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The Difficulty of Being Good: On the Subtle Art of Dharma
In his new book, Gurcharan Das turns to the Mahabharata in order to answer the question, "why be good'', and discovers that the epic's world of moral haziness and uncertainty is closer to our experience as ordinary human beings than the narrow and rigid positions that define most debate in this fundamentalist age of moral certainty.
The Mahabharata is obsessed with the elusive notion of dharma - in essence, doing the right thing. When a hero falters, the action stops and everyone weighs in with a different and often contradictory take on dharma. The epic's characters are flawed, but their incoherent experiences throw light on our familiar dilemmas.
Gurcharan Das's best-selling book India Unbound examined the classical aim of artha, material well being. This, his first book in seven years, dwells on the goal of dharma, moral well being. It addresses the central problem of how to live our lives in an examined way - holding a mirror up to us and forcing us to confront the many ways in which we deceive ourselves and others. What emerges is a doctrine of dharma that we can apply to our business decisions, political strategies and interpersonal relationships - in effect, to life itself.
The Mahabharata is obsessed with the elusive notion of dharma - in essence, doing the right thing. When a hero falters, the action stops and everyone weighs in with a different and often contradictory take on dharma. The epic's characters are flawed, but their incoherent experiences throw light on our familiar dilemmas.
Gurcharan Das's best-selling book India Unbound examined the classical aim of artha, material well being. This, his first book in seven years, dwells on the goal of dharma, moral well being. It addresses the central problem of how to live our lives in an examined way - holding a mirror up to us and forcing us to confront the many ways in which we deceive ourselves and others. What emerges is a doctrine of dharma that we can apply to our business decisions, political strategies and interpersonal relationships - in effect, to life itself.
488 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Gurcharan Das
35 books386 followersGurcharan Das (Punjabi: ਗੁਰਚਰਨ ਦਾਸ, Hindi: गुरचरण दास), (born October 3, 1943), is an Indian author, commentator and public intellectual. He is the author of The Difficulty of Being Good: On the subtle art of dharma which interrogates the epic, Mahabharata. His international bestseller, India Unbound, is a narrative account of India from Independence to the global Information Age, and has been published in many languages and filmed by BBC.
He is a regular columnist for six Indian newspapers in English, Hindi, Telugu and Marathi, and he writes periodic pieces for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, and Newsweek.
He graduated with honors from Harvard University in Philosophy. He later attended Harvard Business School (AMP), where he is featured in three case studies. He was CEO of Procter & Gamble India and later Managing Director, Procter & Gamble Worldwide (Strategic Planning). In 1995, he took early retirement to become a full time writer. He is currently on many boards and is a regular speaker to the top managements of the world’s largest corporations.
His other literary works include a novel, A Fine Family, a book of essays, The Elephant Paradigm, and anthology, Three English Plays.
He is a regular columnist for six Indian newspapers in English, Hindi, Telugu and Marathi, and he writes periodic pieces for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, and Newsweek.
He graduated with honors from Harvard University in Philosophy. He later attended Harvard Business School (AMP), where he is featured in three case studies. He was CEO of Procter & Gamble India and later Managing Director, Procter & Gamble Worldwide (Strategic Planning). In 1995, he took early retirement to become a full time writer. He is currently on many boards and is a regular speaker to the top managements of the world’s largest corporations.
His other literary works include a novel, A Fine Family, a book of essays, The Elephant Paradigm, and anthology, Three English Plays.
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November 30, 2016
Why be good when being bad is considered to be cool?
Why does always bad things happen to good people?
In a society where people get away by doing bad things, why should people still believe in Non-Violence and Dharma?
Is a "bad person" never good? Does not the "good" sometimes become bad?
Ultimately what is good and bad?
The above questions might have passed through your mind at least once in your lifetime. Thus, what does being good mean? Why be good? It is at this juncture that this book tries to find meaning to the word Dharma by dissecting the characters in Mahabharata one by one and discussing their behaviour patterns. While reading the book, one might often wonder whether a person can be called inherently good or bad? Isn't there a Raavan hiding in each of the righteous Ramas of the world. Or, to put it in the modern version wasn't a part of Voldemort there in Harry Potter himself.
I have never found it so hard to write a review for a book that I absolutely loved. I fear that my review however times edited would not do justice to it. The theme of this book is so close to my heart that after reading the summary given at the back of this book, I just could not hide my happiness in finding a book that talks about some queries that I have had all along my life till now.
For an introvert like me who can easily be outsmarted by others and to have to smile at the same person (cursing myself for my lack of ability to express myself) the theme of this book is relevant in my day-to-day life. The question of "why be good?" has occurred to me many a times in life.
From my experiences in life so far, I have learnt that a person can never be categorized as good or bad. It is difficult to draw a straight line between good karma and bad karma. The matter is subtle: delicately complex. This has been beautifully discussed in this book through various chapters disseminating each character of The Mahabharatha and also including political/corporate figures from everyday news in some places.
Still my favorite chapter is The Krishna's Guile with the tagline "It is the way it is". All through the Gita, "The Krishna" preaches about being righteous but during the Kurukshetra War he makes the Pandavas win by trickery. Duryodhana questions this approach while dying and Krishna replies with a simple "somethings are the way it is". This is my favorite because it helps in finding peace with many situations in life when we fail to find logic in what has happened.
I loved this book and I am sure that this is going to be one of my bibles (books I love and would read, re-read, re-re-read..... and by heart and treasure in life). I would recommend this book to anyone anytime as its relevant in all ages.
Why does always bad things happen to good people?
In a society where people get away by doing bad things, why should people still believe in Non-Violence and Dharma?
Is a "bad person" never good? Does not the "good" sometimes become bad?
Ultimately what is good and bad?
The above questions might have passed through your mind at least once in your lifetime. Thus, what does being good mean? Why be good? It is at this juncture that this book tries to find meaning to the word Dharma by dissecting the characters in Mahabharata one by one and discussing their behaviour patterns. While reading the book, one might often wonder whether a person can be called inherently good or bad? Isn't there a Raavan hiding in each of the righteous Ramas of the world. Or, to put it in the modern version wasn't a part of Voldemort there in Harry Potter himself.
I have never found it so hard to write a review for a book that I absolutely loved. I fear that my review however times edited would not do justice to it. The theme of this book is so close to my heart that after reading the summary given at the back of this book, I just could not hide my happiness in finding a book that talks about some queries that I have had all along my life till now.
For an introvert like me who can easily be outsmarted by others and to have to smile at the same person (cursing myself for my lack of ability to express myself) the theme of this book is relevant in my day-to-day life. The question of "why be good?" has occurred to me many a times in life.
From my experiences in life so far, I have learnt that a person can never be categorized as good or bad. It is difficult to draw a straight line between good karma and bad karma. The matter is subtle: delicately complex. This has been beautifully discussed in this book through various chapters disseminating each character of The Mahabharatha and also including political/corporate figures from everyday news in some places.
Still my favorite chapter is The Krishna's Guile with the tagline "It is the way it is". All through the Gita, "The Krishna" preaches about being righteous but during the Kurukshetra War he makes the Pandavas win by trickery. Duryodhana questions this approach while dying and Krishna replies with a simple "somethings are the way it is". This is my favorite because it helps in finding peace with many situations in life when we fail to find logic in what has happened.
I loved this book and I am sure that this is going to be one of my bibles (books I love and would read, re-read, re-re-read..... and by heart and treasure in life). I would recommend this book to anyone anytime as its relevant in all ages.
February 28, 2015
Gurcharan Das operates from a very grand perspective of the epic of Mahabharata: that the Mahabharata War and its characters are the prototypes and presiding spirits of all crises in Human natures and cultures. Every great political and moral incident, into the grand stage of history or the everyday drama of life, can be looked at as an imitation of it. Of course, Mahabharata is an epic that asserts this itself and without irony: claiming to contain all, fully confident of being understood by people even aeons later. And few who study it can ever deny that claim.
The wholeness of Mahabharata's world and the integrity of its character sketches are miracles of poetic conception even today. These stories were, for the ancient Indians and even till the present day, a bible, a manual carried in memory everywhere and always; a source of wise, proverbial and aphoristic wisdom, that would never abandon them.
Gurcharan Das tries to squeeze out the wisdom from the stories, to make them stand alone. This is a fool's errand in many ways but the admirable thing is that he still manages to make sense in this enterprise. This work can only be considered as a book-length introduction to the epic at best, but it would make a really good introduction.
June 8, 2013
This knowledge I have taught
is more arcane than any mystery-
consider it completely
then act as you choose.
Towards the end of the Gita, this is what Krishna told Arjuna. That defines Krishna for me. And to see Gurcharan Das, grudgingly admire him in ‘The Difficulty of Being Good’ (of course he is not ready to accept him as God with a capital G), it indeed put me off.
To tell you the truth, even before I started reading the book, I was hugely biased.
1) My father vehemently supports Krishna, who like Mr. Das’ father believes that what he mentioned as Krishna’s guile was actually Krishna’s leela. Unfortunately, I couldn’t be completely inured from his argument.
2) Granted that almost no one is perfect in this epic, no amount of cogently argued cases in favor of Duryodhayan is ever gonna change my originally held opinion. And my originally held opinion is – he is a villain.
And I think I wasn’t the only one who was biased. Mr. Das quotes Marxist D.D. Kosambi describing Gita as the ‘700 fratricidal verses’. Quoting V.S. Sukthankar, Krishna is described as follows, ‘cynic, who preaches the highest morality and stoops to practice the lowest tricks… An opportunist who teaches a god fearing man to tell a lie (Yudhisthir), the only lie he told in all his life! [He is a] charlatan who…advises a hesitating archer (Arjuna) to strike down a foe who is defenseless and crying for mercy.’
I do know that quoting someone doesn’t actually mean he is writing off Krishna as a playful, whimsical God who sometimes indulges in the baser instincts, stooping lower than “righteous” human beings. But while reading the book, I did catch a somewhat negative attitude of the writer towards Krishna. Throughout the book, Mr. Das refutes Krishna’s philosophy, criticizes his deeds and in a way, tars him with the same brush as the likes of Duryodhana, Karna (according to him, Duryodhana is nobler than Krishna could ever be).
Why then would the author of this book, gloss over Duryodhana’s misdeeds and mention them in passing. Duryodhana indeed made the life of Pandavas, hell. He applied every vile trick in the book to get rid of Pandavas, the rigged game of dice being just one of them. Yet you whine his being killed deceitfully. I could not understand Duryodhana’s or Karna’s cry for dharma to be followed. Neither could I understand why they felt wronged. They themselves wouldn’t follow morality, yet they want everyone else to uphold dharma. For me, in this case, the end justified the means.
Anyways, it was a war. If Duryodhana had won, however noble you would have thought his conduct during war was, what do you think would have happened to Draupadi? Sorry, I don’t think either Karna or Duryodhana would have upheld Dharma then.
If the “guileless idealist” in Yudhisthir had his way, then of course Pandavas would not have won. But one must behave morally (ends do not justify the means)!
I do not whine that why should we be good when the world isn’t reciprocating in kind? But I do whine about the fact that why each and every character in Mahabharata (including Mr. Das) demands and expects Pandavas to upheld dharma (most of the time they did) when they themselves wouldn’t follow it.
If Drona considered Pandavas’ claim to the throne as rightful, then why in the first place he wasn’t on their side. Of course he believed it his dharma to support the ruling party and stem down opposition. Yet Mr. Das mentions that dharma is not only about following a set of rules but also following your conscience. It is more so about being an empathizing do-gooder, which Drona, unfortunately, wasn’t. Yet he expected Yudhisthir to be upright and truthful during the war just before his death.
I am by no means justifying the way he was killed, but if you are a pragmatist, then why you would expect and demand your opponent to be guilelessly moral and complain if he isn’t.
And though Pandavas’ claim to the throne was dubious, they created Indraprastha for God’s sake. They transformed an arid desert into a bustling, sprawling and prosperous land. That makes Indraprastha theirs. Once you send the rulers of the land by cheating them in a rigged game of dice (I couldn’t understand, why in the book, Mr. Das chose to defend Shakuni? What sort of argument is this that though he told Duryodhana that he would employ deceit while playing, there was no description in Mahabharata he actually did. This is the same argument Arundhati Roy is using to defend Afzal Guru and fellow terrorists.), Pandavas did follow the harsh conditions of exile imposed on them. So once they return and start demanding their land back, this doesn’t make their claim dubious. They were not demanding Hastinapur, they were demanding Indraprastha.
And nor do I consider Yudhisthir as the epitome of goodness. First of all he chose to participate in the game of dice (“reluctantly”, though willingly), he lost it. He staked his brothers, wife, he lost them. Inspite of it being all his fault, his brothers and wife do go along with him to the exile and they never ever blame it down on him, yet when they feel frustrated about their fate, he lectures them on morality! I hate him not for his being a peaceful, empathetic king; I hate him because he is a bit of hypocrite.
At the end of the book, Mr. Das feels anrishamsya (empathy, the ability to weep with all creatures) is true dharma. Good. He is an altruist. And this is how he interpreted the book. Of course Mahabharata in this case, does believe altruism to be a great virtue. So I am not railing against Mr. Das.
But I simply believe in ahimsa (‘not hurting others’) and do not want to progress to anrishamsya. Yet at this point I do feel a need to mention that (a hypothetical situation mentioned in the book) if Bhima squishes the gouty toe of Duryodhana, and when Duryodhana pleads to Bhima to place himself in his shoes and feel the pain, it would have been to Bhima’s sense of ahimsa to which he would have pleaded, not anrishamsya. So Mr. Das’ logic in this case in flawed. He could appeal people to be non-violent from this example, he could not demand altruism. I am not going to spend my life working for the cause of some random human-being. My own belly is empty. I am going to fill it first keeping in mind all my desires, needs and wants. I would try to help few of my fellow human-beings, but only those I care for. I am not supporting Ramlinga Raju here. A king, a public servant, a businessman (of a publicly-owned company only) should not show nepotism or favoritism. Right now, I am none of them – so I would indulge in favoritism.
What I have tried interpreting from Ayn Rand’s work (unfortunately I am a mediocre reader) is that one is responsible for oneself. One must advance his own cause. I want to advance mine (not hurting others, though of course if it were a race, then I would try to win and would not care if you felt hurt on losing). So if goodness means altruism, it would be extremely difficult for me to be good, so much so that I wouldn’t care less to be good at all.
April 29, 2011
Non-fiction at its best. The Difficulty Of Being Good is written by Gurucharan Das( Harvard boy, Procter and gamble CEO , now retired writer for a bunch of newspapers). The book is scintillating and simple ... Basically the author decided on a break decided to pursue kama -desire,arth-material satisfaction, karma-work ,dharma-righteousness and moksha aka salvation.He wanted to pursue these basic tenets of hinduism using famed books on the suject so behold THE Mahabharata , my favourite epic and the greatest book ever written. The beauty and difficulty of the epic lies in the matter of making a choice in essence doing the right thing. Righteousness.
Dharma is possibly one of the most difficult concepts to explain to the world... Dharma is your duty, it is also your ethics, it is righteousness and it is the law. It is all these things simultaneously related and rather complex. Like most Indians(not just hindus mind you) I have grown up with the Mahabharata, seen dramas, soap operas, movies, read books and articles on the subject. It is a magnificient complex plot made of more than 100,000 couplets and is a collection of 18 books. It is a dozen times thicker than the combined length of Iliad and odyssey combined.
The essence Of mahabharata (personal opinion no quoting)lies in doing the right thing that is doing YOUR dharma and what is the right thing?? Simply, what turns out for best in the long run for everyone.
indeed mahabharata's central theme lies in the annihilation of the kshatriyas in the kali yuga, the same disturbed , political, greed age as ours.
Ok, now what I like about the book:
1) The author is upset about the fact that mahabharat is perceived as hindu religious literature which of course it is not. In fact Hinduism as a religion does not exist on the lines of Judaism, islam, christianity or for that matter jainism, buddhism and even the bhakti movement. (Read The Discovery Of India for more on this!)
The Mahabharat is literature at its finest showcasing human dilemmas. It has nothing to do with religious fanatism of the saffron kind ok!
2) The Book is presented in the most interesting format with 10 chapters(in fact the book is shorter than the reference list). The chapters are themselves a treat with comparisons to Amabanis, satyam fraud and the Indian bureaucracy. Too good.
3) Lastly the author doesn't throw snobbish airs. And The Questions he felt while reading the epic are the ones I did.
Overall, engaging, appreciable, nouveau approach and 5 out of 5 just for the epic it deals with.
Polite applause.
The chapter on Karna- status anxiety and draupadi-courage rock.
Dharma is possibly one of the most difficult concepts to explain to the world... Dharma is your duty, it is also your ethics, it is righteousness and it is the law. It is all these things simultaneously related and rather complex. Like most Indians(not just hindus mind you) I have grown up with the Mahabharata, seen dramas, soap operas, movies, read books and articles on the subject. It is a magnificient complex plot made of more than 100,000 couplets and is a collection of 18 books. It is a dozen times thicker than the combined length of Iliad and odyssey combined.
The essence Of mahabharata (personal opinion no quoting)lies in doing the right thing that is doing YOUR dharma and what is the right thing?? Simply, what turns out for best in the long run for everyone.
indeed mahabharata's central theme lies in the annihilation of the kshatriyas in the kali yuga, the same disturbed , political, greed age as ours.
Ok, now what I like about the book:
1) The author is upset about the fact that mahabharat is perceived as hindu religious literature which of course it is not. In fact Hinduism as a religion does not exist on the lines of Judaism, islam, christianity or for that matter jainism, buddhism and even the bhakti movement. (Read The Discovery Of India for more on this!)
The Mahabharat is literature at its finest showcasing human dilemmas. It has nothing to do with religious fanatism of the saffron kind ok!
2) The Book is presented in the most interesting format with 10 chapters(in fact the book is shorter than the reference list). The chapters are themselves a treat with comparisons to Amabanis, satyam fraud and the Indian bureaucracy. Too good.
3) Lastly the author doesn't throw snobbish airs. And The Questions he felt while reading the epic are the ones I did.
Overall, engaging, appreciable, nouveau approach and 5 out of 5 just for the epic it deals with.
Polite applause.
The chapter on Karna- status anxiety and draupadi-courage rock.
February 21, 2017
I think that the Mahabharata should be read by everyone. It's full of wisdom but also of helpful advices for everyday life. It isn't easy to understand always the meaning of many behaviors or events in the Mahabharata, and Gurcharan Das' book helps to understand better what dharma means and why the characters behaved as they did. He explains everything in an easy and understandable way (though of course, in my opinion, it's important to already have read the Mahabharata in order to know what it is about, the characters and the happenings).
As said, this book analyzes above all the meaning of dharma, one of the main topics of the Mahabharata, but it's also the base of our lives. More than "being good", as written in the title, it is about being right, having an upright behavior, to do what has to be done. It seems easy, but it isn't. Sometimes also a good person, in order to follow dharma, has to act in a way that isn't always considered right (see Yudhisthira that has to lead a war though he preferred to avoid it till the end, or Arjuna that a few moments before the war doesn't want to fight against his kinsmen). This is explained very well in this book analyzing the main characters and their actions. In my opinion it isn't a religious text. Of course, there is Krishna, but the things that are said have to do with a moral behavior more than with religion. Dharma is linked also to compassion, non-violence, goodness, unselfishness, and it could be interesting to analyze if we have to follow dharma in order to reach moksha, or in order to have an upright society in which people behave in a respectful and altruistic way.
It isn't easy to review this book because there are really a lot of deep considerations. The author makes also many references to Western and Greek philosophers, and many examples with the Indian political situation or with important characters of the economic life. Gurcharan Das adds also a lot of personal opinions that often help to understand better a concept.
Only the second last chapter, "Conclusion", was a bit dragging because the author repeated, though concisely, the main considerations he already dealt with in the previous chapters. So this chapter was a bit too repetitive, at least for me, though I know that repetita iuvant.
As said, this book analyzes above all the meaning of dharma, one of the main topics of the Mahabharata, but it's also the base of our lives. More than "being good", as written in the title, it is about being right, having an upright behavior, to do what has to be done. It seems easy, but it isn't. Sometimes also a good person, in order to follow dharma, has to act in a way that isn't always considered right (see Yudhisthira that has to lead a war though he preferred to avoid it till the end, or Arjuna that a few moments before the war doesn't want to fight against his kinsmen). This is explained very well in this book analyzing the main characters and their actions. In my opinion it isn't a religious text. Of course, there is Krishna, but the things that are said have to do with a moral behavior more than with religion. Dharma is linked also to compassion, non-violence, goodness, unselfishness, and it could be interesting to analyze if we have to follow dharma in order to reach moksha, or in order to have an upright society in which people behave in a respectful and altruistic way.
It isn't easy to review this book because there are really a lot of deep considerations. The author makes also many references to Western and Greek philosophers, and many examples with the Indian political situation or with important characters of the economic life. Gurcharan Das adds also a lot of personal opinions that often help to understand better a concept.
Only the second last chapter, "Conclusion", was a bit dragging because the author repeated, though concisely, the main considerations he already dealt with in the previous chapters. So this chapter was a bit too repetitive, at least for me, though I know that repetita iuvant.
July 13, 2013
Shallow. Eg., opening sentence - "The Mahabharata is the story of a futile and terrible war..." Futile? How?
Another eg., pg 7 which tries to analyse why Yudhishthira played the disastrous game of dice.
Inaccurate. Eg., Pg xvi seems to indicate that Pandu waged wars after his sons were born and then left for the forest! It's the other way: he waged wars, went to the forest and then had sons.
Does not talk about the second game of dice that the Pandavas lost and as a result had to go on exile.
Pg xviii first line: "...the kingdom of Virata where they have perilous and hilarious escapades." Hilarious??
Pg xix: "...Bhishma begins to decimate the armies of the Pandavas..." Inaccurate - infact, Duryodhana actually rages against Bhishma for not doing enough damage to the Pandava armies. During the leadership of Bhishma, the Kauravas suffer greater losses than Pandavas.
Pg xix: talks about chakra vyuha, in the form of a lotus like circular array. The learned author is confusing chakra vyuha with the padma vyuha!
Pg xxi: states the Pandavas choose Bhima to fight the last duel with Duryodhana. Actually, Yudhishthira offers to Duryodhana to choose any of the five brothers and Duryodhana chooses to fight Bhima.
Pg xxix: According to this chronology, Mahabharata is composed after the death of Mahavira and Buddha!
Repetitive [whole passages are repeated].
Eg., Pg 1, first paragraph.
Refers to Western scholars' translations/interpretations more than Indian ones. Prefers van Buitenen to Kisari Mohan Ganguli. This is not understandable.
Pg xliv: Refers to the Mahabharata as a wacky story - it is about a war between the children of a blind pretender fighting the sons of a man too frail to risk the act of coition. This is tantamount to dismissing the Odyssey as the wanderings of a king too foolish to find his way back home. I don't know if this is what comes of reading western renderings of the Mahabharata, but honestly, one would expect better.
Pg xlv: "The Mahabharata is a profoundly ironic text with a very modern sense of the absurd."!
Really don't want to delve more.
Another eg., pg 7 which tries to analyse why Yudhishthira played the disastrous game of dice.
Inaccurate. Eg., Pg xvi seems to indicate that Pandu waged wars after his sons were born and then left for the forest! It's the other way: he waged wars, went to the forest and then had sons.
Does not talk about the second game of dice that the Pandavas lost and as a result had to go on exile.
Pg xviii first line: "...the kingdom of Virata where they have perilous and hilarious escapades." Hilarious??
Pg xix: "...Bhishma begins to decimate the armies of the Pandavas..." Inaccurate - infact, Duryodhana actually rages against Bhishma for not doing enough damage to the Pandava armies. During the leadership of Bhishma, the Kauravas suffer greater losses than Pandavas.
Pg xix: talks about chakra vyuha, in the form of a lotus like circular array. The learned author is confusing chakra vyuha with the padma vyuha!
Pg xxi: states the Pandavas choose Bhima to fight the last duel with Duryodhana. Actually, Yudhishthira offers to Duryodhana to choose any of the five brothers and Duryodhana chooses to fight Bhima.
Pg xxix: According to this chronology, Mahabharata is composed after the death of Mahavira and Buddha!
Repetitive [whole passages are repeated].
Eg., Pg 1, first paragraph.
Refers to Western scholars' translations/interpretations more than Indian ones. Prefers van Buitenen to Kisari Mohan Ganguli. This is not understandable.
Pg xliv: Refers to the Mahabharata as a wacky story - it is about a war between the children of a blind pretender fighting the sons of a man too frail to risk the act of coition. This is tantamount to dismissing the Odyssey as the wanderings of a king too foolish to find his way back home. I don't know if this is what comes of reading western renderings of the Mahabharata, but honestly, one would expect better.
Pg xlv: "The Mahabharata is a profoundly ironic text with a very modern sense of the absurd."!
Really don't want to delve more.
March 23, 2019
Gurcharan Das picked up a topic which every person faces more or less often in their lives - why and how to be good in this unethical world? I often find myself asking this question again and again. Was my decision morally correct? So when I came across this book, I wanted to read his perspective on it. But unfortunately, this book fell far short of my expectations.
One, this book is filled with his bias against other religions. I sincerely believe that the main purpose of all the religions is to help people lead a better life, it's only people who mold these scriptures to support their own causes. So, tell me, is it not common sense that when you are writing a book to help people be morally good, you MUST not compare different religions just to prove that yours is morally better? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of book on all the levels, especially when what Mahabharata has taught us that not anyone is completely right or wrong?
Two, this book is definitely not written for the Indian population cause he doesn't discuss anything new. I agree that you cannot add anything new to the 2000 year old story of Mahabharata which we grew up watching on TV and hearing from our elders, but he could have added more case studies from the recent times. In this book's introduction, it is mentioned, "In every case, he finds striking parallels that carry lessons for everyone faced with ethical and moral dilemmas in today's complex world." But, alas, a couple of pages about Ambanis or Ramalinga Raju does not do justice to this promise.
Three, this book doesn't provide answers but a long and painful rambling of rhetorical questions. Sigh.
TLDR; If you already know about Mahabharta, you can skip this book. But for others, it might provide you with a new perspective on morality and its consequences. (And, that's mostly because you'll be reading about Mahabharta.)
One, this book is filled with his bias against other religions. I sincerely believe that the main purpose of all the religions is to help people lead a better life, it's only people who mold these scriptures to support their own causes. So, tell me, is it not common sense that when you are writing a book to help people be morally good, you MUST not compare different religions just to prove that yours is morally better? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of book on all the levels, especially when what Mahabharata has taught us that not anyone is completely right or wrong?
Two, this book is definitely not written for the Indian population cause he doesn't discuss anything new. I agree that you cannot add anything new to the 2000 year old story of Mahabharata which we grew up watching on TV and hearing from our elders, but he could have added more case studies from the recent times. In this book's introduction, it is mentioned, "In every case, he finds striking parallels that carry lessons for everyone faced with ethical and moral dilemmas in today's complex world." But, alas, a couple of pages about Ambanis or Ramalinga Raju does not do justice to this promise.
Three, this book doesn't provide answers but a long and painful rambling of rhetorical questions. Sigh.
TLDR; If you already know about Mahabharta, you can skip this book. But for others, it might provide you with a new perspective on morality and its consequences. (And, that's mostly because you'll be reading about Mahabharta.)
December 27, 2020
" WHAT IS NOT HERE, IS NOWHERE"
I've always been fascinated to know more about the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. The word "Dharma" in the book and written by one of my favorite authors, Gurcharan Das, was enough for me to pick this book. And I'd say I'm happy to read it. So, this book revolves around Mahabharata and the characters in it. I loved how the author has divided chapters giving a detailed description of the main characters and in the proper sequence of the entire story.
eg. He begins the book writing about the whole Mahabharata first. The first chapter is about Duryodhana, "Duryodhan's Envy" and the last chapters are about Ashwatthama, "Ashwatthama's Revenge" who sets the whole camp on fire (kills Pandavas children) and about Yudhishthira, "Yudhishthira Remorse" who finds Duryodhana in heaven and not his brothers and wife.
Reasons why I liked this book:
1: Comprehensive research is done.
2: contemporary examples given
eg: a) Linking Duryodhana's greed with Ambani's and how the fight between the Ambani brothers has affected millions of lives.
b) similarities between Yudhishthira and Mahatma Gandhi.
3: Not partial to any character. Show both the good and bad sides of each character.
4: Showing Mahabharata is not about a 'just war', where it would be better to call the Pandavas the 'preferred' side and not the 'good' side.
5: what to learn from each character.
6: similarities between Indian Mythology and Greek mythology.
7: Many unanswered questions have been answered.
8: Importance of Dharma in one's life.
9: showing the consequences of war
10: finally, I never got bored :p
I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who has got an interest in mythology and wants to know more about it.
Rating: 5/5
pages: less than 400 (excluding the notes)
I've always been fascinated to know more about the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. The word "Dharma" in the book and written by one of my favorite authors, Gurcharan Das, was enough for me to pick this book. And I'd say I'm happy to read it. So, this book revolves around Mahabharata and the characters in it. I loved how the author has divided chapters giving a detailed description of the main characters and in the proper sequence of the entire story.
eg. He begins the book writing about the whole Mahabharata first. The first chapter is about Duryodhana, "Duryodhan's Envy" and the last chapters are about Ashwatthama, "Ashwatthama's Revenge" who sets the whole camp on fire (kills Pandavas children) and about Yudhishthira, "Yudhishthira Remorse" who finds Duryodhana in heaven and not his brothers and wife.
Reasons why I liked this book:
1: Comprehensive research is done.
2: contemporary examples given
eg: a) Linking Duryodhana's greed with Ambani's and how the fight between the Ambani brothers has affected millions of lives.
b) similarities between Yudhishthira and Mahatma Gandhi.
3: Not partial to any character. Show both the good and bad sides of each character.
4: Showing Mahabharata is not about a 'just war', where it would be better to call the Pandavas the 'preferred' side and not the 'good' side.
5: what to learn from each character.
6: similarities between Indian Mythology and Greek mythology.
7: Many unanswered questions have been answered.
8: Importance of Dharma in one's life.
9: showing the consequences of war
10: finally, I never got bored :p
I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who has got an interest in mythology and wants to know more about it.
Rating: 5/5
pages: less than 400 (excluding the notes)
February 28, 2015
This is an excellent book in many ways. Das picks up situations and characters in The Mahabharata, interprets them using arguments and theories from philosophy, evolutionary biology, economics and other fields of study, and then tries to apply these interpretations to more recent events such as controversial government policies, wars and scams.
He largely succeeds. The passages he selects from The Mahabharata make for lovely reading. His interpretations of them, mainly using philosophical arguments, are insightful and scholarly. The bibliographical essay at the end is a delightful treasure-trove of interesting, accessible books.
However, his application of these interpretations to current events seems almost naive in comparison. I think there are two reasons for this. One, Das's simple writing style simply does not match up to the beauty of The Mahabharata's prose and the eloquent arguments made by the many philosophers he quotes throughout the book. His take on affirmative action is an example of this - a nice, well-rounded argument that explores both sides of the fiesty debate on reservations, but one which makes for less compelling reading than, say, his brilliant exploration of Yudhishthira's shifting views on the necessity of waging war with his cousins(from idealistic to pragmatic).
More worryingly, some of his interpretations are just too simple, and also carry more than a hint of bias. The best example of this is his bizarre argument that "socialism is driven by envy". Not just that it is one of the factors that drives socialism, which is perfectly reasonable, but that, in his own words, "envy is the sin of socialism". He spends a considerable amount of time expanding upon this argument. In my opinion (and I'm willing to admit that it will itself carry some bias given my left-leaning views), this is a very simplistic argument, and it does not fit well with Das's more nuanced dissections of The Mahabharata and its characters. Nor is this his only feeble argument in the book. His views on Dhirubhai Ambani and his questionable means of wealth generation (broadly "he made money for his investors, so its ok") seems equally prejudiced. It detracts from what is an excellent exploration of India's most complex epic and its many moral dilemmas.
Rating: 3.5 Stars.
He largely succeeds. The passages he selects from The Mahabharata make for lovely reading. His interpretations of them, mainly using philosophical arguments, are insightful and scholarly. The bibliographical essay at the end is a delightful treasure-trove of interesting, accessible books.
However, his application of these interpretations to current events seems almost naive in comparison. I think there are two reasons for this. One, Das's simple writing style simply does not match up to the beauty of The Mahabharata's prose and the eloquent arguments made by the many philosophers he quotes throughout the book. His take on affirmative action is an example of this - a nice, well-rounded argument that explores both sides of the fiesty debate on reservations, but one which makes for less compelling reading than, say, his brilliant exploration of Yudhishthira's shifting views on the necessity of waging war with his cousins(from idealistic to pragmatic).
More worryingly, some of his interpretations are just too simple, and also carry more than a hint of bias. The best example of this is his bizarre argument that "socialism is driven by envy". Not just that it is one of the factors that drives socialism, which is perfectly reasonable, but that, in his own words, "envy is the sin of socialism". He spends a considerable amount of time expanding upon this argument. In my opinion (and I'm willing to admit that it will itself carry some bias given my left-leaning views), this is a very simplistic argument, and it does not fit well with Das's more nuanced dissections of The Mahabharata and its characters. Nor is this his only feeble argument in the book. His views on Dhirubhai Ambani and his questionable means of wealth generation (broadly "he made money for his investors, so its ok") seems equally prejudiced. It detracts from what is an excellent exploration of India's most complex epic and its many moral dilemmas.
Rating: 3.5 Stars.
September 18, 2014
An awesome book ( in my opinion). After reading the book I felt that Mahabharat should be considered a literary and a philosophical work rather than a religious one. The book concludes as in the Mahabharat, that dharma is subtle. Thus, how and why to be good are difficult questions but goodness, compassion, forgiveness........ would ultimately be needed for the orderly world.
It appears to me that the purpose of the philosophical ideas behind every religious beliefs is to promote the overall goodness of the humans( and also other creatures in case some of them). The questions like how to be and why be good are answered through the beliefs: gods, heaven, punishments, rewards, hell, well being, freedom from bondage of sufferings and so on.
It appears to me that the purpose of the philosophical ideas behind every religious beliefs is to promote the overall goodness of the humans( and also other creatures in case some of them). The questions like how to be and why be good are answered through the beliefs: gods, heaven, punishments, rewards, hell, well being, freedom from bondage of sufferings and so on.
March 6, 2015
"Why be good when being bad is considered to be cool?
Why does always bad things happen to good people?
In a society where people get away by doing bad things, why should people still believe in 'Dharma'?
Is a "bad person" never good? Does not the "good" sometimes become bad?
Ultimately what is good and bad? What exactly is our Dharma?
Isn't there a certain degree of good in all evil and a certain degree of evil in all good?
How does one come to terms with the uncertain ethics of the world around us?
Was the great epic called 'Mahabharata' about 'war' or was it about 'peace'?
Is Mahabharata relevant in today's world?
How does one deal with 'moral' dilemmas when along both sides are one's own people?
Should one forgive the wrong doer or take revenge?
Is moral blindness an intracable human condition or can one change it?"
A lot many times we grope hard in the dark for a lot of these answers. There is hardly anyone who at some or the other point in life has not found himself struggling with these moral dilemmas. Through the elaborate analysis of the powerful characters of Mahabharata, the great author tries to find some of these answers.
First, why does a person stray on the wrong path? For Duryodhana, it was envy and the influence of his uncle on him. For his father, it was insecurity. For Ashwathaama, it was revenge. For Karna, it was a search for his identity. Reasons could be many more. The idea is that in life, several things/emotions/circumstances have the power to easily stray one from the right path. In today's world, where a bride is burnt alive, a lot many times, the reason is greed. Bhisma, Drona and many such learned men knew the Kauravas were wrong in what they did to the Indian Queen Draupadi. But their loyalties were not towards what was ethical but towards a throne. A lot many times, we follow the wronged ones just because they are our blood relations; knowing very well that the same will lead to a doom for not just us but them as well in the long run. In times of moral dilemmas, it is easier to weigh the two sides not on who is ethical but on who is closer to us. And that, as the book conveys is disastrous for everyone and not just the victim.
Second, what is one supposed to do when wronged? Does one forgive or does one avenge? Are there are limits of tolerance? Yudhistra resisted war even after losing everything. But his goodness was exploited way too far.
My favourite chapter of the book is 'Draupadi's Courage'. When she is brought to the assembly, her first question is to her husband : 'Whom did you lose first, yourself or me?'
This line has haunted me for days. Clearly, her husband must have lost his conscience first to have staked his wife. For how could he stake the woman he was supposed to protect? What is left of Dharma? For Draupadi, when honest people fail in their duties to speak against wrong, they 'wound' dharma and deserve punishment. If only someone had done that in the assembly, the catastrophic war could have been avoided.
The best part of the book is it does not try to take sides, it does not preach. It only tells us that world is made to be imperfect. And how we can still be good and carve out what we want to become rather than let circumstances define that for us.
Some of the greatest messages/lines of the book are:
- Do good to others but only to the point where goodness does not hurt. Yudhishtra was good but he realized his goodness was being exploited too far and was sending a wrong message. His final decision to go to war was to send the message that goodness should not be exploited too far. Yudhistra's journey from the assembly to the Kurukshetra is insightful.
- Let no man do to another which is repugnant to himself. How would you feel if it was you who was suffering?
- When in a dilemma, choose the right person and not merely the one close to you. Arjuna knows if he fights, he would be killing his own loved ones, gurus, family members. But as Krishna explains to him, it is in such times one's true character is tested. Arjuna needs to fight not for his sake but for the sake of 'Dharma'.
- Dharma is subtle.
- I fear not death as I fear a lie
- Remorse is different from regret. Someone who is remorseful will always reject a consolation of his wrong doings. Most times, when we do wrong to someone, we feel regret but not remorse. We try to find a rational explanation to our wrong doings, blaming it on circumstances/people. Remorse comes when you feel the suffering of fellow human being to an extent, where suffering becomes your own. A person who is truly remorseful only finds ways to make amends and not reasons to forgive himself.
- The process of becoming a good person is an art.
- Each person, no matter who he is needs to deal with the consequences of his actions, his decisions.
- Abandoning someone devoted to you is a bottomless evil. How Yudhistra did not even abandon a stray dog because the dog was loyal to the King finally opened the doors of heaven for him.
- Unexamined life is not worth living.
- What we change internally will change the outer reality.
- There are times when turning the other cheek really sends a wrong signal.
- I act because I must
- Mahabharata is not about war but peace.
Why does always bad things happen to good people?
In a society where people get away by doing bad things, why should people still believe in 'Dharma'?
Is a "bad person" never good? Does not the "good" sometimes become bad?
Ultimately what is good and bad? What exactly is our Dharma?
Isn't there a certain degree of good in all evil and a certain degree of evil in all good?
How does one come to terms with the uncertain ethics of the world around us?
Was the great epic called 'Mahabharata' about 'war' or was it about 'peace'?
Is Mahabharata relevant in today's world?
How does one deal with 'moral' dilemmas when along both sides are one's own people?
Should one forgive the wrong doer or take revenge?
Is moral blindness an intracable human condition or can one change it?"
A lot many times we grope hard in the dark for a lot of these answers. There is hardly anyone who at some or the other point in life has not found himself struggling with these moral dilemmas. Through the elaborate analysis of the powerful characters of Mahabharata, the great author tries to find some of these answers.
First, why does a person stray on the wrong path? For Duryodhana, it was envy and the influence of his uncle on him. For his father, it was insecurity. For Ashwathaama, it was revenge. For Karna, it was a search for his identity. Reasons could be many more. The idea is that in life, several things/emotions/circumstances have the power to easily stray one from the right path. In today's world, where a bride is burnt alive, a lot many times, the reason is greed. Bhisma, Drona and many such learned men knew the Kauravas were wrong in what they did to the Indian Queen Draupadi. But their loyalties were not towards what was ethical but towards a throne. A lot many times, we follow the wronged ones just because they are our blood relations; knowing very well that the same will lead to a doom for not just us but them as well in the long run. In times of moral dilemmas, it is easier to weigh the two sides not on who is ethical but on who is closer to us. And that, as the book conveys is disastrous for everyone and not just the victim.
Second, what is one supposed to do when wronged? Does one forgive or does one avenge? Are there are limits of tolerance? Yudhistra resisted war even after losing everything. But his goodness was exploited way too far.
My favourite chapter of the book is 'Draupadi's Courage'. When she is brought to the assembly, her first question is to her husband : 'Whom did you lose first, yourself or me?'
This line has haunted me for days. Clearly, her husband must have lost his conscience first to have staked his wife. For how could he stake the woman he was supposed to protect? What is left of Dharma? For Draupadi, when honest people fail in their duties to speak against wrong, they 'wound' dharma and deserve punishment. If only someone had done that in the assembly, the catastrophic war could have been avoided.
The best part of the book is it does not try to take sides, it does not preach. It only tells us that world is made to be imperfect. And how we can still be good and carve out what we want to become rather than let circumstances define that for us.
Some of the greatest messages/lines of the book are:
- Do good to others but only to the point where goodness does not hurt. Yudhishtra was good but he realized his goodness was being exploited too far and was sending a wrong message. His final decision to go to war was to send the message that goodness should not be exploited too far. Yudhistra's journey from the assembly to the Kurukshetra is insightful.
- Let no man do to another which is repugnant to himself. How would you feel if it was you who was suffering?
- When in a dilemma, choose the right person and not merely the one close to you. Arjuna knows if he fights, he would be killing his own loved ones, gurus, family members. But as Krishna explains to him, it is in such times one's true character is tested. Arjuna needs to fight not for his sake but for the sake of 'Dharma'.
- Dharma is subtle.
- I fear not death as I fear a lie
- Remorse is different from regret. Someone who is remorseful will always reject a consolation of his wrong doings. Most times, when we do wrong to someone, we feel regret but not remorse. We try to find a rational explanation to our wrong doings, blaming it on circumstances/people. Remorse comes when you feel the suffering of fellow human being to an extent, where suffering becomes your own. A person who is truly remorseful only finds ways to make amends and not reasons to forgive himself.
- The process of becoming a good person is an art.
- Each person, no matter who he is needs to deal with the consequences of his actions, his decisions.
- Abandoning someone devoted to you is a bottomless evil. How Yudhistra did not even abandon a stray dog because the dog was loyal to the King finally opened the doors of heaven for him.
- Unexamined life is not worth living.
- What we change internally will change the outer reality.
- There are times when turning the other cheek really sends a wrong signal.
- I act because I must
- Mahabharata is not about war but peace.
February 11, 2021
Honestly, I started this book a few years back and left after a few pages, restarted after some time, and left it, again. I just couldn't take in so much. But, third time's a charm!
It is an extraordinary read based on the most extraordinary narrative of the Indian culture, the Mahabharata. We have read the epic, and even watched movies or dramas based on the same but Das reads between the lines and brings a detailed analysis of the characters and their characteristics that help elucidate the contemporary moral dilemmas.
I would like to share that earlier, I had this belief of Arjuna being the protagonist of the epic due to his overpowering portrayal in movies, books, and plays. But, after having read The Difficulty of Being Good, I found the character of Yudhishthir the most significant and inspiring for he is the one who believes in true Dharma however subtle it is. Das, in his conquest of understanding the meaning of Dharma brings up a value that is evident but difficult to pursue, that of being good. Consider, if Yudhishthir who had always followed Dharma and tried to be good in every manner had to suffer and struggle in exile and that too through a mischievous and unfair game of dice, what good is it to be good anyway for people so bad? Find out in the book.
It is an extraordinary read based on the most extraordinary narrative of the Indian culture, the Mahabharata. We have read the epic, and even watched movies or dramas based on the same but Das reads between the lines and brings a detailed analysis of the characters and their characteristics that help elucidate the contemporary moral dilemmas.
I would like to share that earlier, I had this belief of Arjuna being the protagonist of the epic due to his overpowering portrayal in movies, books, and plays. But, after having read The Difficulty of Being Good, I found the character of Yudhishthir the most significant and inspiring for he is the one who believes in true Dharma however subtle it is. Das, in his conquest of understanding the meaning of Dharma brings up a value that is evident but difficult to pursue, that of being good. Consider, if Yudhishthir who had always followed Dharma and tried to be good in every manner had to suffer and struggle in exile and that too through a mischievous and unfair game of dice, what good is it to be good anyway for people so bad? Find out in the book.
April 24, 2011
The author relies excessively on western sources for translations and for interpretations. This is perhaps because he studied the Mahabharata at Harvard and naturally, more western sources would have been available to him than Indian ones. Apart from that, what struck me most is the critical look that Gurcharan Das takes at Krishna's role in the whole epic, without looking at him as God always. The concept of 'Nishkama Karma' (doing one's duty without thinking of the fruits of it) baffles the author and he concludes that very few people are actually capable of such an existence. Draupadi, Krishna and Yudhishtira are three principal characters that Das analyses in detail, principally because they are the prime movers in the epic and it is refreshing to have an author write about Yudhishtira in a non-simplistic way - that he was a king first and foremost and that he took decisions keeping in mind his 'dharma' to his subjects.
The author, in my opinion wrongly calls Chanakya as the Indian 'Machiavelli'. Chanakya's Arthashastra was the Indian counterpart of Machiavelli's 'The Prince', but the objectives of the two works are worlds apart in nature. Chanakya says that the Sovereign must become powerful for the welfare of his subjects whereas Machiavelli recommends a king to the pursuit of power for power alone.
Another bone that I have to pick with Das is his lack of familiarity with Indian languages other than those of North India. He says outright in the preface that 'modern' Indian languages do not say Arjuna, but Arjun and that Dharma is pronounced as 'Dharam'. Frankly, I find it appalling that someone who has read so much about Indian epics hasn't made the effort to know more about India itself.
The author, in my opinion wrongly calls Chanakya as the Indian 'Machiavelli'. Chanakya's Arthashastra was the Indian counterpart of Machiavelli's 'The Prince', but the objectives of the two works are worlds apart in nature. Chanakya says that the Sovereign must become powerful for the welfare of his subjects whereas Machiavelli recommends a king to the pursuit of power for power alone.
Another bone that I have to pick with Das is his lack of familiarity with Indian languages other than those of North India. He says outright in the preface that 'modern' Indian languages do not say Arjuna, but Arjun and that Dharma is pronounced as 'Dharam'. Frankly, I find it appalling that someone who has read so much about Indian epics hasn't made the effort to know more about India itself.
January 5, 2015
Books are timeless because it allows the reader to pour in the values and wisdom of the present and allows the reader to judge. This reading of Mahabaratha as a non-religious handbook on dharma that is proclaimed subtle is the book for our times of moral conflicts.
The book is extremely well researched and analyses the layers of the characters in depth. Much like the post modern books, it judges the merit of the action than the actors. Hence the tone of the book moves from black and white to shades of gray applicable to all characters. In it's commentary it declares 'Mahabharata is not about good and bad but that of favorites'
The book is also a search for the meaning of 'Dharma' in the texts of Mahabharatha. The author points to the many interpretations, accepts the inconsistencies and hence explains why dharma is subtle. The book asks more questions than answers and extends the understanding to moral dilemma of today's corporate world. The book started out as the author's search for meaning and we grow wiser with him as he introduces the various emotions and svabhavas of the same character.
The only complaint might be that the author probably did not want to end his quest and hence hops from thought to thought in his last chapter. But that is something we can look past.
The books ends with the echoing lines '..an act of goodness might be one of the very few things of genuine worth in this world'. How true!
The book is extremely well researched and analyses the layers of the characters in depth. Much like the post modern books, it judges the merit of the action than the actors. Hence the tone of the book moves from black and white to shades of gray applicable to all characters. In it's commentary it declares 'Mahabharata is not about good and bad but that of favorites'
The book is also a search for the meaning of 'Dharma' in the texts of Mahabharatha. The author points to the many interpretations, accepts the inconsistencies and hence explains why dharma is subtle. The book asks more questions than answers and extends the understanding to moral dilemma of today's corporate world. The book started out as the author's search for meaning and we grow wiser with him as he introduces the various emotions and svabhavas of the same character.
The only complaint might be that the author probably did not want to end his quest and hence hops from thought to thought in his last chapter. But that is something we can look past.
The books ends with the echoing lines '..an act of goodness might be one of the very few things of genuine worth in this world'. How true!
December 31, 2019
My first advisor recommended this to me almost a decade ago. Glad that I finally finished it! Totally worth it.
November 24, 2017
What is Dharma?
This question has been raised by time to time by various scholar or philosopher of world. People who studied Hinduism has create variable definition of this world according to their understanding about Hinduism. As hinduism, don’t have centre authority of creating and controlling definition, the clusters of various experience through various sages define the perimeter of Dharma.
But still Scholars run from one scripture to another scripture to define Dharma. According to some prominent writers and scholars of Hinduism, Dharma is “righteous way of living”, for few of them its “Duty imposed by Indian social structure” and for few of them “Dharma is conduct of self-styled duty”. ironically, there is various translation from various scholars [western and eastern] about the concept. This book is similar attempt to understand the dharma through world largest epic “Mahabharata”.
Gurucharan das is one of the influence writer with his strong support of neheruvian socialism and capitalism. His panjabi back ground give good tadaka (spice) to this non fictional attempt to understand dharma through Mahabharata. Gurucharan, works enormously over subject to illustrate and confined it into definition through lenses of western philosophy and their understanding of current model of human societies.
Well many people might question of this assessment on the writer. I would have two link into that, Gurucharan das was enormously attached to group like Sheldon pollock and Wendy Doniger. Her assessment on Hinduism is more or less is sexiest and misogynist view. I would say, I find her Hinduphobic....To Continue Please go through below link
Read full review
https://indianindology.com/2017/11/04...
This question has been raised by time to time by various scholar or philosopher of world. People who studied Hinduism has create variable definition of this world according to their understanding about Hinduism. As hinduism, don’t have centre authority of creating and controlling definition, the clusters of various experience through various sages define the perimeter of Dharma.
But still Scholars run from one scripture to another scripture to define Dharma. According to some prominent writers and scholars of Hinduism, Dharma is “righteous way of living”, for few of them its “Duty imposed by Indian social structure” and for few of them “Dharma is conduct of self-styled duty”. ironically, there is various translation from various scholars [western and eastern] about the concept. This book is similar attempt to understand the dharma through world largest epic “Mahabharata”.
Gurucharan das is one of the influence writer with his strong support of neheruvian socialism and capitalism. His panjabi back ground give good tadaka (spice) to this non fictional attempt to understand dharma through Mahabharata. Gurucharan, works enormously over subject to illustrate and confined it into definition through lenses of western philosophy and their understanding of current model of human societies.
The Only problem which I feel Gurucharan did is using western lenses for Dharmic understanding and his misrepresent characterisation of Krishna based on his understanding of events of war. I would say, he cherry pick various incident to put Krishna into negative shade and done enormous slurring for giving Duryodhana and Karna a free pass.
Well many people might question of this assessment on the writer. I would have two link into that, Gurucharan das was enormously attached to group like Sheldon pollock and Wendy Doniger. Her assessment on Hinduism is more or less is sexiest and misogynist view. I would say, I find her Hinduphobic....To Continue Please go through below link
Read full review
https://indianindology.com/2017/11/04...
March 12, 2012
The Mahabharata is one heck of an amazing work and any attempt to over-analyze something of its magnificence risks falling flat on its face. The Difficulty of Being Good succeeds and succeeds splendidly.An engrossing, thought provoking book that makes one revisit the word dharma and its significance in our lives. The different connotations and interpretations of the word 'dharma' are enlightening for the average reader.The organization of chapters by the characteristics of the lead characters is a great idea. Gurcharan Das' use of contemporary examples to connect to the characters too is excellent.
The book makes one remember the importance of character in a world filled with conflict. It is clear from the text that the author greatly admires Yudhishtira who has rather unfairly been regarded by society as weak and failing. After reading the book, it becomes clear that Yudhishitira was definitely one of the greatest heroes of the epic. He was a man who was wounded by dharma's subtlety and suffered because of his ideals but except for one sole occasion, he lived only for dharma. Now that is something worthy of pursuit.
The book makes one remember the importance of character in a world filled with conflict. It is clear from the text that the author greatly admires Yudhishtira who has rather unfairly been regarded by society as weak and failing. After reading the book, it becomes clear that Yudhishitira was definitely one of the greatest heroes of the epic. He was a man who was wounded by dharma's subtlety and suffered because of his ideals but except for one sole occasion, he lived only for dharma. Now that is something worthy of pursuit.
October 17, 2010
This book reads a little bit like Gurucharan Das's freshman Intro to Philosophy essay. There's a lot of I feel and I agree with .. which seems a tad sophomoric.
All said and done.. I always did think that the Mahabharata was a fun story and I am grateful that Gurucharan introduced me to the more subtler nuances of this epic. I really enjoyed Das' discussions on personal dharma versus societal dharma and unmotivated karma. Das does a great job of explaining why the concept of dharma in the context of the epic is complicated. However, he doesn't do a good job of explaining how subtle dharma can be in the 20th century. There is also the problem of Das' very evident America and free markets solve all problems bias. Case in point - he makes the claim that critics of America are more motivated by jealousy rather than logic. I paraphrase, but that was the argument in essence.
In the final analysis, he gave me much food for thought!
All said and done.. I always did think that the Mahabharata was a fun story and I am grateful that Gurucharan introduced me to the more subtler nuances of this epic. I really enjoyed Das' discussions on personal dharma versus societal dharma and unmotivated karma. Das does a great job of explaining why the concept of dharma in the context of the epic is complicated. However, he doesn't do a good job of explaining how subtle dharma can be in the 20th century. There is also the problem of Das' very evident America and free markets solve all problems bias. Case in point - he makes the claim that critics of America are more motivated by jealousy rather than logic. I paraphrase, but that was the argument in essence.
In the final analysis, he gave me much food for thought!
May 22, 2019
Wow ! This book took longer than usual for me to finish. I liked the concept of the book honestly but I feel that the author’s analysis is highly influenced by western philosophers more than actual Mahabharata. And this becomes predominant as the chapters progress.
Initially, if you start with the prelude, you will later find many repetitions of exact words and sentences in the book in chapter 1. This brings me to an interesting fact about chapters in this book almost being around 30 pages each.
In the chapters, while questioning the text, the author references to real life situations and examples which are quite practical to relate to and gives you a basis for questioning. This also makes it easy to understand and doesn’t make you feel like you are reading theory. It draws the relevance of the epic to real world.
Downside of the book is I feel that it stretches too much for general readers. Especially the chapter on Arjuna’s Despair where Krishna preaches and the author has questioned the preaching. No matter how profound the questions were but the explanation drags on quite a bit. And you keep on losing enthusiasm of reading with time.
All in all, the book is quite good and enlightening yes; but it’s a very lengthy read and needs patience which also could one of the virtues of Dharma. 🙂
To end, the book does justify it’s name which I find these days to be rare.
Initially, if you start with the prelude, you will later find many repetitions of exact words and sentences in the book in chapter 1. This brings me to an interesting fact about chapters in this book almost being around 30 pages each.
In the chapters, while questioning the text, the author references to real life situations and examples which are quite practical to relate to and gives you a basis for questioning. This also makes it easy to understand and doesn’t make you feel like you are reading theory. It draws the relevance of the epic to real world.
Downside of the book is I feel that it stretches too much for general readers. Especially the chapter on Arjuna’s Despair where Krishna preaches and the author has questioned the preaching. No matter how profound the questions were but the explanation drags on quite a bit. And you keep on losing enthusiasm of reading with time.
All in all, the book is quite good and enlightening yes; but it’s a very lengthy read and needs patience which also could one of the virtues of Dharma. 🙂
To end, the book does justify it’s name which I find these days to be rare.
May 23, 2019
"It is always tempting to see the human beings as 'good' and 'bad', but this is not the Mahabharata way. It never makes the choice easy."
One unique aspect of this book is that it doesn't make Duryodhana seem completely evil, which the other books written about Mahabharata tend to do. Das also shows that there was some logic behind Duryodhana's intentions of taking over Indraprastha. Duryodhana believed that satisfaction with one's endowment makes one a complacent ruler. It is essential for a king to have the desire to conquer all. Similarly, this book offers a more balanced perspective on others such as Draupadi, Bhishma, Karna, and Yudhishthira.
Anyone looking for a comprehensive literary and verse-by-verse analysis of Mahabharata should read this book. I didn't particularly enjoy it, and gave up after two chapters.
One unique aspect of this book is that it doesn't make Duryodhana seem completely evil, which the other books written about Mahabharata tend to do. Das also shows that there was some logic behind Duryodhana's intentions of taking over Indraprastha. Duryodhana believed that satisfaction with one's endowment makes one a complacent ruler. It is essential for a king to have the desire to conquer all. Similarly, this book offers a more balanced perspective on others such as Draupadi, Bhishma, Karna, and Yudhishthira.
Anyone looking for a comprehensive literary and verse-by-verse analysis of Mahabharata should read this book. I didn't particularly enjoy it, and gave up after two chapters.
April 14, 2019
I am bored of books that turn to scriptures to make meaning of current human existence. I wish someone would give an entirely new perspective , something fresh , the way children look at things with new eyes and new meanings, children whose minds have not yet been conditioned by the ways of the world (and books!) Very bored with the prescriptive life stages, vanaprasthashrama and it’s dull melancholy reflected in the book does not make it exciting enough for me to continue...
October 1, 2013
The book started of well, but i lost the track somewhere in the mid. It becomes to preachy and I found myself looking for relating the Mahabharata to modern day life which did not come out well by the author. The only good thing it made me do was get back to reading the Mahabharata in its purest form. I wish author could really make it simpler for readers to relate it to moral dilemmas of life.
February 26, 2017
I knew that this is not a book on Buddhism even before I picked this up. It's Gurcharan Das' point of view on Mahabharata - an epic poem of ancient India. It has a potential to become a great book. But I found Gurcharan Das' analyses way too incoherent and jumping from one point to another way too fast. One could get quite lost if s/he is not already familiar with Mahabharata.
September 1, 2012
I learned a lot about Indian mythology / history, but it was a bit overwhelming for a westerner unfamiliar with source texts and stories. I want to give it a try again in the future though, as there were certain parts I found really enlightening.
February 2, 2016
A detailed analysis of Mahabharata on it's Dharma philosophy. Could have been more concise and to the point. I found it repetitive in it's narrative.
In the end one gets a feeling that Dharma as enunciated is a difficult ideal to most mortals, and lesser than Yudhishtara.
In the end one gets a feeling that Dharma as enunciated is a difficult ideal to most mortals, and lesser than Yudhishtara.
January 12, 2020
The Difficulty of Being Good treads on one of my favorite epics "The Mahabharata".
Clearly one of the best books I've read so far on this theme and one that will for a very long time remain in depths of my heart.
Clearly one of the best books I've read so far on this theme and one that will for a very long time remain in depths of my heart.
January 4, 2013
Didn't read it completely. Got bored in the middle, it was too much of writer perceptions and interpretations.
December 14, 2015
Though heard a lot about this book, but somehow did not find it that appealing.
April 19, 2018
Yuganta though short is sweet. This is prolix and confusing like the authors confusion on "what is dharma"
October 4, 2018
There are many instances in book where same instances from Mahabharta have been rriterated by the author. Certainly not preferrable for someone who knows whole of Mahabharata story!
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