Hi Readers, I am back from Bheemtal. Yes, two weeks and two states. First, it was Himachal and now Uttarakhand, I have been traveling and I am loving it. Well, I must confess that with these frequent travels, reading has taken a backseat but I never forget to carry a book wherever I go. For the last three weeks, I have been reading ‘Life Mantras. Non-fiction is not my cup of tea but I had a personal reason to read this particular book. Scroll down and you will know my thoughts about the book and more!
Mr. Subrata Roy Sahara says ‘It’s all in your hands’!
Mr Roy, the author of the book ‘Life Mantras’ has been in Tihar jail since March 2014. He is under the judicial custody of the ‘Supreme Court of India’ in connection to the ongoing case with the market regulator, SEBI.
Aren’t you looking for happiness? Don’t we all want to know the key to richness, success and peace in life?
‘Life Mantras’ tells you all. It is the first book in the ‘Thoughts from Tihar’ trilogy. As the name goes, it is about life’s lessons and is not an autobiography of the author. Through this book Mr. Roy has touched upon emotional aspects of life and that is how he strikes a chord with anyone who picks the book. He motivates the reader by quoting examples from his own interactions, his observations, his insights on the day-to-day issues and his experiences in life. The book is exhaustive in nature but it inspires to introspect. In today’s world when everything has become so competitive and stressful, a guide to a content life is need of the hour. In this book, Mr. Roy has shared his perspective of life, its challenges and ways of tackling it.
Why I was keen to read the book?
A book says a lot about its author. I always wanted to know ‘Who is Subrata Roy?’ My grandparents live in Gorakhpur and I am not sure if many people know that the seeds of Sahara India was sown in Gorakhpur with a mere Rs. 2000. Today, it stands as a big family.
Now, whats the connect? Well, Mr. Roy was a regular at my grandparents place in his struggling days (literally when he did nothing). My Nanaji and my Mamaji have told me many stories but of all they have always maintained that this man had the zeal to rise and shine. I have never met him personally but I have known people who have worked for him very closely. As a leader, he was always very inspiring, concerned, thoughtful but autocratic in some ways and action. While I read the book, I could relate and contradict to some of the things that I had heard about him.
More about the book!
No doubt the book is philosophical in tone, at times repetitive too but as a whole it is easy to read and comprehend. As one turns the pages, he/she is often met by the words peace, true happiness, contentment, satisfaction, etc and since these are the most searched words, they keep you going.
We are lured to find that happiness for ourselves. Mr. Roy emphasizes on identifying the basic instincts inherent in us all and he suggests that we must take cues from them. It is very important to identify the things that make us happy in life and they are very simple things. As a whole, the book asserts that everything is in our own hands and the onus lies on us to make our life beautiful.
“You will be surprised to know that I lead a totally tension free life. Believe me, this state of mind is not hard to achieve.” – Saharasri
Honestly, it came as a surprise to me that the book was written in the prison. Jail definitely gives lot of time to think, evaluate and introspect but it isn’t an easy affair to live under restrictions. I was amazed to learn that Mr. Roy has been living a totally tension-free life in the prison cell. I would call him a blessed one because there are very few who have the ability of keeping stress away at the most trying times of life. I am glad that he has penned down his emotional outrage in the book.
Well the book did sound preachy to me but if you have an appetite for self-help books, you will love to digest it. On a positive note, my takeaway from the book is to live a beautiful life and do things that make me happy, so that when I look back I should have no regrets.
