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“When I pose these questions to the
students at IIT, they feel uncomfortable”, says Dr Menon.
The majority are too heavily programmed. There appears to be too
much at stake in the rat race of life, and it takes considerable
courage, even just to pause and reflect. It becomes even more
difficult, if not impossible, as one grows older. The dreams of
our bright young students are but a faithful reflection of the
prevailing materialistic world-view, and there is little in their
education to persuade them to think otherwise. Everywhere, they
see the extraordinary emphasis on competitive performance, on
getting ahead of others.
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Even our most brilliant academicians
and scientists tend to evade the fundamental questions
in life. Remaining unenlightened, they are as vulnerable
as anybody else, if not more, to the common human failings
of greed, envy, manipulation, pretension, anger and fear.
The modern “pundit” (learned scholar) stands
out in sharp contrast with the “guru” (dispeller
of darkness) of ancient India.
Although painful to accept, the
reality is that we are “magnificently unprepared”
to face the vicissitudes of life and the eventuality of
death. Entrapped by our “ego-selves” and blinded
by our obsession with productivity and “progress”
in the material world, we unwittingly invite suffering
and fail to discover our true potential.
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Written in poetic prose, and drawing
inspiration from various spiritual traditions, the book
guides the reader through nine graded chapters to the full
meaning of “awakening”, with a final flowering
in the last two chapters. It is established that awakening
and continual awareness of one’s ego-self not only
bring freedom from mind-made suffering, but also enhance
tremendously the quality of one’s work and one’s
life.
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