Title: Nectar of All World Religions
Author: Ishwar Joshi Awalgaonkar
Genre: Nonfiction - Religion & Spirituality
Book Blurb:
Like a bee that goes to all the flowers in the garden and collects their essence to create Nectar - Ishwar read over 5,000 pages of the Holy books of all major 12 world religions over a period of 5 years. From these books he selected 1,000 quotes to capture the Essence of their Teachings and Wisdom. These selected quotes are presented to you in this book.
This book is unlike a typical one which you read from cover to cover. Each line and verse has been chosen for its depth and breadth of wisdom. Ishwar's suggestion for you is to read one verse per day and fully appreciate it, what it means to you and how it can be applicable to you in your everyday life. You could setup a recurring reminder on your Calendar to do this.
If you read through and fully appreciate all the selected teachings of your own religion in this book - the hope is that this could be valuable to you in dealing with the ups and downs of your life over time. You could also go beyond that and read about other religions and their teachings in the book. This could help expand your mind and your perspective on life & the varied rich traditions around the world. These selected quotes are presented ‘raw’ without any commentary or analysis. Because Ishwar believes that adding commentary would be akin to him standing next to you on top of a mountain peak and talking incessantly. He would rather escort you to the towering mountain peak or the majestic ocean and fall silent to let you commune with it, to let it fully and deeply sink in and give you the unlimited joy, peace and tranquility that it naturally emanates.
My Review:
This book is the end result of one man's journey through the written work of 12 major religions. If you enjoy the fruits of this labor, you need to thank the author for creating this work. It is laid out in an easy-to-read fashion. The religions are listed alphabetically to eliminate any concern, like which one is better.
The sections are well laid out. Each religion has an overview and a focus on the key people/prophets/mages who are central to that specific religion. Each religion's 'main' symbol is highlighted and explained. The meat of this book is the beautiful list of passages from each religion's holy book. Here the reader can read one of Judaism or one of Confucianism or one of Taoism...
The author suggests that it could be worthy for a reader to pick one kernel of wisdom and think about it for a day before coming back for the next. This approach could work for someone seeking to find calm for their soul.
This book reminds this reader of one of my all-time fave books, The Religions of Man, by Huston Smith. These two books would be excellent companion pieces. The Smith book looks at eight religions in detail and lets the reader get an understanding of the religion. This book lists dozens of excellent points of wisdom from each religion's holy book.
A great addition to religious writing. I recommend this book to anyone looking for spiritual enlightenment. I recommend this book to anyone looking to understand different religions. I recommend this book to people seeking inspiration for their journey through life. A lovely book that will fulfill your spirit when you read it.
My Rating: 5 stars
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Author Biography:
Ishwar Joshi Awalgaonkar experienced his first miracle at the age of 10 while growing up in Aurangabad, Maharashtra in India. He has experienced several miracles since then as he grew up, moved and lived across the world. During his early 20s, Ishwar studied the holy books of all major religions.
Ishwar currently works as a Software Engineering Manager for Google in California. Before this, he was a Software Engineer at Microsoft, Ericsson, Symantec, Anheuser Busch in USA as well as Various companies in Dubai & India. He also co-founded several startups where he filed patents and built unique and innovative Apps. Ishwar graduated with a Degree in English & History. He has read and self-studied ‘The Art of Computer Programming Vol 1-3’. This set of books is among the top twenty scientific monographs of the last century along with The Collected Papers of Einstein.
Ishwar does Transcendental Meditation, Pranayama and Yoga. He has run a Full Marathon of 42.1 kms, earned a Red belt in Tae Kwon Do and climbed Mt. Rainier 14,400 feet. In his spare time these days, he likes to ride his Bicycle or SuperSport Motorcycle. Ishwar is happily married to Pallavi, they live with their daughters Samriddhi and Samraadni in San Francisco Bay Area.
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Reviewed by: Mr. N