HARUKI MURAKAMI

DIVE INTO THE PHENOMENON

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer who either you fall in love with or end up simply hating. But once you pick a Murakami book you will not escape untouched.

He has a quality that draws you into his books, gradually making you a part of his world. A world which is full of detachment, love, loneliness and longing. It draws on elements of magical realism and sometimes dystopian themes. They feel surreal and melancholic. He at times dabbles in science fiction and alternate reality. 

His books are usually very smooth and easy to follow. What is difficult to fathom is the complexity of themes and plots.

He started a coffee house and Jazz bar in Tokyo before he dabbled in writing. No wonder his books are sputtered with references to music and his artistic tastes.

If I’ve piqued your interest and you’ve never ventured into the Murukami world, now is the time.

But where to start? There are tons of reviews, videos and fan clubs who have analysed his works. It is a wonder in itself. He is a rockstar writer!

But for a start you can pick up his classics. Not in any particular order, but they will introduce you to his world.

1. Norwegian Woods: His claim to stardom. It’s hauntingly beautiful and melancholic. A movie based on it is also worth a watch. (After you have read the book.)
2. Kafka on the shore: A complex and psychologically thrilling plot. Two story lines run in parallel. Don’t start with this one. A bit complex to understand.
3. Killing Commendatore: His latest and his ode to The Great Gatsby. Super read!
4. Wind-Up Bird Chronicles: Elements of realism and fanaticism dwelling into the issues of physical violence. A brain twisting experience.
5. IQ84: His magnum opus. Initially published in three volumes in Japanese, is one of the most critically acclaimed work. His take on the Orwellian world! These should be enough to get you started. Most of his books are fairly voluminous. IQ94 runs into 1200 pages. But many are manageable. Like Norwegian Woods.

If you like his work, I would love to mention that his hard copies are worth spend your bucks on. Lovingly crafted and unique ideas. Like his new one Killing Commendatore. Do give it a try.

This is just a starting point. The Murakami world is big, diverse and rich. Happy diving.

The Tibetan Book Of Living And Dying

More than two decades ago I had first picked up ‘Tibetan Book Of Dead’ and ended up reading it almost completely. Yes, I did not complete it! Because it left me a little scared when it talked of all the things about death and afterlife. Maybe at that time I was too young to comprehend it or was not prepared to understand what it talked about. Although I grasped the essence of what it said, I left it at that and never dwelled or looked back at the wealth of teachings it offered.

It was only a couple of weeks back that I chanced upon this book which goes a step further and guides us through the wealth of knowledge the original book offers. But this one is much simpler and easier to grasp. It simplifies all the teachings in an much more user-friendly way.

The profound impact this book has on your psyche and the way you look at life and death is hard to describe in words. It is an experience in itself.

The teachings about various ‘Bardos’ of life and how to go about in each phase of life is eye opening. It’s like opening a new window to a vast vista that lay in front of us but we never bothered to check or acknowledge its existence.

The author Sogyal Rinpoche, a great master himself, guides you and prods you to take steps towards realizing the true nature of your mind and find the Grand Luminosity of your mind that exists within yourself, but of which you are totally unaware!

To understand the impact and the change it can bring in all of us, let me paraphrase from one of the great master Nyoshul Khenpo quoted in the book:

An effortless compassion can arise for all the beings who have not realised their true nature. So limitless is it that if tears could express it, you would cry to no end. Not only compassion, but tremendous skilful means can be born when you realise the nature of mind. Also you are naturally liberated from all suffering and fear, such as the fear of birth, death, and the intermediate state. Then if you were to speak of the joy and bliss that arise from this realization, it is said by the buddhas that if you were to gather all the glory, enjoyment, pleasure, and happiness of the world and put it all together, it would not approach one tiny fraction of the bliss that you experience upon realising the nature of mind.

This is a book that can help you take on the spiritual journey in a confident way. It guides in a very clear way how to deal with death and how to help the dying. It is something which the medical fraternity should be trained in and sensitized. It is a treasure trove of information for those who constantly deal with life and death situations. A book that can be and should be read—again and again!

WHY I AM A HINDU?

What could have been a scholarly text on Hindu religion or Hindutva has been unfortunately reduced to a rant against a political adversary.

The author goes into great depth of origins of Hindu religion, philosophy, Hindu traditions; their origins in the Vedas and Upanishads. The understanding and explanations are profound and would be treat for every Hindu and a student of Hinduism.
The philosophies of Vivekanand, Savarkar, Golwalkar and Deen Dadayal Upadhyay have been explained in minute detail and are praise worthy. The birth of RSS and their ideology is superbly explained.
The later part of the book, once it touches the political arena- is when the book falls apart. The author is caught in his own contradictions. It sounds as if he has been commissioned to write a book by his political masters!
Mr. Tharoor tells us exactly what he likes about the Hindu way of life. Most notably that it encompasses all ways of worships, atheism, idolatry and even all rituals. (unlike Abrahamic religions) You can have your own way of reaching the ultimate truth. And he hates all the wrongs that are being done in the name of religion by the zealots and the bigots or bhakts as he would address them.
But he forgets one thing. It is this same faith and religion which he is a product of, which has whole heartedly embraced the political leadership of his adversary. Brandishing them as all wrong and taking a moral high ground that only he stands for the Hindu way of life is incomprehensible.
It is this same faith which he praises in the book, which has in its collective wisdom chosen this leadership. So he should be more gracious and acceptable of choice of the majority of the followers of this faith.
This is where his political optics kick in and had he stayed clear of it, the book would have become a scholarly text on the subject. But alas, the author chose to use it for his political ambitions.