A thought-provoking, conversational description of Hindu principles and their modern relevance.
In this spiritual guide to karma and self-improvement, Dharma introduces Hindu ideas that transcend the idea of heaven after Earth and reinforce a less common perspective on reincarnation.
Action and work, Dharma says, are the true essence of karma. Karma, he explains, is not about beliefs, religion, or labels. It is simply based on what we accomplish, how we behave toward others, and how our conduct and character interact with the world around us. Explaining in clear, conversational chapters the relevancy of Hindu beliefs to modern life, Dharma encourages the reader to be a student rather than a servant. “The servant is all about the reward,” he says. “For the student the question is reversed: What can I do for God? How can I make God proud of me?” The author posits these ideas as pathways toward a better, more fulfilling life, and he likewise warns against evils masquerading as virtues. For example, in one chapter, the author discusses vengeance masquerading as justice. Yet he explains that the Hindu god Sri Rama is a teacher, not a torturer, and his spiritual reaction to bad acts is to offer a person a chance to redeem himself in the next life through lessons. While advocating Hinduism over other religions, the author explains in detail why the concept of heaven is a fallacy. He posits that running away to safety, comfort, and ease are actions taken by those who seek heaven, while staying to help, work, and fight for a better present situation are actions taken by those driven by karma. One anecdote, among many, involves a flood: a man gets in a vehicle and drives to safety, sleeping in a hotel and watching the disaster on the news the next morning, only to see his neighbors drowning and struggling to survive on the screen. This man, the author explains, should shrink “to the size of an ant” if he has any heart. His guide shows readers how to incorporate the teachings of Hinduism into mindful practice.
A thought-provoking, conversational description of Hindu principles and their modern relevance.Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-909477-63-6
Page Count: 308
Publisher: Clink Street Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Eve’s story is given the respect it deserves, though her case could use a stronger context.
Biblical gender roles are shaken up in the Garden of Eden.
The story of Adam and Eve is one of the most famous in the Bible. As it goes, the couple could have anything they wanted from the garden, with the exception of the forbidden fruit. But Eve was tempted by a serpent, and she gave the fruit to Adam. They ate it and were banished from the Garden of Eden forever. Much has been made about the role of Eve, the “woman” as temptress who led Adam to sin. However, Davidson delves into this biblical tale with a different tack. Through breaking down words, phrases and scripture in the Bible she sets to prove that Eve is actually the righteous character in this story and that Adam’s role needs revisiting. The author closely looks at names in scripture and what they mean. Adam is “a man or person of low degree, [a] common sort or hypocrite.” Eve is a life giver, or a person who declares or shows life. Parsing out Genesis 2:23, she notes that Adam chose to reject his name and proudly declare himself as “Man” instead, which, in this context has both negative and positive connotations, writes Davidson. Also, Adam chose a life without God, and, as a result, shows defiant qualities–he’s not the one corrupted, as many Bible stories focus on. The question remains: How much of Eve’s victimhood is factual and how much is myth told through a misogynistic culture? If the author could investigate this more deeply, she could make a real case for Eve’s role. However, though Davidson’s intentions are good, the book is often repetitive and could use more cited sources. Referencing texts other than the Bible might flesh out this tale too. But the spirit behind the book is powerful and reminds readers that famous biblical stories often need to be re-examined.
Eve’s story is given the respect it deserves, though her case could use a stronger context.Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4392-2318-5
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Well-crafted and thought-provoking.
Intriguing examination of the life-and-death difference between morality and ethics.
Gustafson contends that readers will be used to thinking of the terms “morality” and “ethics” as largely interchangeable. At the very least, most see both terms in a positive light. The author argues, however, that morality has been a misused and deadly social construct throughout the ages. “Morality and ethics differ,” says the author, “because morality supports civilization and ethics supports life.” Morality, according to Gustafson, is a civilization’s way of determining good and evil. Since morality changes from one civilization to another (and differs within civilizations), it is subject to abuse. Morality, he explains further, supports the “dominator system,” whereby everyone and everything is rated and valued according to a civilization’s arbitrary sense of good and bad. Hence “morality,” as the differentiation between good and evil, has been used throughout the centuries to condone everything from slavery, to racism in America, to the Nazi campaign against the Jews. Quite the contrary, writes Gustafson–ethics supports not a particular civilization, but life itself. Mercy and humility are examples of ethical behavior and thinking, which seek to serve those marginalized by society. The author points toward Native-American cultures as examples of ethical ones, in that they served the community as a whole as well as the natural world. Moreover, he holds up Jesus Christ as a foremost exemplar of ethics–“Jesus was not moral. He was ethical...because he rejected morality’s death-dealing function and supported life instead.” Overall, the book is well-written and pulls in a wide array of authors and thinkers. Gustafson’s work is not meant to be a treatise countering every argument, but instead introduces the concept of this morality-ethics dichotomy. In the end the author calls upon readers to be aware of the dominator system they live in, and how morality is used to support it, not life.
Well-crafted and thought-provoking.Pub Date: July 31, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7414-5404-1
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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