CHENNAI: The characters you encounter in Amish’s literary world are likely to be familiar to you. You could have encountered them in epics of yore or in your grandparents’ retelling of it. But, in this world, there’s more to these characters. What makes them stand apart is that you get to see their core — their real personality past the layers of metaphors.
Raavan is not a villain but a man who has lost his first love. Kali’s anger is a result of being abandoned by her own family. Sita and Sati are gender-bending warrior queens. Using such stories from his previous works, Mahabarata, and Greek mythology, author Amish Tripathi and his sister Bhavna Roy have embarked on a quest to explain the concept of dharma in the recently launched book, Dharma.
Through eight chapters and 190- odd pages, the sibling-duo has set out to change your perception about legendary characters you have read about throughout your life — Was Bhishma’s sacrifice indeed justified? What is the difference between Karna’s loyalty towards Duryodana and Kumbhakarna’s towards Raavan? How can you tap into your inner Krishna? All this and more stories explore the key concepts of the philosophy. Excerpts follow.
How did this collaboration come to be?
We are a typical big fat Indian family: argumentative and talkative. This book has been in gestation for seven years and was born of a family discussion on the philosophies behind the Meluha universe and our ancient epics. It began as a philosophical treatise on idol worship and consciousness. We soon created a family unit for the philosophies in the book: parents, their daughter and son-in-law. It enabled a more vibrant examination of concepts through points and counterpoints. The characters also grabbed our attention and became a part of our universe. The project was shelved for some years and then pulled out and finished during the COVID lockdown.
Bhavna, tell us about your journey in the spiritual world and your interest in collaborating with Amish using dharma as a concept for the book.
Books are very close friends; indeed, my mother says I was born holding a book! Our grandfather, Pt Babulal Tripathi, revealed the world of dharma to us as children. Stories from the epics were his vehicle of delivery and mantras, his means of disciplining. My husband, Himanshu Roy, had a philosophical bent of mind and his interests ranged from mindful ruminations on Lao Tzu’s ideas to heartful devotion for Ganeshji and Hanumanji. He visited a Ganeshji temple every Tuesday and a Hanumanji temple every Friday. In 2011, I joined New Acropolis, a philosophy school in the classical tradition. It introduced me to wisdom from across the ancient world: Egypt, Greece, Japan, Native America, Mesopotamia, Scandinavia and Celtic England. Dharma, indeed, has been the central Mount Meru for Amish and me.
Take us through your research process. Was its different for the both of you?
Both of us are voracious readers; we come from a family of book lovers. Our interests are similar, and we read a wide range of books; philosophical and history books being strong favourites. Family traditions organically exposed us to the multiple layers of wisdom philosophies: first as stories; then, as examinations of these stories through discussions and observations. Life blessed us with living philosophers in our family, who taught us through example.
In Dharma, while we see a generous dose of excerpts from Amish’s books, there are also other stories from Mahabharata and Greek mythology. How did these stories become tools to explain your ideas?
The ancient world was built on the foundation of spiritual search and exploration. Its universe was woven from stories, philosophy and an experience of the wonder that is life. These stories remain vibrant and alive in India. At the surface-level, they delight us and suffuse us with cultural comfort, while with deeper examination, they help us navigate life, strewn with its obstacles and opportunities. Stories from other parts of the ancient world performed a similar function. They still do, for those who seek it. Amish’s stories serve as a wrapper for a philosophical exploration of the ideas of good and evil, laws of life, and the life of creative freedom and passion. Stories are tools. The ideas emerged over private and familial explorations and observations.
How do you both view dharma in 2021? Isn’t following dharma easier said than done?
Following dharma has always been easier said than done. We have a basic human nature. We also have a possible human nature. But, the possibilities are not easily realised. In Kalyug, the challenges multiply manifold. Reason and intellect have arranged material life such that comforts and physical ease have increased. But, so has the scope for envy, greed, resentment, unrelenting ambition and philosophical confusion. It would seem that the more life eases, the more it entraps and angers. Darkness creates the possibility for light. The human spirit hankers for meaning and purpose. It is not accidental that spiritual gurus are finally finding traction and an enthusiastic audience. As life throws challenges and suffering, man can make the choice of sinking or swimming. Or sometimes sinking, sometimes swimming. Dharma is our destiny. In this life or next. Or the next.
What was the reason behind using excerpts from Amish’s books instead of the original epics, considering that the books are in fact mythologicalfiction?
For us, the stories are first itihasa, and then, at a deeper level, the vehicles to convey philosophies and impart learnings. We have used excerpts from Amish’s books, while at the same time, also used stories from the original epics. The key journey in Dharma is to understand the philosophies and apply it in our lives.
Amish, you often quote Greek mythology in your books. What about it fascinates you? Will we be seeing you write a Greek mytho-fiction for the Indian audience?
Not just ancient Greek traditions and stories, I am fascinated by the traditions of most ancient cultures. These were cultures driven by wisdom, wonder, and seeking of the divine. India is among the few ancient cultures to have survived till today. I think there is a lot that can be learnt from these ancient cultures. And yes, I will write on ancient Greek traditions as well, Zeus and Hera willing. But first, let me finish the Ram Chandra Series. All my writing attention is on the fourth book of the Ram Chandra Series now.
‘Dharma’ is available on all e-commerce websites Price:Rs 499 Pages: 196 Publisher: Westland Books