An intensive primer to a complex aspect of a sophisticated philosophy.
A passionate introduction to the practice of Jyotish, an ancient form of astrology rooted in Hinduism that fosters self-exploration while offering guidance and predictions.
The ancient tradition of Jyotish, which means “Light of God,” is also called Vedic astrology, and it uses the teachings of Hindu philosophy to try to help people answer life’s nagging questions about identity, purpose, and the divine. Nirupa (Lizla, The Daughter of Isis, 2014, etc.), who says that she was personally affected by a Jyotish reading, introduces the Eastern practice to those for whom it may not be as familiar as its sister traditions of meditation and yoga. She also illustrates the differences between it and modern astrology, which shares similar signs. The book breaks down Jyotish’s zodiac and its various houses, star signs, and more, focusing on the importance of planetary paths and placemen, and how readings of Vedic charts may be used to interpret their numerous intersections. The final results, she says, provide a breakdown of one’s emotional and intellectual behavior. A skilled reader, called a Jyotishian, can use this to decipher the future, she says. The author also explores modern uses for this area of study, noting its scientific credentials in some parts of the East and its use in matchmaking for arranged marriages. The book charts numerous “outstanding examples” to illustrate what she sees as the predictive capability of Jyotish methodology, matching the accomplishments and personalities of actors, world leaders, and historical figures to their readings. Skeptics, however, will see this as interpretive hindsight. During these analyses, the author also explores Vedic terms and history while introducing elements of Hindu philosophy and Jyotish study. It’s a roundabout but effective teaching process, although the author actively discourages readers from attempting to divine things from their own charts. The book highlights parallels between Hinduism and Christianity, effectively showing that one may believe or explore Jyotish without it overwriting other belief systems. Although the book first presents Vedic astrology as a prognosticative tool, it primarily advocates its use for developing an understanding of oneself, so even doubters might find it engaging and useful.
An intensive primer to a complex aspect of a sophisticated philosophy.Pub Date: Jan. 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5049-7091-4
Page Count: 214
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
The Stoics did much better with the much shorter Enchiridion.
A follow-on to the author’s garbled but popular 48 Laws of Power, promising that readers will learn how to win friends and influence people, to say nothing of outfoxing all those “toxic types” out in the world.
Greene (Mastery, 2012, etc.) begins with a big sell, averring that his book “is designed to immerse you in all aspects of human behavior and illuminate its root causes.” To gauge by this fat compendium, human behavior is mostly rotten, a presumption that fits with the author’s neo-Machiavellian program of self-validation and eventual strategic supremacy. The author works to formula: First, state a “law,” such as “confront your dark side” or “know your limits,” the latter of which seems pale compared to the Delphic oracle’s “nothing in excess.” Next, elaborate on that law with what might seem to be as plain as day: “Losing contact with reality, we make irrational decisions. That is why our success often does not last.” One imagines there might be other reasons for the evanescence of glory, but there you go. Finally, spin out a long tutelary yarn, seemingly the longer the better, to shore up the truism—in this case, the cometary rise and fall of one-time Disney CEO Michael Eisner, with the warning, “his fate could easily be yours, albeit most likely on a smaller scale,” which ranks right up there with the fortuneteller’s “I sense that someone you know has died" in orders of probability. It’s enough to inspire a new law: Beware of those who spend too much time telling you what you already know, even when it’s dressed up in fresh-sounding terms. “Continually mix the visceral with the analytic” is the language of a consultant’s report, more important-sounding than “go with your gut but use your head, too.”
The Stoics did much better with the much shorter Enchiridion.Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-42814-5
Page Count: 580
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
One of the NBA’s 50 greatest players scores another basket—a deeply personal one.
A basketball legend reflects on his life in the game and a life lived in the “nightmare of endlessly repetitive and constant pain, agony, and guilt.”
Walton (Nothing but Net, 1994, etc.) begins this memoir on the floor—literally: “I have been living on the floor for most of the last two and a half years, unable to move.” In 2008, he suffered a catastrophic spinal collapse. “My spine will no longer hold me,” he writes. Thirty-seven orthopedic injuries, stemming from the fact that he had malformed feet, led to an endless string of stress fractures. As he notes, Walton is “the most injured athlete in the history of sports.” Over the years, he had ground his lower extremities “down to dust.” Walton’s memoir is two interwoven stories. The first is about his lifelong love of basketball, the second, his lifelong battle with injuries and pain. He had his first operation when he was 14, for a knee hurt in a basketball game. As he chronicles his distinguished career in the game, from high school to college to the NBA, he punctuates that story with a parallel one that chronicles at each juncture the injuries he suffered and overcame until he could no longer play, eventually turning to a successful broadcasting career (which helped his stuttering problem). Thanks to successful experimental spinal fusion surgery, he’s now pain-free. And then there’s the music he loves, especially the Grateful Dead’s; it accompanies both stories like a soundtrack playing off in the distance. Walton tends to get long-winded at times, but that won’t be news to anyone who watches his broadcasts, and those who have been afflicted with lifelong injuries will find the book uplifting and inspirational. Basketball fans will relish Walton’s acumen and insights into the game as well as his stories about players, coaches (especially John Wooden), and games, all told in Walton’s fervent, witty style.
One of the NBA’s 50 greatest players scores another basket—a deeply personal one.Pub Date: March 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4767-1686-2
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 18, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
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