Reflections: And The Mountains Echoed

I’ve seriously hit a block. I can’t call it  a “writer’s” block, because I’m not a “writer”. But all the non-fun writing and work is keeping my brain constantly fogged and tired. I can barely construct an interesting sentence. However, since my pile of “books to reflect on” keeps growing, here comes a series of shoddy articles, written for the sake of it.

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Khaled Hosseini’s  And The Mountains Echoed starts beautifully. It is not a single story, but several threads of stories weaved within each other. This keeps the book both interesting and exasperating, especially after the reader passes the mid-point. At a certain point, it crosses the line from being thoughtful and intelligent and becomes a checklist of interpersonal and social themes that usually make books sound intelligent; too much breadth with little depth. The book begins with the estrangement between a brother and sister who complete each other and love each other in a way that only soul mates are often talked about. For the most part, the novel’s trajectory follows the life of the sister and the characters that are associated with her. Almost every character’s story is recounted (even characters that are not directly associated with the primary narrative), and by some wave of a carefully constructed spell, they are all indirectly playing a role in the overarching story.

The stories are engaging, sensitive, and thoughtful. However, there are just too many characters and too many stories that don’t necessarily tie to the “core” of the book. The primary storyline should have been tightened to bring focus to the book. This book could have served well as a collection of short-stories rather than a novel that covers a spectrum of characters and themes that present themselves over a wildly swinging timeline. More than the volume of characters, I was frustrated with the author’s style of narration that shifts between timelines even within a sentence! Every page, and every few paragraphs has a shift in timeline. The  narrative rocks back and forth between past, present, and future in a manner that is pointless! Although this wasn’t making the story difficult to understand, it was just frustrating and tiring. I understand the beauty of narratives that don’t follow a linear structure, but too much of anything takes away its beauty.

And my pet-peeve - almost all the characters have the same “voice”. They all sound the same, say things in the same beautiful manner, and lack definitive personality. Having too many characters makes it challenging to develop them and give them their “voice”. Some characters were expertly fleshed out, though.

The writing faded into the background, because of the breadth of the stories. My focus was on the stories. The writing propelled the story, but didn’t strike me in any way. It was definitely engaging and easy to read, except for the constant shift in timelines (those sentences were infuriating). There are glimmers of really good characters, good writing, and good social commentary.

One of the things that did strike me as a possible unifying “theme” is every character’s search for something elusive and ephemeral. Everybody has a void and is desperately seeking out to fill that void. Love, self-satisfaction, and self-assurance are some of the things that people want to find, but struggle to understand its nature and challenges when they do come near it. The stories also present the strange and bitter dilemmas posed by Love. Many times, Love brings us to crossroads of decision making wherein every option is equally, painfully difficult to take. Having taken a path, we live the rest of our lives trying to reconcile with the loss of a part of us that died at the time of making a decision, and that we never seem to find in us again, leading us to be eternal seekers of something that cannot be named.

So, all things said, I think the author overdid a few things - his frustrating narrative style of constantly shifting time periods, too many characters with the same voice/style of narration, and  too many themes (from homosexuality in Afghanistan to adoption to parenting to immigrant experience in the US). If the book had focused on just a few core themes central to the primary storyline, it would have worked really well. It is still an engaging read that is hard to put down. But it doesn't stay with you for long.

Reflections: The Prophet

Over dinner a couple of nights back, I was asked if I'd read "The Prophet". I shook my head casually, causing my friend to almost choke on her food, stutter in disbelief and immediately instigate a dire book-worm-emergency. I was promptly rushed to the nearest Barnes & Noble, was made to procure the book and was sent back home with an earnest plea to read it the very same night. And here I am, fully cursing myself to have gone past all these years without reading this! And I can't thank my friend enough for her supreme presence of mind to get this book to me right away!

I've heard people who are averse to reading ask me (sarcastically, of course) if I could prescribe one book to them that would answer all questions and spew all the knowledge there is to acquire. I usually evade the question with a smirk, but NOW I can smugly thrust this book into their hands. Through the voice of a Prophet, Gibran succinctly and most exquisitely conveys his views and philosophy concerning the most fundamental themes of our lives - on love, marriage, children, creating our abode, philanthropy, eating, drinking, talking, working, dealing with joys and sorrows, pain, buying and selling, crime and punishment, good and evil, legal systems, freedom, reason, passion, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, perception of time, beauty, pleasure, religion, prayers and on death. In addition to these broad and all-encompassing themes, his verses espouse so many other deep and wise tenets.

After reading Gibran's poetry, one is surely at a loss for words to describe its beauty and astounding metaphors. I'm positive there is not a single adjective in his verses that can be substituted with any other word from our ever-expanding dictionary. It was humbling and gave me goosebumps all the way through. The words inspired me, comforted me, awed me, stirred me to the brink of tears and above all enriched me. Despite having come across many of the verses at some point in my life, the process of going through a 96-paged-Gibran marathon of soaking in his impeccable verses, was immensely gratifying.

The one theme that really surprised me and helped me re-evaluate my perspective was Gibran's philosophy on freedom:

You can only be free when even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you,
and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and fulfillment.
You shall be free when your days are not without a care nor your nights without a want and a grief,
But rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them naked and unbound.
And how shall you rise beyond your days and nights unless you break the chains,
which you at the dawn of your understanding have fastened around your noon hour?
In truth that which you call freedom is the strongest of these chains, though its links glitter in the sun and dazzle your eyes.

Of course, I want to share every other verse and fill up this whole space, but I've gone through a laborious process to pick just a couple more verses.
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If any of you would punish in the name of righteousness and lay the ax unto the evil tree,
Let him see to its roots;
And verily he will find the roots of the good and the bad, the fruitful and the fruitless,
All entwined together in the silent heart of the earth.
And you judges who would be just,
What judgment pronounce you upon him who though honest in the flesh yet is a thief in spirit?
What penalty lay you upon him who slays in the flesh yet is himself slain in the spirit?

I was very impressed with such balanced and wholesome wisdom that Gibran portrays.
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You have been told also that life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.
And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,
And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,
And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,
And all work is empty save when there is love;
And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.

And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.
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This book is surely one of my most precious possessions, and probably the one book that I would take with me if I were cast on a lonely island.

Reflections: The Old Man And The Sea

The Old Man and the Sea is a very simple yet powerful tale about an old, withered, Cuban fisherman, and his epic struggle with capturing a great Marlin. Santiago was known for his fishing skills and gigantic conquests, but he was going through a dry phase with no luck in snaring any fish. While his peers pitied him, branding him as old, rusty and unlucky, Santiago brushes off his failures and goes on to fight for his survival through sheer will and determination. He casts off the notion that luck plays an inherent role in one's success and sets out to give every inch of his very best - body, mind and soul, to prove himself. It only seems fair that a man of such undaunted determination should meet his match in the ocean.

The tale and the struggle between Santiago and the fish can be viewed as metaphors representing many facets of life. The sea and nature itself presents the unconquerable uncertainty in our lives that teaches our place in the vastness of the universe, the ambition to hook the biggest prized fish translates to some of the gargantuan materialistic ambitions we set off on, the battle itself represents our mind-numbing chase through life to acquire such possessions, while the will to succeed and to achieve a self-fulfilling experience symbolizes our inner, deeper spiritual quests. In the end, what matters is not the materialistic possessions of our chase, but the lessons learnt via the journey - knowledge, wisdom, humility and magnanimity. As the fisherman perseveres his battle, the kinds of questions he ruminates on are thought provoking; between him and the fish, who is the enemy? Is it justifiable to hunt down a magnificent fish just because it will feed a few lives and earn him money? Is his battle for survival or for self-preservation? Is it possible to elevate to a higher spiritual plane by demonstrating such courage and determination? The thoughts maybe rhetorical but it's amazing that Hemingway could weave in so many levels of metaphors and thoughts into a seemingly simple scenario.

The writing is very succinct and simple. Hemingway's brevity still brings vivid images of the fish's battle, the fisherman's relentless struggle, the greedy predators, the rickety boat and the raging waves.

This is surely an inspirational book on courage and unbridled determination. It reminds us that success, in it's true sense, is not defined by material conquests alone; for each of us to realize ourselves, our determination needs to be tested to its limits.

Reflections: Manual of the Warrior of Light

Many great thinkers and leaders have likened life to a struggle, a battle, and call it the ultimate test to our humanity and rationality. Growing up, I was puzzled with this harsh analogy. For the longest time, I didn't imagine life to be anything more than a playground. The matches played on it were thrilling, fun, bonds were forged, lessons were learned, sometimes I was victorious, while other times I fell; there were bruises and wounds, but none too deep to heal. But as life expanded with my growth, the matches became gorier, more serious, the stakes were getting too high to brush off failures, and the wounds started leaving behind bitter scars, with some threatening never to heal. It became a matter of survival, and at that phase the playground turned into a battlefield, and we all became warriors fighting through life, to reach our own calling - our goal, our light.

This book can be called as a "little book of inspiration" to all warriors, especially when they are in the heat of a battle, or are preparing for one. The book is a collection of more than a hundred philosophical snippets that aim to encourage, inspire, and nourish hope and fortitude in the minds of each of us who need to face life in all it's glory and hell. At first glance, it seems like a collection of banal rhetoric statements and quotes. If a person randomly reads one page, he is likely to not be touched or impressed. But when a message is presented in the form of a book - that keeps iterating faith, courage and optimism, page after page, the sound of the words seem to etch their way into the mind, and their wisdom, and grit get implanted. Much needed hope and inspiration blossoms. This is especially useful to pick oneself up on a rainy day, when there is no one around to lend a helping hand.

Some of my favorite quotes:

"A warrior of light knows that certain moments repeat themselves. He often finds himself faced by the same problems and situations, and seeing these difficult situations return, he grows depressed, thinking he is incapable of making any progress in life.
"I've been through all this before", he says to his heart.
"Yes, you've been through all this before", replies his heart, "But you've never been beyond it."
Then the warrior realizes that these repeated experiences have but one aim: to teach him what he doesn't want to learn. "

"The moment he begins to walk along it, the warrior of light recognizes the Path. Each stone, each bend cries welcome to him. He identifies with the mountains and the streams, he sees something of his own soul in the plants and the animals and the birds of the field."

"In order to have faith in his own Path, he does not need to prove that someone else's Path is wrong."

"If he waits for the ideal moment, he will never set off; he requires a touch of madness to take the next step. The warrior uses that touch of madness - for in both love and war, it is impossible to foresee everything."

Some quotes and statements might contradict each other, but the message I got from the book was - a true warrior shall know when to use which ideal, and deal with the contradictions.

Reflection: Tuesdays with Morrie

"Tuesdays with Morrie", is a book that I read when everyone who visited the library carried the book and raved about it. This was during those times when people casually threw Ayn Rand into discussions and dissected the amount of selfishness behind love and compassion. Not that such discussions don't happen now, but back then the discussions stemmed out of the need to express "elite" knowledge and scorn at anything naive and simplistic. The snooty college-goer attitude. At such an age, when I read this book, as much as I was touched by Morrie's spirit, I was as much surprised that this book was raved to such an extent when all it contained was common-sense and simple straight forward pieces of wisdom. I didn't even want to call it wisdom - it just seemed like "Jataka tales" for adults. Little tidbits of trite advice that everyone knows. Or so I thought. It took only a few years of reality to seep in enough realization in me that simple pieces of wisdom are the hardest to realize and put to practice when you're in the middle of a testing phase thrown by life. Since this is the period in my life where I have been searching for the very same simple words of wisdom, I bought this book from a used book store recently and skimmed through some of the chapters.

Tuesdays with Morrie is a simple book that describes the positive spirit of a dying sociology professor, Dr. Morrie Shwartz -- an old man, sharing some of his thoughts on his experiences with life, with his favorite student -- a young man, Mitch. Uncomplicated, without any embellishments of mind-boggling analogies, profound ontological theories or ideologies, Morrie, a highly knowledgeable, wise, loving and positive man shared his simple and meaningful insights into life. Morrie's effusive love is what that touched me. A person who lived his life in the most simplistic, yet fulfilling way that touched the hearts of everyone he met. Although on his death bed, with his body atrophying by the day, Morrie's courage and positive spirit to continue living his life as meanigful as possible, is a true inspiration. In recent times, Dr. Randy Pausch was yet another positive inspiration. And his last lecture had almost the same forms of advice as Morrie's -- in the end, life's lessons are simple and the same, no matter what generation, country, race or culture one belongs to. That has been my greatest realization.

From my recent perusal, I made some brief notes summarising Morrie's insights and my reflections. They could very well translate to my tenets of living. Morrie's basic mantra in life was "Love each other or perish". The sense of beauty and harmony in that statement is priceless. If you would like to read the book and not see its pearls of wisdom scattered on this post, then please don't read further.

Tenets of Life:

On Death - Ask a little bird on your shoulder if your time has come. Prepare your day based on such a realization. When one is prepared to face their mortality, the wisdom of how to live life in a meaningful way dawns. "Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."

On Love - Love and memories make one's spirit immortal. Death ends a life, not a relationship. Be strong to open your heart and offer your compassion and love and be willing to accept love into your heart. "Love is the only rational act."

On Family - A spiritual security of unconditional love. Never take them for granted. Always respect each other's needs, ways of life and negotiate your disputes with love.

On Emotions - Don't be afraid to experience any emotion - pain, shame, envy or self-pity. Abandon yourself and let the emotion drench your pores. Then, having shaken hands with the emotion, detach and let go; like a drop of water on a lotus leaf, being in the world but not of it, walking in the rain without getting wet. Learn to accept, then detach.

On Ageing - Ageing is a process of learning as you grow. Look back at the 16-year old you were and be happy that you're no longer as ignorant, no longer grappling with understanding aspects of life, that you're now learning well about. If you're not learning today, pause and reflect. You are as old as you are in your heart. " Realize what is true, good and beautiful with you today. Don't be envious of the young, for you had your chance and lived that life".

On Money/materialism - Pursuit of materialism is disillusionment. One can hope to find true meaning in life by opening out their hearts, caring for others, reaching out to the community and doing what they find real happiness in. The returns are not monetary, but overwhelming sense of satisfaction, and sense of purpose.

On Reincarnation - "What we take we must replenish". The cycle of energy bundle in the universe needs to stay balanced.

On Marriage - An experience in itself that teaches you who you are, who you are not, and who you cannot be. Unless there is a bond of mutual respect, love, values and above all the need to make it work, it can't sustain.

On Culture - Don't let the current societal norms control your thinking and the rules to life and living. Create your culture founded out of love, compassion and rationality. Set no bounds to your thoughts, don't let culture be the picket fences of your mind.

On Forgiveness - Remember to forgive yourself first. Don't hold onto grudges; stubbornness, ego, vengeance and pride are parasites of our own spirit. They suck our positive juices and leave us bitter and weak. Make peace with everyone, and learn to forgive.

"Love is the only rational act", Morrie said. As much as I don't want to dissect it, my life and the world is filled with ironies of it. Sadly the world is not such a simple place, but my hope is that living one's life with simple and pristine guide lights will bring plenty of meaning and purpose.