Living with the Himalayan Masters !

Living with the Himalayan Masters !

I want to share an amazing book , Living with the Himalayan Masters by Swami Rama .

Here is a book that is no ordinary book ! Again , as I have been sharing some of my old books , this was also read again and again for the past 30 years !

In fact , I will not call it reading ! It is more of listening ! The great sage is sharing his life journey that is so wonderful , unique , moving and profound . 

As , Swami Rama relates his life story , we realise that we are indeed sitting at the feet of a most unique person , if I can call him that ! 

From the very birth of this unique character , which is as unique as it can be , Swami Rama is really a Spiritual Being who came to Earth to share his spiritual wisdom for humanity . He has such an amazing and compelling story to share that it looks like a fairy tale or even fiction ! 

I read it so many times and then had to make a choice . My choice was , either I believe the story completely or just throw the book away as trash ! That is it !

If it is true , then I have to shift my views about everything ! It is a paradigm shift !

Fortunately for me , I choose to really believe it !

You have to read to see what I am saying .

This amazing Swami shares how he went meeting other sages in the Himalayas who are teaching him and showing what Yoga and the hidden secrets of the real science of the mind , consciousness is all about . It is just out of this world !

The teachings and demonstrations shown are mind boggling ! Nature is performing as though it is always conscious ! Yogis doing their alchemy out of nothing . Stones, rocks turning into food !

Dead bodies arising and living bodies dying !

Matter just disappearing into energy and then coming back to matter !

Swami Rama,'s journey to USA to share the wonders of mind control and how to understand the mystery of Biofeedback ! He worked with top scientist in USA in mind stuff and went on to start an amazing institute in Honesdale , Pennsylvania , USA .

The Himalayan International Institute of Yoga ,Science and Philosophy .

Do I need to say more !

Just go read if spirituality , Science and Yoga means something to you .

I simply love this wonderful sage .

Take care. Love.

Till we meet again .

Amar.

When God Becomes A Drug !

When God Becomes A Drug !

When God becomes a drug is written by Father Leo Booth . It is a book about breaking the chains of religious addiction and abuse .

Religious addiction , like alcohol addiction is a disease that can be treated .Just as in the Alcholics Ananymous program using the 12 step program , we can also use a similar 12 steps program to undo the dysfunctional behavior . With such a program people with this addiction can be helped into having a healthy relationship with God !

When we start using God in a compulsive and bulling way , we have become addicted to a certain form , ritual and rigidity that  can do more harm than good .

The word and belief about God can have multiple ways of interpretation and understanding . We may belong to a certain religion or to a sub category of the larger religion . Than , as individuals we will have our own personal awareness or understanding of these concepts . They are very abstract and can often lead to confusion and misunderstanding or creating a very personal way of understanding of God which be very  difficult and demanding .
Coming to ordinary day to day living in the context of religion and this God business : We have so very often punished our lovely , beautiful and innocent children  over issues of not being there for some ritual or prayer . We forget to pray , we forgot some other religious practice , maybe it was fasting , maybe sitting very quietly in a church , temple or any other religious place ! Maybe the over zealous father had sat very strict and rigid rules around religion , maybe you ate something that was not supposed to be eaten and the maybe list can go on and on !
Religious abuse is a hidden disease , it is often difficult to see from the outside . When you grow up in an alcoholic home , the abuse by the drunken father is seen easily . Mum's rage and anger tantrums are easily seen . The home is labelled dysfunctional .
In contrast , people growing in homes that appear to be stable , material comforts hid the emotional neglect that has been going on . Children become very confused when they are punished on religious issues and especially about God ! They keep feeling for the rest of their lives that they are not good and that scars are really painful for a very long time .

Many religious centres in all faiths are well known for abusing and punishing children in their care !
Basically , religion and God has been used over hundreds of years to control , distort , manipulate and abuse people .
This book is really high lighting a very serious problem that we humans are and have been practicing in the name of religion and God !
My point is to awaken you to this major human issue of abuse in the very name of God !!
I will stop here and take care .
Till we meet again .
Amar.

A Search In Secret India

A Search In Secret India .

My dear friends , I am sharing books that I read some 40 years ago ! These books made a great impact on my growth and development in my very important formative years . I was always searching or seeking to understand the purpose or meaning of Life ! I just happened to be like that from my childhood ! As early as my teen years I was always wondering what am I doing here in this life !

Than in 1973 , an event happened that brought my desire or seeking even more urgently into my life .

My young father , a medical doctor , passed away at the tender age of 49 years !

With his passing away , my urgency to understand the meaning or purpose of life took top priority !

So , books around that time of my life were books of a serious and deeper nature .I thought sharing a little of my background information will be helpful .

Now , coming to today's book review : A Search in Secret India was written sometime in 1940 !!

The author , Dr. Paul Brunton was an English man who went to India in search of the mysteries .

Dr Paul Brunton was a very earnest seeker . He travelled all around India in search of Sages , Swamis and saints . He was not too impressed to just seek the normal sadhus , of whom there were too many !

His extensive travelling in British India as an Englishman had its pros and cons .

The book is about his traveling and seeking this sages and sitting with them or at their feet to learn and understand what did they discover in their inner journey .

He is probably well known for his meeting the great Indian Sage Ramana Maharishi in South India .

As an earnest seeker he not only saw these mystics and sages , but took the effort to understand and do his own inner work.

I can tell you that his books at that time in my life were God sent !!

I read all his books with such hunger that I am always grateful to the Universe Force that guided me to such wonderful people . 

Dr Paul Brunton wrote some of the most interesting books during his days .

I will just share some of the titles and you will see what I meant .

This is a list of some of his books :

1. A Search in Secret India .

2.The secret Path.

3.A secret in Secret Egypt .

4. A Message from Arunachala .

5. A Hermit in the Himalayas .

6. The Quest of the Overself.

7.The Inner Reality .

8. The Hidden Teachings Beyond Yoga.

9. The Spiritual Crisis of Man .

Now you can see why I was so happy and excited to get to know Dr Paul Brunton and his books .

His great contribution to us was his extensive travelling and living among yogis ,mystics and holy men of that times . His understanding and then being able to share his knowledge to us all over the world .

Dr Paul Brunton has written so much that it is a treasure house of studies of Comparative Religion , Mysticism and Philosophy .

I will always place him among my most treasured  people .

As I always express , that my joy is to point and share some of the wonderful gems on Spiritual knowledge with you.

I feel that is enough for today . 

Take care .

Amar.

The Outsider

The Outsider 

Today , I am going to share another book that I have been reading since 1974 ! The Outsider is written by Colin Wilson . He wrote it as an inquiry into the nature of the sickness of humankind in the mid-twentieth century . 

I am sharing because the sickness of humankind is getting worse , as I see it today !

The Outsider is a person who seems to be in this world and yet does not feel he/she really belongs here ! The Outsider , from the very depths of his nature feels he is not at home and is always wondering at all the value systems , social systems and social institutions of the world .

The book first came out in 1956 ! 

If I share the contents of this wonderful book , you will understand how an outsider views the world .

Chapter 1 is called , The country of the blind . Here a vague description is given of the outsider. The outsider is seen as a social problem . The hero of the book remains unnamed . He is the anonymous man who comes from the country . Finds a job in a bank. He takes a room in a family hotel . Left alone in his room , he meditates . He has no genius , no mission to fulfil , no remarkable feelings to bestow . ' I have nothing and I deserve nothing .  Yet , in spite of it , I desire some sort of recompense.' The main character goes on commenting that , ' Religion... he doesn't care for ! ' As to philosophic discussions , they seem to me altogether meaningless. Nothing to be tested , nothing to be verified. Truth-what do they mean by it ! ' To the outsider , death seems important .  ' Death ,that is the most important of all ideas . ' Than coming back to his living problems ; ' I must make money ' Then he sees light coming from a small hole from the next room . He stands and looks through the spy-hole. ' I look , I see.....The next room offers itself to me in its nakedness. '

Chapter 2 . World without values .

There are 9 chapters and the outsider is constantly trying to make sense of the world in which he lives.

Chapter 3. The romantic outsider .

Chapter 4. The attempt to gain control

Chapter 5. The pain threshold .

Chapter 6. The question of Identity .

Chapter 7. The greater synthesis...

Chapter 8. The outsider as visionary. 

And finally Chapter 9 . Breaking the circuit .

Throughout the book , the outsider is feeling very lost in the world of ordinary people. He feels that their day to day living is a form of death ! The petty , trivial , everydayness means empty and meaningless and there is a deep cry within to seek out what is real !

It was a very great and timely book in my life . I was going through a very similar phase of my growing . My constant question like the outsider was always what does it mean ? What does it matter!

As I am sharing this rather old book , I wonder if it is still in print .

Colin Wilson was one of my favourite authors in the 1970's .

I will stop here . Hope you found something interesting in my very brief blog.

Till we meet again .Take care .

Amar.

When Everything Changes Change Everything !

When Everything Changes Change Everything !

Here is another great book that I like to share with you . When Everything Changes Change Everything is written by Neale Donald Walsch . 

Neale Donald Walsch is the famous and bestseller author of Conversations With God series .

His first book came out in 1995 ! Conversations With God -Book One.

This book came out in 2009 and I bought the book in 2011 .

Normally any books about matters of the spirit , spiritual , Oneness or such tittles don't miss my eyes, as I always like to read how other are experiencing the One ! I also enjoy seeing how they express their experience . It's a good way to know the many ways to the same One experience !

The books , Conversations With God were lying in my favourite book shop for some time . I always passed it for some strange reason . I may have become judgemental , or assumed or just the time was not right yet !

Anyway , coming to this book about everything changes so change everything , it just caught my eye! Any books on matters of change real get my attention ! I just love to see how others are studying the greatest phenomena as far as I am concern . Change is just too important and I love and am passionate about change ! Okay , okay ! Let me come to this great wonderful book.

I was walking in this book shop and I saw this book lying there . Very casually I picked this book and started to turn the pages to browse .

Donald just got my attention at the first page . He started his book like this : ' Please Sit Down . No , really. Please . Sit down . there's a better than even chance you're reading these first few words standing up ( in a bookshop someplace , or maybe in someone's home ), scanning these lines to see if you want to read any further.

If you are , please sit down. You're not going to want to read the first few paragraphs and then just walk away. you're going to want more time with what's written here . So "steal " as many moments as you can with this book before deciding whether to buy it -because I want you to know what you're getting yourself into . ' Wow !!! Imagine reading these lines standing in a book shop ! I was so taken by Donald's style and pattern of writing that I actually had tears in my eyes !! 

As you read further you will realise why I had tears reading this wonderful book !

Here was an author who had gone to the bottom of whatever we call life . He was suddenly made homeless for no fault of his ! Faith , circumstanstances or destiny , I don't want to get into that !

Here was an author who is giving me something from his very personal life story . 

I can tell you that I not only bought his this book I am sharing with , but all his books after that !!

Well , not on the same day !

Donald , went on to share in the first few pages that will make you stand up and wonder what to do !

( I like calling this author Donald , as I consider him my close and spiritual friend whom I love very much !! ).

Can you imagine what he wrote in the next few pages ! He says that this a conversation that we must investigate how life works at the mental and spiritual level , out of which will emerge a surprising revelation about ways in which we can change our experience of change itself--which means , of course , our experience of life !!

I need go no further to tell you that this book actually took my breath away !

Let me stop here as I don't know what else to say to tell you that this book is a Must reading in your list of great books !

I have only shared the first page with you !! 

Just go and get his books and this very special book !

Have to end here as I am getting slightly emotional today !!

Till we meet again . Take care . Love.

Amar.

Anita Moorjani in Sedona .

Dying To Be Me ! Anita Moorjani's Story of her Near Death to True Healing !

Dying To Be Me !

 Anita Moorjani's Story of her Near Death to true Healing !

This is a truly  amazing and inspirational story of this wonderful woman , Anita Moorjani .

I will share with you this remarkable book which can have Only 2 outcomes !

Either you too can really accept her story and belief it or you can just read it as some ones  fiction or something of that nature ! If you accept the first option , than you are going to have to have a real paradigm shift in your thinking and life itself !!

If the second , than it does not matter much !

If you accept her story , it is going to change your whole world view !

Her story of her struggle with Cancer is really remarkable and fascinating ! Maybe , I should not make like an impersonal insensitive way of relating her hardships and struggles . I have the utmost respect and love for this brave and wonderful woman .

The journey of her life during cancer and how she saw her body just slipping away until she was practically just bones and wounds all over her body is well described by her in the book. I will tell you that  at the tail end she just went towards coma and all her vital organs were shutting down or going . As her vital organs were failing her , she went through a most extraordinary near-death experience where she realised that she was more than her body ! She was in her non physical self and had an amazing experience with spirits of her near and dear ones who communicated with her . They explained all her conditions and why she had all this stuff and struggles ! Her stressful life and her past issues were all creating her cancer !

She was also able to go further and made to realise that all of life is really good and blissful ! We have blocked that grace and blessing from coming to us by our negative concepts and conditions !

She had a choice to come back ! She made the choice and returned ! 

She also became aware that all her body started to heal immediately after her discussion to accept total love and well being for her body/mind and spirit !

As the medical world or doctors stood there watching , her body was healing right in front of their eyes ! They just could not believe it . In fact , they did many more test to try to understand what was happening !

To every ones surprise and astonishment , she just recovered so fast and so completely ! She just defied all understanding and knowledge of medical science and our understanding of how life is !

Listen to her talk and you are going to be amazed by her story . 

Heaven is not a place ! It is a State !! Yes, that is the message from Anita !

I am going to link some videos if I can . I also want you all to go listen to her talk on YouTube .

That's it ! As simple as that ! We accept it or reject it !

We reject it , it is okay ,as life goes on as it as , so no problem !

On the other hand , we accept her story , than we have to arrange our thinking about life and everything !! Now , that is a big ask ! 

That is a choice you have to make !!

Good luck .

Take care and love .

Till we meet again . Thanks for reading .

Amar

.

The Power of Now !

The Power of Now !

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle is the bible du jour -a must- read for anyone looking for a modern take on spirituality....

Essential reading for anyone who might be feeling weighed down by the past or fearful of the future !

This is how a review has been given to this amazing and powerful book !

Eckhart Tolle is one very unique person walking on this planet today ! He speaks from an ever present state that he is in ! As he is a realised person who is speaking from his own personal experience , it is near absolutely right to listen to this wonderful person ! 

In the talks , discourses and comments on the Power of Now , he is sharing with us the most essential

guide to tell us that being in the present moment is where we can always be peaceful , joyful and happy ! It is in the now , that we can be free from the pain of the past

and the anxiety and apprehension of the future !  Problems do not exist in the present Now !!

Once we able to access the inner space of the present Now , we can work our way out of psychological pain and become authentic . 

As authentic humans we are true to ourselves and to others ! We stop playing games with ourselves and other people ! 

It is only in the now , that we realise that we are already complete and perfect !

Eckhart Tolle , in his trademark , gentle , soft fashion will take you to the ever present sense of being in the Now ! Even as he speaks , you can start to feel the sense of being in this wonderful space where all becomes still and peaceful ! Just go to YouTube and watch his wonderful videos . I never get tired of watching him again and again ! I just love to keep sharing this amazing soul to as many people as I can ! I simply love this guy !

This is another great book that you have to read and read again and again !

All you have to do to get to this inner space of peace and joy , is to keep watching Eckhart's videos and read a page or two every day ! Do that for a month and I promise you , that you will be a different person ! 

Do I need to say more !!

Now , please make an effort and see the magic of being transformed !

Do it ! That is it !

Thank you once again for coming to read my simple reviews ! The reviews are more like pointers to the Real ! Believe me , I have seriously read these books and now am sharing the nuggets that are beyond value !

The Power of Now is one such nugget !

Take care . Till we meet again .

Amar. 

I Am That ! Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj .

I Am That ! Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj .

Today I am going to share one of the best and greatest books that I have been reading for 23 years !

When I say , reading  , it means that this book is a book that I read again and again  ! This is a book that you read just like you eat or even breath ! This book is nourishment for my thirsty and hungry spirit ! This book was first published in 1973 ! It is  actually the talks of Sri Nisargatta in Marathi . Some people tape recorded , others translated or edited this marvelous book !
It is so highly spoken off book , that one statement from the forward to the book is worth sharing with you . ' In fact , many regard it as the only book of spiritual teaching really worth studying ! '
Here is a book that is so pure and direct to the point that it is awesome and amazing !
This Great Spiritual Master does not minch his words on matters of the spirit ! He does straight to
the Real and keeps holding you to That , That Is all the way !
On the very cover of the book that I have are this words ! '
' The Real does not die , the unreal never lived . Imagine a big building collapsing , some rooms are in ruins , some intact .
But can you speak of the space as ruined or intact ?
It is only the structure that suffered and the people who happened to live in it . Nothing happens to space itself ! Similarly , nothing happens to life when forms break down and names are wiped out .
Once you know that death happens to the body and not to you ,you just watch your body falling off , like a discarded garment !
The Real you is timeless and beyond birth and death !
The body will survive as long as it is needed . it is not important that it should live long ! '
now just reading the above lines from the cover of the book has expressed everything ! It is the very essence or core of the great book !
Here is one Master of the highest Upanishadic traditions !
A Real true teacher of the Vedantic path of Oneness !
He stands high as a pure state of awareness and oneness and needed no ashrams or followers !

He lived on his terms and is one of the great free spirits that I know !
All I can say, at the end is that this is a book you have to taste , chew and eat slowly ! Digesting this knowledge and pure wisdom will change and transform you completely !
This so-called  review is more of just pointing to you to this book !
It is a book that you have to understand on your terms .
Please read it ! Thank you.
Till we meet again , take care .
Amar.

How I found Freedom in an Unfree World !

How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World !

Today , I am going to review another book that I read about 40 years ago ! I not only read this book so many times since than , but it also had such an impact on my life and thinking !

This wonderful book , How I found Freedom in an Unfree World is written by Harry Browne .

It is a book that will take you to first  to make you understand that how you got yourself into such a mess by getting so many traps or boxes .

It tells you why you are not free . The countless traps that we get into . We are trapped into the identity trap , the morality trap , the intellectual and emotional trap , the unselfish trap , the group trap , the government trap , the rights trap , the despair trap and so many others .

After the author explains why we are not free , he than goes to explain how to be free from all this traps .

Freedom from Government , freedom from social restrictions ,  freedom from bad relationships , freedom from insecurity , freedom from family and a host of others .

Than he goes on to take you to see how you can move towards a new life .

I can tell you that this  book is  really worth its weight in in whatever you value .

At the end you can come to understand how we get so messed om our lives . 

We do it to ourselves ! Unknowingly , we take upon ourselves so much of stuff that does not belong to us .

We have to always be vigilant in life .

So , my friends , go search about this wonderful man , Harry Browne and see what a great person he was ! I love him and owe so much to him . 

Till we meet again , take care .

Amar.

Who has not heard of Jonathan Livingston Seagull !

Who has not heard of Jonathan Livingston Seagull !

Here is another very small book that made a great impact on me and thousands of others ! Richard Bach , the author was travelling and had no idea that his small , little book had made him a rich man and also very successful !

I have read this small book many times . It is so liberating and fresh to know how we can spread our wings and just fly ! We are all capable of doing what Jonathan did with her/his life ! I take great joy and pride to say that this simple book is one of my great teachers ! I too had a rebellion streak in me . To rebel is not to be rowdy or arrogant , no , it was just a deep sense of wanting to go beyond what others were fearing to go or do !

Just as Jonathan , I could not understand all the limitedness that was constantly being placed around me and us all the time ! I just wanted to challenge the limits and boundaries around . I wanted to know for the sake of knowing ! Knowing is so much fun ! I know that water is made from two gases ! Take Oxygen and Hydrogen and at the right time , we actually get water ! Wow ! 

Jonathan was always being restricted by the elders . They had their own fears and limitedness . Seagulls cannot fly at night ! Seagulls cannot dive or try new ways of flying ! Seagulls are only suppose to stay within the narrow confirms of just being that , Seagulls .

The inner call or awakening was just too over powering for Jonathan ! Jonathan did what it felt like doing . That was going against the moral/standard of seagull code of conduct . Jonathan was punished by the elders to be banished far away from the ordinary colony of the average seagulls . The elders were fearful that other gulls may get influenced and start following Jonathan . The same old problem and solution to an age old issue ! Our brightest humans all went through the same passage ! 

Jonathan was left to her/his own devices and life . Initially felt lonely and sad , but , once it got into the real work , it soon forgot its misery. It was now enjoying and exploring the real potential that was within ! 

One day , Jonathan was pleasantly surprised to see two other seagulls flying along side Jonathan . They were just as capable of doing what Jonathan could do ! Than , Jonathan was to learn that there are seagulls that also live on a higher plain or level ! That is when Jonathan is taken to meet the great Chang ! This great master seagull than teaches Jonathan the real teachings of the beyond the mind/body stuff ! 

What a wonderful and beautiful story that has so many hidden and secret teachings all within a simple book ! That is the hallmark of an enlightened master !

I will always thank Richard Bach for the great book .

Please , my dear friends , if you have not read this book , than do it .

I have come to the realisation , that it is not the size or pages of writings or the size of books that matter .  Some of this simple books are hidden gems that we must find and keep .

Take care . Til we meet again .

Amar.

The Pursuit of Perfect !

The Pursuit of Perfect ! 

The pursuit of Perfect is a wonderful book written by Tal Ben-Shahar , Ph.D . He is a popular teacher in Harvard University . He teaches a very popular course on ' happiness ' .  As wonderful and useful it is to understand ways to be happy , Tal Ben-Shahar found that most of his students , parents and others around were always stressed-out ! He discovered that people when searching for happiness were also wanting to be perfect ! 

Now , I want to share this wonderful and great book to you because , I feel , that most of us have a problem ! ( Including me ! ) . We all want to be perfect ! Somewhere in our early life , we get trapped into this need to be perfect ! As a youngster, I too wanted to be perfect . It went on in many aspects of my life. I can share with you that we just get into a weird situation of always chasing perfection and searching or hoping to be happy in that chase ! Only to go on chasing this illusive desire , need or dream of achieving perfection ! It's like a wild goose chase . We all who want to be successful have a need and high expectation to get what we want . The society too puts pressure on us ! We want to look younger , to make more money , want to be happy and stand out or tall in our society . All these need to be perfect is a hurdle or obstacle to being happy .

The book is well researched with cutting edge groundbreaking  scientific principles from the field of Positive psychology . Tal Ben-Shahar is a wonderful human being who is worth listening to . Watch him on YouTube and you will not be disappointed . 

In this wonderful book ,  Tal ,has a very gentle way of teaching  us about how we become obsessed with the idea of perfection . I have been thinking about the meaning of perfect and I honestly do not understand it today ! I simply don't know how this ideas got into us to be perfect ! In the field of psychology or psychiatry , we have a condition known as OCD . Obsessive compulsive disorder . 

Our behave of perfection is closely related to this OCD ! 

When we have an OCD personalty or what some people think is perfect , it can be very stressful and tiring . I want my physical body to be 75.00 Kilos . So , I am now going to do all sorts of strange things to get my desired  75.00 Kilos ! If I become 76.00 ,then I am not happy or satisfied ! I know that going back to 75.00 Kilos is good as from 76.00 , I can go towards 77.00 and so on . The point is it's okay to what has happened and just be mindful . Unfortunately , many people really get stressed that now they are 77.00 or whatever weight . That is really bad . The perfectionist is rigid and critical of his situation . He/she actually become very hard on themselves . They start to abuse or self- bully !

The goals becomes more important then having a good life . The perfectionist set their mind on the destination and not the journey . 

Tal , coined a new word , Optimalist .  The Optimalist is a realist , sees life as made of ups and downs.

Understands failure as part of living and in fact uses failure as a feedback to move forward. Optimalist also is forgiving and open to suggestions.

This is a very real subject that we have to become aware off . Being perfect is very stressful .

I really urge all the people to please read this wonderful book .

That's enough for today , til we meet again . Take care. 

Dr Dhali /Amar.

A Transformational Book : The Four Agreements !

A Transformational Book : the Four Agreements !

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz , comes from a very old and ancient tradition .

It's a book from the Toltec who live around the Mexican , Central America area . 

The Toltecs call themselves Artist of Life . 

This small book made a very great impact on me ! 

As small and as simple it appears , it is a book of great wisdom and depth !

The author , Don Miguel Ruiz has a very simple way of expressing the teachings of the Toltec tradition . Let not the simple book deceive you ! 

The Four Agreements are really very powerful tools , if I can call them so , that reveal the source of  our self-limiting beliefs that we acquire from birth . We are born in the pure nature of being in Oneness with all and everything . That is our true and natural state . I like to call it , our wild state ( I write a blog under the tittle , WildOne ! ) 

As we are born , we are domesticated , as Don M. Ruiz ,likes to put it . I can express it in another way . We are programmed or conditioned by the programmers who are there earlier than us , in the form of parents , teachers , religious teachers and all other relevant people in our life !

This domestication is how we acquire all the belief systems into our mind ! That, than becomes our reality as we see or understand everything through this filter system ! The reality or the so called truth is so real for us that we do all sorts of evil to each other ! All our differences start from these belief systems ! In fact , this is the root of our divisions , differences , prejudices and all the rest of the human drama !

Unknowingly or unwittingly , we start to agree to endless believes on everything in our life and world ! It's just so amazing how we accept all the agreements to take that to be our reality . We are all trapped in this beliefs and it is near impossible to come out of them ! They have such a complex and complicated system that has it's own feed back loop within the system ! There are all sorts of fears, concerns and other emotional feelings of feeling guilty or shame and many more ! It's just amazing how we are trapped in such an elaborate prison that most of us not even aware !

The Four Agreements are just amazing on how they are able to cut through all the growth of the beliefs ! Just read it and you will see the magic and miracle of the Four Agreements.

The Four Agreements are : 

                                         1. Be Impeccable With Your Word ! Speak with integrity and say what you mean . Avoid using words to speak against yourself or to gossip about others . Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love ! 

                                         2.Don't Take Anything Personally ! Nothing others do is because of you ! What others say and do is a projection of their own reality , their own dream.When you are immune to the opinions ans actions of others , you won't be victim of needless suffering !

                                         3.Don't Make Assumptions ! Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want . Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstanding , sadness and drama . With just this one agreement , you can completely transform your life !

                                         4.Always Do Your Best !Your best is going to change from moment to moment , it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick . Under any circumstance , simply do your best , and you will avoid self-judgement , self-abuse , and regret !

I simply want to thank Don M. Ruiz for giving and sharing this very profound truth that will really transform you !

This is another book that I have been reading always , so that the teachings become part of me !

I wish and hope that they can become part of your life too !

With this I take my leave. Til we meet again .

Dr Dhali /Amar.

Siddharttha , a book authored by Hermann Hesse .

Siddhartha , a book written by Hermann Hesse .

Today I like to express my feelings about a little book that I first read in 1968 ! While walking the streets of Poona ( Pune ) , in India , I saw this wonderful book lying among many books that were labelled as used/secondhand books ! The book belonged to a person from Quebec , Canada !

Even than I picked the book up with  reverence and love ! Even today , after 46 years , I touch this book with utmost love !

Hermann Hesse , A Nobel Price winner wrote many wonderful books that are really worth a read. His writings are about the thin line where the mystical and real are merging into a blurring reality . I can only read the translated versions of his beautiful books . They must be so wonderful in German !

This book , Siddhartha is a rare kind of book because it has a strange way of not leaving you once you have picked it ! It becomes a lifelong love story ! It keeps expanding within you and the roots keep growing deep into your very essence of being !

It's a simple story of our search to understand the meaning or ultimate answer to the mystery of being here on earth ! The story is woven during the times of Buddha ! The Awakened One is already preaching his Nobel Path. Siddhartha , the main character is a youngster who is earnestly wanting to understand the enigma of man's role here on earth. He is not satisfied with just being a Brahmin following rituals and traditions . He begs his parents to let him go into the world to search the answers to the mystery of life . A good and close friend too joins him ( Govinda is his name ).

The beautiful journey takes Siddhartha through a tortuous path that carries him through the many ways of the world. He , like the Buddha , wants to find the reality or truth his way ! It's worth reading to see the many experiences that Siddhartha had to go in life to slowly but ultimately find the answer to his quest .

The self - knowledge that he attains is so wonderfully simple and comforting !

It's a gentle book that can easily be read in a single night ! I must have read it a dozen or more times !

I actually always see myself walking the same path that Siddhartha walked !

Read it and you will know what I mean !

Oh, before I take my leave , there was a movie made in the early 70's ! It's also worth watching the movie .

Til we meet again . Amar/ Dr Dhali.

My First Book Review : The Bible !

My First Book Review : The Bible !

I have decided to review my first book on this blog . I have chosen to review or write on the Bible !

First disclaimer that I have to express is that I am no Bible scholar or anything of that sort whatsoever! 

I just felt or got inspired this morning to express my views on the Bible ! That's it !

I grew up in a multi -racial , multi-religious , multi-culture country . So , from early childhood , it was natural to be exposed to all the multi people !

My schooling was done in a Christian brothers school . I enjoyed the stories from the Old testament and the New testament .  Personally , the life of Christ has always fascinated and excited me .

I read St. Luke's Gospel and found that easier to comprehend . Later , I found that St Luke too was a medical healer ! I . too am a medical doctor .
Firstly , the Bible is a wonderfully interesting story ! As a child hearing the many adventures and challenges that were experienced by Jesus kept me fascinated and in wonderment . Here was a simple person who was able to to see the common life of the people and their never ending struggles . He understood their plight as he grew among them . Yet , he saw everything from a very different perspective . As he walked about seeing and meeting the common people he was able to understand the wants and needs of the people .
His Divine mission and being a spiritual being is a topic that is beyond my scope here.
What fascinates me is his very simple way of connecting with the ordinary people and able to express , teach or show by example a wonderful way of living . He spoke in ways that make very good common sense .
The many parables or stories of those times are really lessons in Human behaviour . He is a Master Psychologist !
Let me share some of those parables : Here , Jesus is walking with his friends/ followers or what ever term we want to give them . As they are walking on this highway , they come across a wounded man on the side of the road . He was badly injured or hurt . He was in pain and needed help urgently . Jesus being a very compassionate and loving person who was able to see every one as one immediately went towards the wounded man to help . It is a naturally  Human instinct . However , his friends cautioned him against helping the poor wounded person ! The reason being that he was from a different tribe / village/ race or whatever . Jesus was very upset with their attitude . Today , most of us will be !
So , he had to teach them that we are all One Beings. We are all brothers/sisters of the one Human family . That was taught over 2000 years ago ! That is a truth that is timeless for all of us .
We, today , are no different from the people who walked with Jesus that day ! We are all so full of differences, prejudices and bias feelings to so many people who look or are different from us .
That simple parable is still absolutely relevant today as it was then .
On another occasion , Jesus was again walking about on a holiday or more correctly a Holly- day. I day to stop doing worldly work and pray or remember God . A wonderful way to live . Work and rest to have a balanced living . Nothing wrong with that . However, on that day, a poor farmer had other worries and concerns ! His cow/calf had fallen into a hole of some sort . The poor animal was hurt and in pain. Not taking the animal  out soon was not an option. The animal was badly hurt and weak . It was dying . People refused to do anything as it was a Holly-day and the priests were very strict and rigid with their rules ! Jesus , again had to explain to the people the common sense of understanding the reality of the situation . He had to tell them , that if the animal is not taken out of the hole , it will die .
That too is a parable that shows how we become so rigid and dogmatic to beliefs and traditions that we simply forget to see what needs to be done in the present now ! We are facing the same today .
Bureaucracy and what we call red tape is sometimes unbelievable .
I can go on and show that all the wonderful teachings and parables of Jesus are timeless truths and realities that are still relevant today as it was then .
To me the Bible is a wonderful prescription book that we need to understand and apply to our life !
Jesus Christ is a Master Healer who heals from many angels ! We need to open our heart , eyes and more to understand the mission of  Christ .
With this I will end my first book review . I think I took quite a challenge starting this way !
Thank you for reading . Til we meet again .
Dr Dhali /Amar.