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Book Review: Agastya - Anuradha Gajraj Lopez

 


This book was released by Subbu recently, which piqued my interest. Agastya Muni (as he is commonly referred to) is a very revered saint in the southern parts of Bharathavarsha and naturally I was attracted to this work. Overall, I feel the first half of the book is a good introduction to those unfamiliar with the stories, legends and history associated with Agastya muni. The second half of the book is a fan account of one of the prominent Kalari teachers of modern era and culminates with the author’s personal encounters with the revered sage. The author’s father is said to have been a medium to encapsulate the teachings of the great saint which is captured in the last part of the book.

There are quite a few aspects of the book which I differ with and I try to capture my observations as below:

  • Timeline of Ramayana and Vedic period as captured by the author is incorrect. Vedic is much more older and Ramayana is quite old
  • Quantifying Ramayana and Mahabharatha as epic diminishes their importance - They are our Itihasas (history - as it happened)
  • Between pages 20-22, there is a general commentary which is quite irrelevant and quite well known. I couldn’t comprehend the reason for the same.
  • Mitra is termed as God of Honesty and Friends. In general, Mitra along with Varuna (as in Maitra-Varuna) guard the world and uphold the truth and light - holding oath holders on their oaths and watching their actions
  • The stories of Agastya drinking the ocean or one associated with Vindhya mountains is not completely presented. Its seems rushed up. 
  • Parashurama - is termed as a Mythological figure. I presume with the awakened consciousness, we could definitely phrase this much better
  • There are many paragraphs which seem to be repeated in quick vicinity. A good review could easily save some pages off this book.
  • The author quotes some of the criticism received and subsequent response to the same - I feel that the response could have been a tad better
  • There is a lot of self promotion by the author - I published this, I published that etc. At times, it becomes a hurdle in the study flow.
  • Shivaratri - The author quotes this as the day of worshipping Shiva. However, it needs to be highlighted that there is a masika Shivaratri and Maha Shivaratri (Phalguna Sukla Chaturdashi) is the one that was alluded to by the author
  • Transliterations of the writings is very good. However, the appeal of the same to wider public is something I am not very clear as the language is Tamil which may not be understood by non-Tamil speakers


Lastly, I am disappointed at the attempt to secularise the concepts and teachings of Thiru. I am not sure about the intention behind secularising every single aspect of the Sanatana Dharma. Quite frankly, this could have been avoided.



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