Insta Gita by Nupur Maskara: Book Review

Title: Insta Gita

Author: Nupur Maskara

Genre: Self help, Poetry, Religion, Theology

Insta Gita is a transcreation of the Bhagavad Gita, a poetic version of the verses in the scripture with the author’s added poetry, giving reactions from Arjuna’s perspective.

Review

The Bhagvad Gita has 700 verses in Sanskrit. While this Hindu scripture has acceptance across religions in India and is referred to as a guide to living right and with purpose, the original requires an in depth study.

Nupur’s Insta Gita distills the essence of the 18 chapters of the Gita in easy English language verses, summarising the important points, followed by author’s own little poems which are presented as reactions from Arjuna’s viewpoint.

The Gita is set as dialogue between the Pandava Prince, Arjuna and his charioteer, God Incarnate Lord Krishna as they stand in the battle field, ready to fight Arjuna’s extended family, the Kauravas.

At the moment of the commencement of the battle, Arjuna is beset with doubts. It is then that Krishna speaks to him of his duty, also elaborating upon many other philosophical concepts. This philosophical treatise becomes the text of the Gita.

For the layperson, it is difficult to wrap around one’s head around the philosophy that is propounded in this ancient text. And it is here that Insta Gita comes to the rescue of a reader like me, who has never read the original scripture but only come across a few of the learnings.

The book is divided into 18 chapters, each chapter talking of one part of the philosophy. The text captures the essence of the original and keeps it relatable and interesting.

The chapter names are not cryptic at all. I particularly liked the chapter names, God Zilla and Living La Vida Calma. In fact, the entire book is a friendly exposition of the deeper principles. I also found the usage of words like FYI, methinks, The Three Musketeers, K for Krishna as little steps that demystify the text and make it feel accessible.

The highlighted text in each chapter makes it easier to assimilate the important points in each chapter.

As a pointer to the practical usage of this knowledge in a person’s daily life, Nupur ends each chapter with a little poem of hers. She addresses Lord Krishna as K., which immediately makes the reader feel that the verses are accessible to anyone. She speaks from Arjuna’s perspective, of how he tries to use this philosophy in his life, training his body and mind.

Arjuna pauses midway
Between war and peace
His mind splits in two
Whichever way I choose
I know I’ll rue
But first to mine own self
I must be true

What works well

The format and the design of the book is very attractive. The heavy, prohibitive Sanskrit verses are transcreated in a form that is easy to follow.

The coloured pages, the summarising of the salient points and the little endearing images give the book a very contemporary feel.

The book ends with a colourful, easy to understand infographic on the Bhagavad Gita and how to use it in everyday life.

About the Author

Nupur Maskara likes writing short stuff that packs a punch. Expectedly, she began her career in advertising and is now in content writing. Her friends have branded her frequent blonde moments as Nupurisms. Read more of her work at her blog.

Verdict

Insta Gita packs a punch of wisdom in these bite sized verses that summarise the Gita’s main teachings.

Read it as a refresher and an immediate reference text.

Get the Kindle edition from Amazon.

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After Life by Matthew O’Neil: A Book Review

Title: After Life

Author: Matthew O’Neil

Genre: Theology, Philosophy

Publishers: Ockham Publishing

Summary

The author of the book faced clinical death at age 14 because of an unusual medical condition. Resuscitated and limited in his physical capabilities, he yearned to understand his own near death experience. Thus began his quest to understand what happens when we die.

Through this excellently researched and well presented book, he aims to uncover the difference of opinion between the explanation that science offers and the beliefs that religion follows.

The book explores the various beliefs held in the Christian world about the concepts of Heaven, Hell, Resurrection and the Soul. The author then moves on to expostulate on the philosophical arguments for life after death and the scientific take on what happens when a person dies. 

Review

Early in his exploration of what happens when we die, the author discovered that there were many fanciful accounts of near death experiences narrated by people. But they only reflected the person’s awareness of contemporary and popular ideas of afterlife. 
This led him to study the various concepts of Hell, Heaven, Resurrection and the Soul in the Scriptures. 

There is extensive research in the book into how each concept has been shaped by various influences over time. The author dives into Scriptures that span centuries such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and traces the evolution of concepts beyond the Bible and through the philosophical arguments of the Thinkers.

The author concludes that our modern understanding makes assumptions that is at variance with what the Scriptures have said.
The book is well researched and in spite of the complexity of the subject, the material and the arguments are presented very well. The arrangement of the book into different subjects that relate to the after life are dealt in detail in separate chapters. The chapters themselves are laid out well, with studies from different texts dealt with separately. Each chapter ends with a conclusion, recapping the salient points which makes the understanding much easier.
In many ways, the book is an eye opener because the author makes clear that the events in the scriptures may not be the historical retelling of the events as some of the stories have been incorporated later in the Christian canon.

For a non fiction book, dealing with a serious topic and in a scholarly fashion, the book is written well enough to be very engaging. Personally, I do not know much about the Christian Scriptures but I was drawn in the retelling of events and the beliefs as they changed over time.
In the book, the author wants nothing but to present ’empirical, testable evidence’ and not merely beliefs based on biblical accounts or philosophical discussions on whether or not there is life after death has occured.
He tries to provide an answer to the question of whether we can come back to life after an untimely death? Is it possible to come back to life with our personalities, minds, experiences and all else intact?
Many eminent thinkers and contemporary philosophers are quoted, such as Dr. Brian Weiss, Deepak Chopra and Ian Stevenson among others. I have read the former two and have been impressed by their philosophy and works. Matthew O’Neil has managed to put their studies into perspective without belittling anyone. He deftly separates anecdotes from hard, conclusive evidence.

Verdict 

The book explains one of the most enduring questions regarding life and death. It is a unique blend of philosophy, scripture study and scientific arguments.

Extremely well researched, cogent and excellently presented, it guides the reader through drawing his own conclusions.
I rate this book 4 stars  🌠🌠🌠🌠

Disclaimer: A copy of the ebook was provided by the book publicist for an honest review.