Deepam Chatterjee’s The Foundation of a Fulfilling Life has its heart in the right place. Drawn from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Upanishads, Puranas, Panchatantra, Hitopadesha, and the Jatakas, the stories shared here aim to edify modern readers and help them cull ancient wisdom to deal with modern dilemmas. “Meaning doesn’t always arrive like a lightning bolt. Sometimes, it grows slowly, through things we return to again and again; through small acts of care; through conversations that leave us feeling more human,” Chatterjee writes. In this spirit, the book professes not to preach or instruct but to encourage the reader to pause, reflect, and act with greater meaning guided by the stories which have been passed down for generations.
There is a nice mix of well-known and more obscure stories neatly filed into categories of finding meaning and purpose, overcoming fear and obstacles, building strong relationships, and living a life of integrity and excellence, among others. But the format, though well-intentioned, tends to be limiting, as such complex stories are condensed to an itty-bitty version designed to bring out exactly one life-affirming message. Ironically, this plays right into the hands of a worldview that the book claims to be against: “We are constantly nudged—sometimes gently, sometimes forcefully—towards quicker, easier, more immediate results.”
Take, for instance, the timeless tale of one of India’s most endearing heroes—Abhimanyu. This stirring saga of a young man cut down brutally by veteran warriors is reduced to “the perils of incomplete learning” without providing a larger context for his death. The reader is not made aware of his backstory of why he was killed, which would give more context to his tragic demise.
Similar concerns may be raised with many other stories, particularly the ones about Vishwamitra and his feud with Vashishtha, Bhagiratha, Amba and Bhishma, Shishupala, Devayani, and Draupadi. Of course, shortened versions of stories from Indian mythology don’t need to be crammed to the brim with details, but the versions presented here are shorn of so much of the essentials that they lose their original essence.
Some stories are more effective than others. The Righteous Butcher, for instance, beautifully illustrates that one does not have to belong to a particular class, caste or occupation to be the very epitome of Dharma, making the reader realise that “spiritual wisdom and righteousness were not limited to those who engaged in ascetic practices or religious rituals. Instead, Dharma could be found in the faithful execution of one’s duties in everyday life.” The Misuse of Truth about Kaushika, whose unyielding commitment to the truth causes untold destruction, carries a powerful lesson about balancing the truth with principles of compassion, discernment and the wellbeing of others. These lessons from Indian scriptures might just nudge the reader towards fulfilment, provided they stay the course.