What attracted me to the book was the wonderful golden Ganapati murti on the cover along with the vibrant sindhoori background. Though I had read Amish’s books in the past, this was an instinctive purchase. Idols or rather murtis have special significance in our daily lives from being the forms of god to whom we pray to the comforting symbols on our desks during our work routine. As someone who is interested in the Iconography, ritualistic aspects of the murtis, I had great expectations from the book when I saw the cover.
The book is quite an interesting mixture of concepts. In my view, the authors had a very good premise, but perhaps the amount of information was overwhelming which ultimately lead the actual topic i.e. Idols being limited to a few pages at the end. That said, the book is actually a very interesting read for it addresses spirituality, worship, symbolism, iconography to some extent that is bound to hold the interest of the readers. The book is bound to evoke mixed / unique reactions from the wide spectrum of readers, but has some portions that would definitely resonate with them.
Written as a dialogue or conversation between few individuals in a specific context set around the Ganapati Festival, the book tries to explore the various facets of religion, the various Devis and Devatas from our Itihasas and Puranas. The authors have very intelligently interwoven various Upanishadic and Vedantic concepts deriving multiple concepts across various Upanishads. From Shreyas and Preyas of Kathopanishad to Pravrutti / Nivrutti, the author has to be commended for integrating such complex topics in a conversation and enabling the reader to connect to these concepts, at least at the top-level. The 3 principles of Nivrutti i.e. Sthitha Prajna, Atma Bodha and Nishkama Karma are explained in a very eloquent manner. The anecdotes, specially from the animal kingdom are simple, but effective illustrations of these deep concepts. This portion of the book is quite thought provoking and can easily lead to deep introspection. The portion on Shiva’s Baraat or Shiva’s Marriage retinue is very interesting and quite well captured. It is definitely one of the highlights of the book. The example of the Gorilla experiment is another interesting one, something this reviewer was unaware of.
When the characters in the book refer to the upanishads, ex: Ishopanishad, they refer to modern retellings and the works of modern celebrities (political figures, media personalities). I feel that the authors missed a great opportunity to refer to the original texts and perhaps refer to the works of Indic authors. This is definitely one of the letdowns for the reviewer.
One another unique feature of this book is the extensive references to Greek mythology, along with a concentrated effort to compare and equate with our Indic history. While there are quite extensive similarities, I would have loved the authors to consider both on their own merit. The concepts explained through some of the Gods of Greek pantheon could have easily been derived from our own rich history. Perhaps, there was a need to draw parallels with Greek narrative along with a smattering of Chinese history. There are some statements where a certain point is reinforced as compared to other practices. Any point could been proved on their own merit without the need for comparison.
One of the highlights of the book is the extensive description of various Devis and Devatas, including their implications on our external and internal lives. This is definitely one of the better portions of the book. The portion on “Apasmara” is must-read portion of the book. The snippet on Bali - Maha Vishnu - Lakshmi and their significance for Raksha Bandhan is yet another interesting portion. Since the authors have dedicated a large portion of the book to the explanation of the concepts, the main topic i.e. Idols / Murtis don’t get the space it deserved. The rituals and significance of murti Pooja is explained across a few pages at the fag end of the book.
The nuances of the vedantic concepts are better understood closer to the original, which usually gets diluted in retellings, which is reflected in the choice of references adopted by the characters of the book. There are some portions of the book which could have been avoided like equating / comparison with Greek history. One specific point which the reviewer would like to highlight is about Janaka. It needs to considered that Janaka was a titular position and every reference to Janaka needn’t be Maa Seetha’s father.
Lastly, the disappointing part of the book is the forced secularisation of concepts, something which could have been avoided. The other aspect which becomes a bit of eyesore is the conscious “Product Placement” where the characters of the book constantly refer to Amish’s articles and books. This could have been planned better.
If one is able to overlook some of these shortcomings, the book is definitely a good read. Vedantic concept explained in the best form possible i.e. as a story / conversation that one could relate to.
Recommended Read.
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