Book Review- Dharma: Decoding the Epics for a Meaningful Life by Amish and Bhavna Roy

 

The Kaurava have their strength. 

The Pandavas have their weakness. 

The Kaurava have their virtues. 

The Pandavas have their vices.

Lord Ram has his moments of hesitation. 

Lady Sita has intensity.

Lord Shiva has anger.

 Lady Kali has her grouse.

Ravan is all hurt. 

Kumbarkarna is all heart

 Then how do you justify who is more right or less wrong? 

Growing up with the Indian epics, the in-depth explained moral virtues of these stories, and my kid-self living in imagination with the fascinating characters from mythology…each possessing unique emotions, peculiarities, and life troubles – Have somehow given me some amazing solutions regarding day-to-day life challenges. Like, there is no "right or wrong" but a "right or left"…because the dharma, action, and reactions in any situation are merely subjectively objective for the person.

This last read book “Dharma” is a subtle presentation of the most complicated and intriguing concepts of Dharma, Karma, the meaning of life, and how it can help one achieve the most in life through the layout of a discussion between two couples of different generations (i.e. Mother, Father, Daughter, and Son-in-law). The exchange has lots of examples from Indian mythology and history.

I enjoyed the interactive setup of the writing of this book… maybe… because I believe that life’s most inviting way of comprehending "anything" is through the path of healthy communication between people… Our own Bhagwat Gita is illustrated in form of dialogue wherein the saar of knowledge is imparted to Arjun by God Krishna through commentaries.

The book dissects dharma through the interpretation and comparison between the numerous personalities and characters from the epic of Mahabharat and Ramayan.

Questions like - What is the ideal interplay between thought and action, taking and giving, self-love and sacrifice? How can we tell right from wrong? What can we do to bring out the best in ourselves, and to live a life with purpose and meaning, not just one fuelled by ego and material needs? etc are beautifully presented through the mode of simple yet wiser interpretations of these famous stories and characters.

The writer very well connects these epics and stories with our times and weaves the important lessons through his humble storytelling.

I would recommend the book to anyone interested in Indian mythology and philosophy, and who is open to a healthy introspection of preconceived notions of the age-old topics of Dharma.

On quote from book- 

“Why is it that, sometimes, honorable men like Parvateswara and Bhishma consciously choose to end up on the side that is against Dharma? It goes on to argue that “Swadharma cannot be in misalignment with dharma, the law of life. Then it becomes self-indulgence in the garb of swadharma. Dharma is always a movement towards balance. If swadharma is at odds with dharma, can it be anything but self-indulgence or imagined swadharma?”