Losing sleep over what others think about you? Or can’t care less? Happiness in life nonetheless depends on what you think about yourself.
Social media has certainly given us individual authorship over how we present ourselves to the world. Susceptible to live by the dictates of ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ of others, we network with the world in a carefully filtered image of ourselves. But is it truly our authentic self that we are presenting to the world? Can it cater lasting happiness and honest relationships?
In this first volume of Yoga Stories, Gauranga Das takes you on an inner journey to explore your inner self, beyond the hills of expectation, through the valleys of disapprovals and beneath the layers of self-deception. Thus, bringing you closer to the home of your heart, enabling you to open the door and introduce yourself, to finally meet, the real you.
Gauranga Das is a leadership and mindfulness coach based in Mumbai. A graduate of IIT Bombay, he found his calling to become a monk to best serve society. A member of ISKCON'S Governing Body Commission, he is actively involved in enhancing leadership effectiveness and governance of temples and communities globally. He is dedicated to helping people transform their hearts, improve their attitudes, establish sustainable and spiritual communities, and drive positive change in society. A multifaceted spiritualist on a mission to create a value-based society, Gauranga Das is a mindful meditation expert, strategic character educationist, sustainability and climate. change warrior, and social welfare catalyst.
Gauranga Das is director of ISKCON's Govardhan Ecovillage (GEV), founded by Radhanath Swami. The GEV, representing India, has won over thirty-four national and international awards, including the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Award in 2017 for its innovative model of 'Eco-Tourism as a Catalyst for Rural Development'. He has also strategized and led execution for GEV's synergistic solution for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Climate Change and enabled GEV's accreditation to multiple United Nations bodies like the ECOSOC, UNEP and UNCCD. The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) has recognized him as an IGBC Fellow for his contribution to the green building movement.
He sits on the board of the Govardhan School of Public Leadership, an institution that prepares students for the civil services exam. He has led several youth empowerment initiatives while successfully inculcating clarity in purpose, purity in character and compassion in relationships in thousands of youths globally. He is also the administrative director of Bhaktivedanta Research Centre (BRC), an initiative of ISKCON to connect working professionals, housewives and students to the academic study of philosophy, create libraries of Vedic literatures and manuscripts, and facilitate MA and PhD programmes in philosophy.
I have been a monk for over twenty-seven years. When I tell people I am a monk, the image they seem to conjure up is that of a man of the cloth who meditates in tranquillity for hours on end. In part, they are correct. I do meditate for over two hours daily, chanting the Hare Krishna maha mantra with focused attention. However, the remaining twenty-two hours are filled with a different flavour of tranquillity. They are filled with being involved in a plethora of spiritually inspired selfless service.
For one of these services, I travel the world to talk about the Vedic literatures I have studied intensively and based my life on. Specifically the three main literatures, including the famous Bhagavad Gita As It Is, heralded as the main source of wisdom for Hindus globally and from which most of the lessons of this book are derived. It is sometimes cited as the textbook of God. The second book is the Srimad Bhagavatam, an extensive 18,000 verse treatise on God by Veda Vyasa, translated into English by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. This book is sometimes cited as the biography of God. The third book is the Chaitanya Charitamrita, the life and teachings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a fifteenth-century incarnation of God. This book is sometimes cited as the diary of God. Each book has its place in society; each adding layers of truths about the Supreme, just as children are taught about the rules of mathematics as they advance from one grade to another.
From my experience speaking around the world, I have realized that for many, it is easier to absorb the truths of literatures like the Bhagavad Gita As It Is when it is supplemented by stories. Stories give a context and application to truth. Stories help us imagine ourselves in the characters' roles and apply the lesson that they are learning in our own lives. It is easier to learn the lesson of 'being grateful' in the context of a story rather than from being told to simply 'be grateful'. There is no doubt that ancient Vedic heavyweight literatures such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana are so popular because they teach universal truths through stories unparalleled in their excitement, engagement and depth.
The Art of Resilience is the first book in a three-part series. It takes the same principle of telling enamouring cultural stories and bringing to light universal truths that are found within them. As stated, I have primarily used Bhagavad Gita As It Is and other Vedic literatures to bring out the lessons of these stories. The main topics include, understanding the spiritual nature of the human condition (atma), the components of the world around us (prakriti), the influence time has on our life (kala), how our actions in the past created our present and how our present actions can affect our future (karma) and the influence of the Supreme control over everything and everyone (isvara).
Book's Contents and Sample Pages
Hindu (1751)
Philosophers (2210)
Aesthetics (310)
Comparative (73)
Dictionary (12)
Ethics (49)
Language (321)
Logic (81)
Mimamsa (59)
Nyaya (137)
Psychology (519)
Samkhya (61)
Shaivism (69)
Shankaracharya (224)
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