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This book dwells upon such concepts as sin, individual and
social ethics, theory of action etc. It is useful, not only for
students of philosophy and theology but also for general
readers.
Soul and
Principles
by Dr.
Kulwant Singh. Gurinder Singh Khokhar, Amritsar. Pages 120.
Price not mentioned.
 Structured
religions help bring order in the society by systematically
retailing the thoughts of learned persons — call them avatars,
fakirs, pirs or prophets — and reinforcing socially
beneficial value systems. However, there is a higher religion
— that of the soul. It rises above all mundane divisions,
prejudices and regimentation. We call it spiritualism. Kulwant
Singh Khokhar highlights this aspect by giving brief accounts of
the artist Sobha Singh, as well as the author’s discourses
with him over a period of 15 years. Shamsher Singh Puri says in
the foreword, "All the subjects taken up in the book
personify the artist and display his mental frame."
Famous for
painting the Sikh Gurus, Sobha Singh could lend a special aura
to lovers too. As Karam Singh Grewal observes, "Waris Shah
made Heer-Ranjha immortal, and Sobha Singh has given perpetual
life to Sohni-Mahiwal." But the artist displays his
humility when he avers, "Such a painting may need many
lives to perfect it". Sobha Singh’s medium of message was
his paintings; in the chapter ‘My Art’ he says that often
people quote from books to justify their expositions. One merely
repeats what had been said, say, a few thousand years ago. With
paintings it is different, because these ‘do not permit
finding your own justifications out of them…In paintings there
is no repetition of the old ideas…’ The author has, through
these discourses, effectively brought out the great artist’s
philosophical thought on art and life.
The late artist’s
expositions on such topics as conscience, lust, ethics,
complexes, intellect, punishment etc are certainly worthy of
contemplation.
Your First
Job: From campus to career
by Rajiv
Khurana. Vision Books, New Delhi. Pages 120. Rs 95.
 So you are on the verge of
finishing your studies and haven’t yet been able to decide on
your career? Those who graduated in the 1970s or before were
handicapped by both paucity of relevant information as well as
career development opportunities. Thanks to the info-explosion
and a wide range of opportunities today, one can plan one’s
career well in advance. As Rajiv Khurana says, "People who
succeed do not take up a career by accident. They do so by
choice." There is no dearth of people who set out to
achieve one thing, but end up doing something else, resulting in
job-dissatisfaction, stress and maladjustment.
In this
well-illustrated book, written in easy-to-understand
conversational style, the author tries to help job aspirants
chalk out their cherished careers. Decide upon what you want,
then draw a strategy to achieve it. Such chapters as ‘Finding
your way at the career crossroads’, ‘Resume writing’, ‘e-Etiquette
for e-Resume’ etc help you overcome the starting hiccups. Then
the author advises you on how not to get rejected, how to cope
with rejections and, when you get your first job, how to deal
with teething troubles.
Happy career
building!
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WHENEVER
an enlightened soul has tried to erase social stratification — be
it creed-based or otherwise — he has been crucified and,
posthumously, deified. Thence, in his name, a new religion, and
hence an additional stratum, has been created. So today we have a
plethora of religions, creeds and sects that preach essentially the
same universal values and yet have managed to be at loggerheads with
each other. The crusades and jehads of yore keep visiting humanity
as varied mutations of the scourge of suspicion and hatred. In the
foreword, S.P. Singh rightly points out, "…deep love and
worst type of hatred both have been produced by none other than the
religious persons." Looking at positive contributions of
religious, spiritually evolved persons, hope persists that humanity
can co-exist despite denominational distinctions.
