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The Light of Asia The legend of Gautama Buddha is well known. The Sakya queen Mahamaya, while she was pregnant, dreamt of a celestial elephant entering her womb. Later on she gave birth to prince Siddhartha at Lumbini, near Kapilvastu, and died shortly afterwards. Brahmins predicted that the newborn would either become a ruler of the world or turn into a saint who’d be forever revered by humanity. Despite King Suddhodhana’s best efforts, the prince renounced the world and, through his teachings, bequeathed to humankind a religion that’s had an enduring civilising effect. All this has been narrated in impeccable verse by Arnold, capturing the essence of Buddhist philosophy, eg, Even while we live; and when ‘tis willed we die/Shall there not be as good a "Then" as "Now"? No wonder this book, first published in 1879, is considered a classic. Enjoy the cadence of this biography-in-verse even as you mull over weighty spiritual issues raised in the volume.
What sort of person you’d trust: a silver-tongued rogue or a do-gooder with caustic tongue? Unhurt Goodness tells you how to discriminate good from evil. Have No Envy offers advice on how to deal with spite. When we put in efforts we do wish for positive results – this doesn’t happen always. ‘Discharging Duty Is Enough’ takes a leaf out of Bhagavad Gita when it advises you to do your duty and be satisfied with it. Similar are the other nuggets of wisdom in this volume. This rather unpretentious book throws light on how to perform everyday activities using one’s commonsense, which proverbially is not so common. Vahini I remember having reviewed an earlier edition of this collection. I admire Singhal’s persistence in bringing out yet another edition of his poems, which, honestly speaking, need a lot of reworking. However, some of these indicate that Singhal can become a poet yet. But he needs professional guidance. Perhaps a certificate course from IGNOU will help. I wouldn’t advise him to
abandon his profession, i.e., engineering. Poesy is the original La
Belle Dame Sans Merci as it tends to destroy those who get obsessed
with it. |
Dew Drops
