The author of this book under review is better known for his best-sellers like Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Illusions and The Bridge Across Forever and has served as an air force pilot and currently resides on Orcas Island in Washington, USA.
The book is a compilation of observations that the author makes on his experiences. On reading the first paragraph itself, one finds that no matter how brave the pilots who fly aeroplanes are, they do suffer from fear.
Talking about life, he says that life does not speak to tell something, instead it shows the way. The lessons learnt by one person can be used as the rungs of the ladder to climb to success by another because, life gives a lot of choices ?to be cruel and rash or kind and helpful, gentle and industrious or harsh and lazy but ?life does not however require you to feel the consequences of your choices,? says Bach. Whatever the choices you make, you will have to bear the fruit accordingly.
The world is a stage; it is not real. It is a ground where appearances are put up for overcoming what ?seems to be? with whatever you know as reality.
The person who is engaged in any activity should know how to handle it, otherwise, there is not point in undertaking the activity.
Further one should keep on telling to oneself that one has to know why one is here and from where has one come. If one keeps trying to find out why this is so, surely there will come a day when one will know why one is here.
Another profound statement by the author is that man has to find happiness for himself instead of searching here and there in the hope that someone will bring it.
He says, that man has the capacity to do anything except for two things ??you cannot create reality; you cannot destroy it.?
This is a book which is meant for those interested in spirituality and philosophy.
?M.G.
(Jaico Publishing House, 121 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Mumbai-400 001.)
