The Turning Point

We are in the constant search of meaning in life; we want to relate knowledge of everything with everyone, to get some relationship among it which we can understand, we can use/relate…from history of civilization to globalization, theoretical physic explanation of big bang theory to economical crises, religion to politics, isentropic/adiabatic process to atmosphere, yin-yang theory to economics…I never understood before the why entropy of the universe always increases and its relation to second law of thermodynamics and hardly we get a reference book to start with and I feel this book exactly does this job.

Fritjof Capra gives the term “Fossil Fuel civilization” to current generation since there growth is totally depends on the fossil fuel.

Topics: The Turning of the Tide, The Newtonian World-Machine, The New Physics, The Mechanistic View of Life, The Biomedical Model, Newtonian Psychology, The Impasse of Economics, The Dark Side Of Growth, The Systems View of Life, Wholeness and Health, Journeys Beyond Space and Time, The Passage to the Solar Age

To Kill a Mockingbird

To kill a mocking bird is sin…Very meaningful book, written with the perspective of ten year old girl regarding racial injustice and the destruction of innocence by Harper Lee
It frequently reminds me Frank’s diary, the innocence of small girl and how she perceives the society around her.

The Story of Philosophy

(William James Durant American writer, historian, and philosopher)
It is good book to keep as a reference about philosophers, their ideas and short biography which shaped them. First chapter begins with introduction to philosophy and it’s different branches like Metaphysics, politics, Art, Theology, Epistemology etc
Philosophers included are: Plato, Aristotle, Francis Bacon, Baruch Spinoza, Voltaire (with a section on Rousseau), Immanuel Kant (with a section on Hegel), Arthur Schopenhauer, Herbert Spencer, and Friedrich Nietzsche.

Siddhartha

One more philosophical masterpiece by Hermann Hesse… I never could understand how foreigner (I used this word because of cultural and language barriers) like Hermann Hesse can understand so nicely the deep meaning of Indian ancient thoughts like spirituality, concept of Om, Hinduism, Buddhism so effectively and can use it as backdrop for a plot to tell simple story what is life?

For long time I was avoiding the book, just because of it’s title. I thought it will be one more book of Siddhartha, or biographical account, but it is not. This is the simplest book I read about the application of Hinduism and Buddhism (I am using this term generically not specifically about one thing). This book made/helped me to visualize what is life, in the simple term, what is so special about Buddha’s smile how all the life is connected which talked in Bhagwatgita like river…

“You know how to speak cleverly, my friend. Be on your guard against too much cleverness.”

Man’s search for meaning

Classic book from Dr. Victor Frankl, must read by everybody. It is divided into two parts autobiographical story of his struggle and survival from Nazi concentration camp, and other part of book is application of his psychological thought he developed and derived called logotherapy. This is the book which tries to answer the fundamental question everyone feels in some time of his life, what is the quest of life? What is the life itself? or something like why me? And I feel no other person can explain better than Dr. Franks, not only because of his break through research on psychology which challenges the classical or modern psychological theories by psychologist like Dr. fruid but also because the experiences he himself went through in the concentration camp which indirectly proves the merit of his thinking.

It but obvious that one will feel, why to live in the concentration camp where one get a treatment worsen than animal and so much hardship/pain to achieve what? Better to die and rest in peace (If we call so…)… and this book exactly talks about why not? It talks about the hope in life, and how the man’s in search of meaning in his life conquer all the odds…

Logotherapy is the application of his thoughts in the normal life problem as a psychologist Frankl offers to his patients, it is just amazing!
According to logotherapy, this striving to find a meaning in one’s life is the primary motivational force in man, human existence. It challenges the Friedrich Nietzsche’s theory of super man in quite extend, and contradicts Sigmund Freud modern psycology. In today’s scenario of life I feel that Dr. Frankl’s theory explains and answers quite extend the psychological problem we are facing in the contemporary life style.

The Prophet

I feel “The prophet” is book of wisdom full of philosophical thoughts and amazing use of metaphors to explain them by Khalil Gibran. Some books are published with his paintings also. Rather than spiritual book design students should read this book to understand the usage of metaphors. The prophet is the commentary about regular life issues and concerns like what is life: Love, Marriage, Children, Giving, Eating and Drinking, Work, Joy and Sorrow, Houses, Clothes, Buying and Selling, Crime and Punishment, Laws, Freedom, Reason and Passion, Pain, Self-Knowledge, Teaching, Friendship, Talking, Time, Good and Evil, Prayer, Pleasure, Beauty, Religion, and Death

E.g. when some one asks prophet what is house; he explains house is like eye. It is always open to see and closes as the danger comes, so house should be such… amazing thought I never got this type of explanation in any architectural books and philosophy I read so far…

The Prince

Like Arthashastra by Chankya is famous in India, in Europe “The Prince” book by Niccolo Machiavelli has similar status. This is must read book and reference book. Italian political thinker and diplomat Machiavelli started his career as minor clerk and rose to become diplomat for Florence. Book he wrote and gifted (?) to king (which is said, it was his political move to please him) and it generally talks about “political success at all cost” with historic references and his political study in long carrier as political thinker.

Machiavellian character is the term derived from his name, typical Machiavellian character is the main character around which all the plot revolves but he/she doesn’t take part actively but make sure the entire things takes place with his/her wish. To understand the historic evidences one should also read his letters.

The Naked Ape

The Naked Ape: Desmond Morris Zoologist's study of the humans as a species and compares them to other animals. This is basic book one must read to understand human behavior, it is full of facts are comparisons with other animals to clarify doubts. It is a benchmark of popular anthropology and psychology book. Each chapter is distinct and like individual research papers on topics: Origin, Sex, Rearing, Exploration, Fighting, Feeding, Comfort, Animals, and References.

It asks the fundamental questions like: If humans are evolved from monkey, what would have been today’s monkey that time?