BOOK- LIFE’S AMAZING SECRETS
AUTHOR- GAUR GOPAL DAS
PAGES-208
BLURB:
While navigating their way through Mumbai’s
horrendous traffic, Gaur Gopal Das and his wealthy young friend Harry get
talking, delving into concepts ranging from the human condition to finding
one’s purpose in life and the key to lasting happiness.
So whether you are looking at strengthening your
relationships, discovering your true potential, understanding how to do well at
work or even how you can give back the world, Gaur Gopal Das will take you on
an unforgettable journey with his precious insights on these areas of life.
MY
TAKE ON THE BOOK:
Well, to begin with Gaur Gopal Das, I got to know
him from one of his videos which was shared by one of my friend on facebook.
And that was how I got to know this man. His lectures are amazing and his
speeches are graceful.
‘Experience is not what happens to a man, it
is what a man does with what happens to him.’ It’s how we respond that
makes all the difference. If there is one possession we have that is the most
valuable and can truly transform our lives completely, it is our free will. We
are the authors of our own life stories. Challenges and difficulties may fall
upon us, just as the monsoon rains fall upon our head. They just come our way
and we must choose how to respond. This
book is a pure motivation book, you can also call it a self-help book. It not
only teaches you about your situations of life but also motivates you to take a
step of your own.
Each chapter in this book start with a quotation,
and that is one of the plus points of making it more attractive. Attractive
always doesn’t mean fancy words or sketches; simple words and brevity are
attractive too.
The entire book revolves around Harry, his wife and
the author himself. This book talks about privilege, miscommunication, anger,
journey, gratitude, distress, worry, spiritual practice, speaking sensitively
and many more.
One of my most favourite part in this
book-
People
want to be the best, sometimes at any cost. When there are limited recourses
and many takers, competition is natural. This is found in all domains of life. From
music to sport and even of owning possessions. Competition is a tendency that
occurs in nearly every ecosystem in nature.
But
human beings are not just another species. They have the ability to cooperate
and subscribe to higher values such as harmony, loyalty and trust. We compete
with people who have the same skills or outlook in life as us. An engineer
competes with another engineer, a musician with another musician and a doctor
with another doctor. When another person’s skills have no bearing on our life,
we really feel threatened. But if someone can outperform us by doing better in
what we aspire to do, the base tendencies of competition can settle in.
We should imbibe the thought pattern of
self-competition, rather than feeling insecure about others going ahead. We
should be striving to do our very best to realize our dreams about our future
selves. Not only will this help is keeping the mind free from insecurities but
also this will help in becoming a better version of our own selves.
This book also talks about one of the Japanese concept of Ikigai,
which is understood to mean ‘a reason to
live’ or may be having a purpose in life.
The author points out one more concept in this book
which is ‘The ice cream, and the candle’. The ideology behind ice-cream is
that: enjoy your life before it melts. It symbolizes hedonism; to savour every
moment of the life through personal enjoyment. On the other hand, the candle
symbolizes to give light before it melts. Both ice-creams and candles melt, but
their reason for doing so are completely different. The candle is formed from
wax. Its very essence is burnt to give light for other people to see. This is
the selfless nature of a candle.
Some of the things that we can learn
from the book-
-Do
what you wish for, even when you know there will be fingers pointed at you for
that.
-Do
what makes you happy because you cannot make each and everyone happy.
-Do
what makes you feel complete, because it will give you satisfaction.
Some of the quotations I liked the most-
- ‘Truth is, I’ll never know all there is
to know about you, just as you will never know all there is to know about me.’
- ‘Forgiveness is a deep and often obscure value to understand.’
- ‘It is strange that swords and words
have the same letters. Even more strange is that they have the same effect if
not handled properly.’
- ‘When things are beyond your control and
there is nothing you can do, why worry?’
- ‘Having a friend to listen to your
problems and discuss them with you is the beginning of finding a solution.’
Life is a challenge and yes, it is us who are at the
charge of our own lives. Discover the secrets of your life and learn how to
find balance and purpose in your life. Nobody is going to live your life for
you. Just enjoy your life before it melts away.
Love your dear ones and tell them how much you love
them because you don’t have the entire life for confessing it. Life is now,
life is here. So don’t waste it and savour each and every moment of it…
P.S.- I just told Rashi di that I want to read this
book and now here it is, in my hand. Thank you so much for this book.
P.S.S.- This book is just as amazing as its title.
Read the book and I bet you won’t regret.
Overall rating- 4.8/5
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