Book Name: ‘BELIEVE IN YOURSELF’: LIFE LESSONS FROM VIVEKANANDA
Edited by: Nanditha Krishna
Publisher: Aleph
Genre: Non-fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
Book Blurb: India has produced some of the world’s greatest religious leaders, sages, saints, philosophers, and spiritual thinkers. They were monks, nuns, and renunciates, nationalists, and reformers. No one religion had a Monopoly on them. They range from Mahavira and Buddha, who lived over 2, 500 years ago, to medieval saints like Chishti, avvaiyar, and Guru Nanak, to more recent philosophers and religious icons such as Vivekananda, Ramakrishna, saint Teresa, and many others. The spiritual and philosophical heritage they left behind is India’s gift to all Indians and the world. In the ‘life lessons’ series we publish the essential teachings of some of India’s best-known spiritual teachers, along with commentaries and biographical notes. Each book will be a handy companion to help the reader along the difficult pathways of life.
Review: Aleph’s Life Lessons series attempts to simplify the teachings of great scholars and thinkers into a sort of handy guide for an easy read and understanding for the layman.
Swami Vivekananda is difficult to understand and most people have to make do with accounts that circulate on the internet archives, not always true and sometimes mixed. This is a short book that captures the gist of Vedanta in an easy language.
“The Swami visualised a union between the East and the West through the exchange of Indian spirituality and Western knowledge.”
There is a wealth of knowledge within these pages and it is communicated in an easy to understand style which can serve as a handy introductory guide for anybody interested in Swami Vivekananda’s teachings. Swami Vivekananda found his guru in Ramkrishna Paramhansa and the discussions make for an interesting read. There is a need to take Swami Vivekananda’s teachings to a younger generation as great men remain relevant for generations after.
The book starts with an introductory chapter on Swami Vivekananda and his life, his philosophy and the later text is dedicated to the various teachings that arose from the discussions of Swami Vivekananda with his guru.