Book Review: From Vedanta to Whatsapp by Dev Prasad

From Vedanta to Whatsapp
Author: Dev Prasad
Publisher: Rupa Publishers
Rating: 4/5

Confucius has correctly said- Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. It is the greed and the desire to have more that make humans answer for their deeds. Happiness is not in achieving big things but it can be found in every little thing that happens around you. ‘From Vedanta to Whatsapp’ is an Indian version of Chicken Soup for Soul wherein stories from the past and stories from the present have been collated.

Lucky are the children who get a chance to listen to the stories narrated by their grandmothers. This one of those books that contains short stories that are a confluence of personal experience, rigorous research and a few take-aways. No, this is not philosophy. Instead, it attempts to make us realize how detached we have become from the essentials that are needed to constitute a human- empathy, sympathy, patience, goodwill and respect. The era of technology has seen a drastic change in the mindset of the people in terms of ignorance towards concern and also a carefree attitude for every other matter in life. Hence, the author adopts the conventional way of raising awareness- books!

Covering a wide variety of themes like resolution, karma, contentment and destiny, ‘From Vedanta to Whatsapp’ traces the journey of humans from the ancient Vedic period to the 21st century through stories that have either been narrated by someone or are anecdotes from the personal life of the author. The language is simple yet impactful. The cover, too, is so symbolic! I liked the idea of using a hand to depict how the priorities have changed. Breezy read and a didactic atmosphere make this book a must-have on the reading shelf.

Overall, the book has something fruitful to offer and is a light read. Give it a try.

Best wishes to the author!

Buying link: Amazon

Review copy: Provided by Urbookmyreview.com