and he conceals his
bad traits and claims himself to be an honest person. The first
one, he says, is honestly dishonest, while the other is
dishonestly dishonest. Here is a remarkable piece of advice:
"Let us, therefore, try at least to become honest to our
dishonesty and lighten ourselves. It will help greatly in living
a positive life. There should be no effort to justify our
deviation and the admission should be honest. Also there should
be no feeling of guilt. Once such an attitude is developed,
there are good chances of coming to the absolutely right path,
as the life would unfold itself."
The other step is
showing compassion. It means empathy for other people’s
problems. It is the feeling of divine interdependence.
Compassion, according to the author, enriches every interaction
of life making life noble. In another chapter, he tells us that
one need not compare oneself with another and attribute any
hierarchy to oneself. Each one is a unique creation of God.
Regarding the law of excellence, he underscores the fact that
excellence has its own logic and once we have made it our goal,
Nature helps us to achieve it, making the whole process
self-perpetuating. About the law of wisdom, he says, once wisdom
dawns in full measure we are able to look at the deeper meaning
of life and endeavour to find its true purpose. The law of karma
ensures the reward of good actions in happiness and peace.
He counsels us to
understand fully the law of change, which he deems is the only
permanent thing. Quoting a proverb, "The glory is in the
race run and not in the race won," he remarks that success
and failure are transitory and we should not feel disheartened
in the face of failures. Again, he warns us that by the side of
good acts like humility, compassion, forgiveness, there may be a
little ego, giving us a feeling of superiority. If this egoism
is not curbed it may lead to arrogance and pride. There is an
urgent need to develop a wide vision and expand our minds beyond
the narrow walls. We should have a better look at our
relationships with others in all fields and rebuild them with an
attitude of love, purity and detachment. With this attitude our
friends and well-wishers start multiplying. We become free from
narrow circle of those who exploit us or whom we exploit. We
discover a new meaning in our relationship and we find that the
whole humanity has become one family.
The author claims
that he has made practical application of all these 21 laws of
positive living in his own life. He feels that if we start
living our lives with the new energy gathered from these laws,
we can change the face of humanity. This neatly printed book
with the words of inspiration to men and women makes a very
interesting reading. It can be useful in acquiring peace in the
world ridden with tensions due to narrowness in vision.
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THE
book under review is Mittal’s fourth book on the most useful
subject of positive living, wherein he has dealt extensively
with all the significant laws in the manner Dr Norman Vincent
Peale has touched on the same theme with a masterly stroke.
Despite this, Mittal has his own unique way of presenting
these laws in a delightful manner. The book has covered the
whole subject in 2 I chapters, with each chapter dealing with
one positive law of living. These laws, according to the
author, include law of goodness, law of faith, law of
gratitude, law of forgiveness, law of health, law of wisdom,
law of courage, law of change, law of acceptance, law of
excellence, law of karma and law of patience. What Dr Peale,
who is internationally famous author, calls power of positive
thinking is termed as the law of positive living by the
author.
