Chanakya Wisdom
Authors Interview- Chanakya Book
1. The choice of subject for this book is unique. Tell us why you chose Chanakya for this book, part of the series called, Life Lessons from Luminaries.
The usual perception about Chanakya is that diplomacy, strategy and economics were his forte. Therefore, almost all books related to him are about corporate strategy and leadership. In fact, Chanakya as a thinker created a very vast canvas of wisdom and his ideas on day to day life and human behaviour are so profound that one can draw several effective life lessons from them. He addresses very complex problems related to our day-to-day existence through his sutras which have a universal appeal. That is why I decided to distil his wisdom and put it across to the readers in a way which can be used by them to make a better self and also to live a better life. This book will appeal to and be of immense use to students, professional, entrepreneurs and even house wives.
2. You have selected from more than 200 sutras. That sounds like a massive task. How did you finalize which sutras to address in the book?
This book deals with individual success and therefore topics range from inter and intra personal skills, understanding what is success, wisdom, power of character,intellect and education and even role of destiny in our success. I had to cull out those sutras that serve the purpose of this discourse. It was quite a task but I guess as an author one has to understand that research is an important part of creativity.
3. Chanakya’s advice in the treatise, Chankaya Neetis very practical and reasonable. What is your view on the relevance of an ancient text in modern times?
The easiest way to understand this is that scientific advancements change very quickly but human behaviour at a basic level would never change. Things like cheating, honesty, integrity, jealousy, hatred, common sense, slimy nature, deceit, forgiveness, charity and even role of luck in human success were true 3,000 years ago and will remain till human kind survives. This is a myth that ancient texts have become irrelevant. Infact, today they are more relevant and all the more needed.
4. What do you hope the reader gains the most from this book?
There are two major takeaways, which are interconnected. First is to understand what success in actuality means and then second, to learn the ways to achieve what you decide to achieve. This can be realised by following some very basic dictums given in this book. Each of these is illustrated with a modern and also not so modern real life example. Ultimately, it will have a very sobering and a soothing effect on the reader.
5. Tell us about the genesis of the series, Life Lessons from Luminaries.In your view, is there a common message in all these books?
The idea was to move away from two dimensional biographies where you give a rundown of a great achiever in a pathological way from birth to death and let the readers make their own interpretation out of that story.Most biographies are very detailed as well as huge and are not a common man’s cup of tea. With attention span shrinking by the day, we decided to focus on the essence alone. The success of every great achiever can be attributable to a few of his strong points.
The genesis of the series was to analyse great achievers in different fields and pick up their strongest points from which one can learn some impactful lessons. So I have written a book on the oratory skills of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, another on Amitabh Bachchan’s excellence, Albert Einstein’s innovative nature and also on the leadership style of Gandhi. The plan is to bring out several books and create something like a Life skills Granthth, the first of its kind. I hope to bring these in regional languages too.
