गीता में 18 अध्याय और 700 श्लोक हैं, जो सभी महत्त्वपूर्ण हैं। महाभारत में भगवान श्रीकृष्ण ने अर्जुन को जो उपदेश दिए थे, वही गीता है। गीता में आत्मा, परमात्मा, भक्ति, कर्म, जीवन आदि का वृहद रूप से वर्णन किया गया है। गीता से हमें यह ज्ञान मिलता है कि व्यक्ति को केवल अपने काम और कर्म पर ध्यान देना चाहिए।
गीता की गणना प्रस्थानत्रयी में की जाती है, जिसमें उपनिषद् और ब्रह्मसूत्र भी सम्मिलित हैं। अतएव गीता का स्थान वही है जो उपनिषद् और धर्मसूत्रों का है। उपनिषदों की अनेक विद्याएँ गीता में हैं। वेदों के ब्रह्मवाद और उपनिषदों के अध्यात्म, इन दोनों की विशिष्ट सामग्री गीता में संनिविष्ट है।
गीता के इस संस्करण में मूल श्लोकों का सरल हिंदी भावार्थ तो दिया ही गया है, साथ ही इसमें दर्जनों आकर्षक रेखाचित्र भी हैं।
Archives: Books
The Gym of Leadership
We live in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world that calls for a paradigm shift in the style of leadership. The new world needs leaders who are purposeful, agile, flexible, cooperative, humble and helpful. Leadership, therefore, is as much about soft skills as hard skills, and no leader can be successful without using the two in concert. In The Gym of Leadership, Anil Khandelwal, a proven transformational leader, advocates that building all-round leadership capabilities should be a high-priority agenda for those aspiring for growth. Taking a refreshing approach, he uses fitness work out as an analogy to motivate aspiring leaders to develop new-age leadership skills. According to the author, building leadership capabilities is akin to building physical and mental fitness since both require passion, dedication and discipline. A practical guide to leadership, this book focuses on the actual development and practice of specific skills. It primarily proposes eighteen foundational skills of leadership grouped into four sections, namely, ‘understanding the self’, ‘emotional regulation’, ‘relationship management’ and ‘communication’. Authoritative and foregrounded in rigorous research, it promises to fill in the existing gap in the literature on leadership.
The Living Legend
Rama is all of sixteen when Sage Viswamithra takes him to the Dandaka forest, with Lakshmana accompanying them. At first, the spirit of adventure fills the two teenage brothers, but when they enter the forest in broad daylight, it is a curtain of pitch darkness. The smell of decaying flesh, flashes of fire, and the gloom of animals, birds and foliage in terror affect Rama deeply. For the first time, he feels fear. He hears derisive laughter—is it from the forest, or is it within him?
The first lesson he recalls from the sage Vashistha is: What is the task at hand? How can he understand the gravity of what is happening? Is the earth calling out for help? He gathers his fragmented thoughts and, feeling for the arrow from his quiver, shoots at a shape-shifting demon who terrorizes the forest.
The Living Legend is packed with twists and reflections and hosts the strength of relationships with nature that Rama, Sita and Lakshmana make to restore balance in life. The forest of inner evolution was transformative in their youth, and it is in our time too.
Ponniyin Selvan 2
Our valiant hero Vallavaraiyan Vandiyatevan has been asked to make his way to Ilankai on Princess Kundavai Devi’s request. With the help of the curious and eccentric Poonkuzhali, he does so, traversing across dangerous land and waters to finally meet ‘Ponniyin Selvan’—the beloved Chozha prince Arulmozhi Varman.
Back home, the plotting to take over the throne of the Chozha empire continues. At the centre of it all, stands the wife of the senior Pazhuvettaraiyar, the beautiful and dangerous Nandini Devi, who will stop at nothing to bring down the Chozas. Will Vandiyatevan and the Chozha princes manage to outplay Nandini and the Pazhuvettaraiyars?
An epic adventure, skilfully written by Kalki and elegantly translated by his granddaughter Gowri Ramnarayan, continues in this, the second in the Ponniyin Selvan series.
Ponniyin Selvan 1
As the emperor of the Chozha kingdom, Sundara Chozha, lies unwell in Tanjavur fort, a sinister plot is being hatched—a plot to wrest the throne from Crown Prince Aditta Karikalan. Senior minister Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar is powerful and could well succeed in his plan to seat Madhurantakan, son of Sundara Chozha’s elder brother, on the throne, after Sundara Chozha’s death.
Aware of the rumblings, Aditta Karikalan entrusts his confidant Vallavaraiyan Vandiyatevan to deliver a message to the emperor and his beloved sister Kundavai Devi. Will the intrepid Vandiyatevan succeed? Or will he fall victim to the machinations? What role does the elder Pazhuvettaiyar’s wife have to play in all this? Will Kundavai Devi be able to protect her brothers’ interests?
Delving into politics, betrayal, desires and ambition in tenth-century Tamil Nadu, Ponniyin Selvan is Kalki’s magnum opus, a gripping tale that has remained popular and beloved for decades. Beautifully translated by Gowri Ramnarayan, Kalki’s granddaughter, Fresh Floods is the first in a series that is unputdownable.
The Nehru Development Model
At Independence, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, embarked upon a political and an economic project. His political project—to put India on the democratic path—was a resounding success.
This success, though, was marred by an equally resounding failure of Nehru’s economic project, built on the development of heavy industry, an expanding public sector, and relative isolation from world markets. It failed to produce the growth necessary to rid India of poverty and bequeathed an ethos that made a switch to an outward-oriented, pro-market economy a real challenge in the post-Nehru era. This line of thinking remains entrenched in the Indian political, intellectual, bureaucratic, and business constituencies.
This book by renowned economist and policymaker Arvind Panagariya is an attempt to systematically document the economic history of the Nehru era and its impact on contemporary economic thought and post-Nehru economic policymaking.
How did this system evolve? What was the influence of Nehru’s thinking on it? Above all, how did the economic history and thought of this era affect subsequent policymaking in India? These are the big questions that this volume attempts to answer.
Threads That Bind
Celebrate the beautiful bond between siblings through these endearing tales from Indian mythology!
Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva easily handle small and big problems that occur in the three worlds. But their biggest problem is resolving the constant squabbles between their sons, Ganesha and Karthikeya. When their quarrels go out of hand, Parvati comes up with an ingenious plan—to deal with her sons’ complaints, one story at a time!
As the goddess takes them through the sweet and sour, bitter yet beautiful world of divine siblings like Jyeshtha and Lakshmi, Krishna and Katyayani, Kubera and Ravana, Nara and Narayana, and many others, Ganesha and Karthikeya sit back and listen attentively.
Men of Steel
From the frigid heights of the Himalayas to the scorching deserts of the west and the humid wetlands in the east, India’s borders mirror the nation’s diversity. Amidst these rugged landscapes, Indian soldiers battle not only the enemy but also the unforgiving terrain.
Within these pages, meet extraordinary heroes like Captain Neikezhakuo Kenguruse, Captain Keishing Clifford Nongrum, and Lance Naik Albert Ekka. Their valour, akin to that of Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, Naik Digendra Kumar and Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, forever serves as a guiding light, inspiring us with courage and resilience.
Covering significant military events—the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, the Kargil War in 1999, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, the Balakot airstrike, and the 2020 Galwan Valley skirmish—these eighteen warriors consistently placed their country above everything else. Recipients of numerous gallantry awards, their sacrifices and brave deeds resonate within the walls of the Indian Military Academy and echo in the hearts of the people of India.
What You Are Looking for is in the Library
THE TWO-MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING JAPANESE NOVEL
The Top Ten Times bestseller
A Time Magazine Book of the Year
‘An undeniable page-turner’ New York Times
‘I ADORED this uplifting, hopeful novel ‘ Daily Mail
‘It made me laugh and cry and feel comforted’ 5***** Reader review
‘A tribute to the transformative power of books and libraries‘ Irish Times
An inspirational tale of the love, comfort and growth you can find in the pages of a good book.
_________________
What are you looking for?
So asks Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi.
But she is no ordinary librarian.
Sensing exactly what someone is searching for in life, she provides just the book recommendation to help them find it.
We meet five visitors to the library, each at a different crossroads:
– The restless retail assistant eager to pick up new skills
– The mother faced with a demotion at work after maternity leave
– The conscientious accountant who yearns to open an antique store
– The gifted young manga artist in search of motivation
– The recently retired salaryman on a quest for newfound purpose
Can she help them find what they are looking for?
Which book will you recommend?
_________________
‘An undeniable page-turner’ New York Times
For fans of The Midnight Library and Before the Coffee Gets Cold, this feel-good Japanese book shows how the perfect book recommendation can change a life.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE JAPAN BOOKSELLERS’ AWARD
‘I definitely want to visit this library. I feel kinder after this book’ 5***** Reader review
‘A quirky slice of feel-good fiction that you could recommend to anyone’ Mail on Sunday
‘Wonderful. It made me look for connection in my life’ 5***** Reader review
Times bestseller, August 2023
Happy Place
‘Hilarious and wise… Another knockout’ Taylor Jenkins Reid
‘One of my favourite authors’ Colleen Hoover
‘A must-read book of the year’ Lauren Asher
—–
Two exes. One pact.
Could this holiday change everything?
Harriet and Wyn are the perfect couple – they go together like bread and butter, gin and tonic, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.
Every year, they take a holiday from their lives to drink far too much wine with their favourite people in the world.
Except this year, they are lying through their teeth, because Harriet and Wyn broke up six months ago. And they still haven’t told anyone.
But the cottage is for sale so this is the last time they’ll all be here together. They can’t bear to break their best friends’ hearts so they’ll fake it for one more week.
But how can you pretend to be in love – and get away with it – in front of the people who know you best?
Brimming with characters you can’t help but fall for and off-the-charts chemistry, HAPPY PLACE is Emily Henry doing what she does best!
—–
‘Another Emily Henry masterpiece’ Hannah Grace, ICEBREAKER
‘Heartfelt and hilarious. This book is my happy place!’ Lucy Score, THINGS WE NEVER GOT OVER
‘Smart, sunny, sexy and also a gorgeous story of female friendship‘ Beth O’Leary, THE FLATSHARE
‘The master of witty repartee’ Daily Mail
‘A heart-tugging masterpiece from the queen of romance‘ Ali Hazelwood, THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS
‘One of the current stars of romantic fiction‘ Independent
‘If I could climb inside any book it would be this one‘ Culturefly
‘Emily Henry’s books should be prescribed. Not only will they make you happy, her latest may just make you fall in love with falling in love again‘ Woman’s Weekly
‘Tender and sexy, bittersweet with Henry’s trademark warmth‘ Bolu Babalola, HONEY & SPICE
Happy Place, Number 1 Sunday Times bestseller, May 2023