TELUGU
Control of the mind
MANASSUNU JAYINCHANDI — by Eknath Easwaran: Madhurantakam Narendra — Tr. in Telugu; Alakananda Prachuranalu, Opp. Maris Stella College, Vijayawada-520008. Rs. 100.
THIS BOOK is a Telugu rendering of "Conquest of Mind" by Eknath Easwaran, a spiritual teacher from South India, who lives in the U.S. and has following the world over. He talks about the freedom the mind must have to be an active thinker, the obstacles to such freedom and way to turn them into adequate means for attaining the right atmosphere for meditation.
The book is the outcome of his long experience of teaching the young and modern minds. Divided into five sections and 15 chapters the ideas flow naturally and in sequence, taking illustrations from life. The presentation is lucid, leaves no sense of ambiguity anywhere; and the Telugu rendering is done in an excellent manner. Meditation is to culminate in the retention of "inner calm" even as the outer circumstances are provocative, disturbing and distracting.
The final chapter is devoted to the eight-point program of daily life, where meditation as such is treated as a "must" and the methodology suggested. Efficacy of Mantra is examined. Steadiness and one-pointedness are explained in their right connotations. Training of the sense organs, concern for others, the necessity of deeper study, association of like (right)minded people — are all stressed.
The transformation of one's life becomes possible by right planning and conduct. One has to rewrite his relationships. Easwaran draws many ideas from the Buddha, throughout the book, but carefully analyses and establishes the continued relevance of his teachings. The radical mind needs a verbal understanding first and then the way to practical understanding opens. The book is a valuable addition to the series in human development.
N. C. RAMANUJACHARY
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