Open-Eyed Indeed

“Instead of trying to focus on those aspects of life that can’t be controlled, if we learn to focus on aspects that can be controlled, we will in effect influence our actions rather than influencing the results of our actions.” These lines on page 130 of the book have given a new perspective to me. Let me tell you the reason.

I am a Horoscope freak, every Sunday I read the weekly predictions in Eenadu (a Telugu Newspaper with large circulation ) very religiously, I follow the suggestions mentioned there and will look forward to the rest of the week. I do not know when I started doing this; somehow this habit is there with me for the last 7+ years. The irony, I never go back and check if the week has been the way it was predicted. When the next week starts, the cycle repeats.

However, in his book Open Eyed Meditations, Sri Shubha Vilas Das devoted a small chapter for these Horoscope Horrors and came up with a nice analogy from Mahabharatha. Here too, Sahadeva knew that the war was imminent; however, he could do little about it. I loved the analogy and point Shri Shubha Vilas ji drove home. Before I get into the full review of the book. Here is the synopsis.

Open-eyed Meditations is a beautiful compilation of thoughts wherein each meditation takes you on a journey to the past, bringing a secret herb to heal a problem of the present.

A true distillation of ancient wisdom tips for modern lives, this unique self-help book uses the wisdom of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata to solve your everyday problems.

Beyond the storyline, something deeper is waiting to be discovered from these ancient texts. This book is an attempt to uncover the hidden layer of wealth that is cleverly packaged within the commonly known storylines.

Hindu Puranas and Itihaasas are a treasure trove of good things. However, most of us know about them as mere stories. Subha Vilas ji in his book tried to bring out pearls of Wisdom that would solve the day to problems of most of us. He takes one modern day problem at a time, for example Taking Right decisions, Over Analysing a situation, the longing to take revenge, too much of anxiety for future, etc. This book has 64 such topics which cover a wide spectrum of issues.

The author tries to describe the problem, then comes up with a solution and in the process reinforces his point of view by picking an anecdote either from Ramayana or from Mahabharatha. He does all this in 3-4 pages. I really loved the approach of the author.

The language is simple; the author uses simple English to drive home his profound points. Then the length of the chapters is optimal. You don’t find any chapter that is too lengthy. So a user can pick the book, finish reading a chapter in say less that 5-10 mins and then go back to his/her work. Kudos to Subha Vilas ji for making it that easy. However, the reader needs to ruminate on the chapter to make the most of it :-). Mere reading of the book that too only once and leaving the book later might not be of great use.

Of late I started staying away from the Self Help books, the reason, I felt that they all say the same thing beyond a point. However, this book is indeed different. You would get to see the great Indian Epics from a completely different perspective. You might end up seeing the troubles and travails of life with a different lens. That way the book would be of great help to everyone. Hence I recommend one and all to read and re-read  the book.  For my part I am going to re-read the books and a few chapters again.

Now, going back to the topice of Horoscopes, will I stop reading Horoscopes? I donot know.  I resolved to stay from them going forward. I donno if I would succeed in it. If I succeed I will be indebted to Subha Vilas ji for planting the seed in my brain.

Do read the book, it would indeed be of great value. Happy reading .

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