Author | Gurcharan Das |
---|---|
Country | India |
Language | Indian English |
Subject | Ethics and morality |
Published | Yes |
Publisher | Penguin Random House |
Media type | Print, Ebook |
The Difficulty of Being Good: On the Subtle Art of Dharma is a book written by Indian author Gurcharan Das and published by Penguin Random House. [1] The book is centrally focused on why to be good in our day to day, private, and public life and the essence of Dharma, a key concept in Indian philosophy for righteousness, with reference to Indian epic Mahabharata. [2] [3]
Book uses the examples from Hindu Epic, Mahabharata, to illustrate and demonstrate that how becoming good is difficult for an ordinary man. Book simplifies the lessons from the epic in various chapters and uses characters like Yudhisthira, Krishna, Arjuna and Karna to explain the importance of Dharma i.e. righteousness.
The book was widely welcomed by several Indologists, columnists, commentators and several businessmen. Sanjaya Baru, writing for Outlook India had commented that the book reflects a new Gurcharan Das who is reflective, humane, deeply spiritual and secular—a renaissance man. [1] According to him, Gurcharan voiced our(Indian's) despair about inequities and the amorality of public life and the books echoed voices for new India. Further, he wrote:
Gurcharan offers us a secular reading of a great epic. The underlying materialism of its spiritual world is also illustrated. [1]
Meghnad Desai, British labour politician, writing for Indian Express had asserted that Das did not retell the story as has often been done and instead, he took episodes and characters who pose moral and ethical questions. [4] Desai also criticised Indian university system for not having good library for studying Sanskrit, in the context that author had to go Chicago for an year to study Sanskrit to prepare this book. [4] A K Bhattacharya had explained the book as Gurcharan Das’ quest for the true meaning of Dharma, as expounded in Mahabharata. [5] In the column for Business Standard, Bhattacharya wrote:
So, Krishna, as Das has argued in a different context, was using “evil” to fight “evil”. The question is: Was that really evil and whether it was not Dharma? Debating the relevance or irrelevance of Dharma in such a battle indeed became a little meaningless. There is little doubt that Mahabharata as an epic raises intricate issues pertaining to the relevance of human action in a given role and in the context of pre-ordained fate. The debate over Dharma is also relevant. But Das would have done better if he had narrated the story of Mahabharata in all its details, instead of grappling with the ideas of Dharma or Nishkama Karma Yoga. [5]
N Chandra Mohan, for Hindustan Times , wrote that Das certainly thinks that a healthy dose of Dharma may restore trust in the system. Additionally, he wrote that this book will certainly make Mahabharata accessible to a whole new generation. [6]
Book was translated in Hindi as Acchai Ki Kathinai and was published by Penguin Random House. [7]
Dharma, although there is no direct single-word translation for dharma in European languages, is commonly translated as "righteousness", "merit" or "religious and moral duties" governing individual conduct. It is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others.
The Mahābhārata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pāṇḍava princes and their successors.
Kalki, also called Kalkin, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of existence (Krita) in Vaishnava cosmology. The end of the Kali Yuga states this will usher in the new epoch of Satya Yuga in the cycle of existence, until the Mahapralaya.
Righteousness is the quality or state of being morally correct and justifiable. It can be considered synonymous with "rightness" or being "upright". It can be found in Indian religions and Abrahamic traditions, among other religions, as a theological concept. For example, from various perspectives in Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism it is considered an attribute that implies that a person's actions are justified, and can have the connotation that the person has been "judged" or "reckoned" as leading a life that is pleasing to God.
Draupadi, also referred to as Krishnaa, Panchali, and Yajnaseni, is the main female protagonist of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, and the common consort of the five Pandava brothers—Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva. She is noted for her beauty, courage, and polyandrous marriage.
Karna, also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti, and thus a demigod of royal birth. Kunti was granted the boon to bear a child with desired divine qualities from the gods and without much knowledge, Kunti invoked the sun god to confirm it if it was true indeed. Karna was secretly born to an unmarried Kunti in her teenage years, and fearing outrage and backlash from society over her premarital pregnancy, Kunti had no choice but to abandon the newly born Karna adrift in a basket on the Ganges, in the hope that he finds foster parents. The basket is discovered, and Karna is adopted and raised by foster Sūta parents named Radha and Adhiratha Nandana of the charioteer and poet profession working for king Dhritarashtra.
In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Nakula was the fourth of the five Pandava brothers. Nakula and Sahadeva were twins blessed to Madri, by the Ashvini Kumaras, the divine physicians. Their parents — Pandu and Madri - died early, so the twins were adopted by their step-mother, Kunti and were trained by Drona in Hastinapura.
Artha is one of the four goals or objectives of human life in Hindu traditions. It includes career, skills, health, wealth, prosperity and the means or resources needed for a fulfilling life. The word artha literally translates as "meaning, sense, goal, purpose or essence" depending on the context. Artha is also a broader concept in the scriptures of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. As a concept, it has multiple meanings, all of which imply "means of life", activities and resources that enable one to be in a state one wants to be in.
The following list consists of notable concepts that are derived from Hindu culture and associated cultures traditions, which are expressed as words in Sanskrit or other Indic languages and Dravidian languages. The main purpose of this list is to disambiguate multiple spellings, to make note of spellings no longer in use for these concepts, to define the concept in one or two lines, to make it easy for one to find and pin down specific concepts, and to provide a guide to unique concepts of Hinduism all in one place.
Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki is an Indian mythological television drama series on 9X based on the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata.
Sabha Parva, also called the "Book of the Assembly Hall", is the second of eighteen books of Mahabharata. Sabha Parva traditionally has 10 parts and 81 chapters. The critical edition of Sabha Parva has 9 parts and 72 chapters.
The Mausala Parva is the sixteenth of the eighteen books of the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata. It traditionally has nine chapters. The critical edition has eight chapters. One of the 3 shortest books within the epic, the Mausala Parva describes the demise of Krishna in the 36th year after the Kurukshetra war had ended, the submersion of Dvaraka under sea, death of Balarama by drowning in the sea, Vasudeva's death, and a civil war fought among the Yadava clan that killed many of them. The story of infighting of the Yadavas becomes the reason why the Pandava brothers renounce their kingdom and begin their walk towards heaven, events recited in the last two books of the Mahabharata.
The Bhagavad Gita, often referred to as the Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture, which is part of the epic Mahabharata. It forms the chapters 23–40 of book 6 of the Mahabharata called the Bhishma Parva. The work is dated to the second half of the first millennium BCE. Typical of the Hindu synthesis, it is considered one of the holy scriptures of Hinduism.
Mahaprasthanika Parva, or the "Book of the Great Journey", is the seventeenth of eighteen books of the Indian epic Mahabharata. It traditionally has three chapters, as does the critical edition. It is the shortest book in the epic.
Gurcharan Das is an Indian author, who wrote a trilogy based on the classical Indian goals of the ideal life.
The Shanti Parva is the twelfth of eighteen books of the Indian Epic Mahabharata. It traditionally has 3 parts and 365 chapters. The critical edition has 3 parts and 353 chapters. It is the longest book among the eighteen books of the epic.
Anushasana Parva or the "Book of Instructions", is the thirteenth of eighteen books of the Indian epic Mahabharata. It traditionally has 2 parts and 168 chapters. The critical edition has 2 parts and 154 chapters. Sometimes this parva is referred to as the "Book of Precepts".
Ashvamedhika Parva, is the fourteenth of eighteen books of the Indian epic Mahabharata. It traditionally has 2 parts and 96 chapters. The critical edition has one sub-book and 92 chapters.
Svargarohana Parva or the Book of the Ascent to Heaven, is the last of eighteen books of the Indian epic Mahabharata. It traditionally has 6 chapters. The critical edition has 5 chapters. It is one of the shortest books in the Mahabharata.
Yato Dharmastato Jayah is a Sanskrit shloka that occurs a total of eleven times in the Hindu epic the Mahabharata. It means "Where there is Dharma, there will be Victory".
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