The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

It was in the times when I was reading about “Deluxe Moksha” offered by the new-age religious tourism promoters in the form of helicopter rides to the cave shrines of Bhadrinath-Kedarnath, and private havelis and poojari’s on the banks of Ganges at Haridwar for the salvation of the rich, that I also read this book called “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” by Robin S. Sharma. And the stark contrast between the easy-snazzy route and the hard-disciplined way to enlightment came to the fore.

While the former as a part of the “Incredible India” campaign peddle Indian spirituality with contemporary sops like spas, yoga, cyber cafes, gym etc, Robin’s book packages traditional Indian recipe for success and happiness, which needs a lot of dedication and self-discipline. Most of what Robin has to say is already known to us, but which we rarely follow.

The book talks of seven virtues for an enlightened living, and here’s what I extracted of each of them;
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Mastering your mind – Mind is like a garden. Cultivate it through meditation. Relentlessly and painstakingly replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts.

Follow your Dharma – Clearly define your personal, professional and spiritual goals, and have the courage to act on them.

Improve your body, mind and soul constantly through Kaizen – Follow the 10 rituals of radiant living.

Live with discipline – Will power is the essence of fully actualized life.

Respect your time

Selflessly serve others – Practice daily acts of kindness. Cultivate richer relationships.

Embrace the present – Don’t be a captive of past. Live your children’s childhood.
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I didn’t particularly like Robin’s style of writing. At best, the book is just a good consolidation of age old Indian rituals and their effectiveness.