Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, written by Fransec Miralles and Hector Garcia is the book intended to help you live a life that is fuller. Ikigai means flow, passion. Ikigai is what keeps us flowing.  Ikigai is what gives a purpose to our life. Ikigai is the force within us that keeps us going – no matter what.  It keeps the fire of passion alive within us.  With the modern city life and powerful forces and incentives (money, power, attention, and success) taking over us, we are constantly in a race, distracted and disconnected from our own self.

This book is a pathway to reconnect!  It is not a miracle, it is a simple practice.  Following a routine and being disciplinde are often under-rated by today’s generation, but remember, how strict our grandparents used to be? About waking up early, making our beds, etc? It all has a meaning, one that we have lost in today’s era.  We tend to do everything in our comfort zone, at our convenience.  In my view, that is still fine, but I strongly believe in having a routine of self-discipline.

The book highly stresses on these little things that we can do in our daily life to reconnect and achieve a flow. The book illustrates life of many people who have achieved a very strong connection with their Ikigai, however, as a family person, it might not be possible or even wise, to leave behind everything in search of our Ikigai.  The book guides us on how we can achieve this flow whilst still living the life that we have.

I am putting here a small checklist for you all to help you have a start point. These are things that I believe are do-able in our daily routine, however, you will need to read the book to gain deeper understanding of the importance.

Also, this is my accumulation of things based on what I think I can do with the busy home / work life, but you may have different view / priorities after reading the book.

In order to encourage more people, I would like to put this out as a challenge – The Ikigai Challenge.  You may choose to take this challenge and respond to me; in return, I will share my list with you.

1. Give yourself a small challenge on regular basis

Learn something new, be it as simple as a new game, or an extension of a skill.

2. Exercise

Mild exercise every day. Yoga, pranayama, Pilates, walking etc. whatever that suits you. Just move!

3. Eating

Eat only till you are 80% full and minimise eating junk food.

4. Fasting

It is scientifically proven now that fasting is good for health. It helps cleanse the digestive system. I personally feel it also helps in boosting will-power.

5. Pray

Don’t have sit down and chant a big prayer (it does help in my view to create certain vibrations within ourselves and in our surroundings). However, starting by just small prayers will help us rebuild the lost connection or strengthen the weakened connection.

6. Keep yourself engaged

We tend to go on a thought trail, and it is often of worry and negativity. Engage yourself in an activity that will stop you from going on a thought trail. Water your plants, listen to music, etc. It doesn’t have to be an established activity. Just something little to take your mind off your thoughts.  Key is to be conscious of the thoughts and knowing when to stop thinking.

This is my checklist. I can’t do everything every day. But I tell myself that every little thing counts. The goal is to keep our body and mind active and engaged. According to the book, all these little things and habits help in achieving better physical and mental health, that will eventually help us find a flow. Once you identify your Ikigai, pursuing and nurturing it every day, will bring meaning to your life. The moment your life has a meaning, you will achieve a happy state of flow in everything that you do.

And this is the key to happiness, longevity, and health.  Like I said above, it’s not a miracle, it is practice.

Wishing you to find your Ikigai soon! Happy Reading- if you’re planning to pick this one to read or re-read.

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Written by: Chahna D

Edited by: Milauni T

We were emptying my husband’s desk at Clatterbridge Cancer Center as we were moving cities where I stumbled upon a pile of books, some fictional, some thriller, some sci-fi, etc left by a former student. I picked some randomly as all the authors and genres were new to me. One by one I started exploring them. Probably after a year or so I picked up Trading in Danger.

By the time, I finished reading it, I was a fan of Kylara Vatta. Least did I know that it was the first book of Vatta’s war series of 5 books. Desperately I started looking for more books and kindle came to my rescue. I read the second book, Marque and Reprisal; and Kylara Vatta took charge of the conversations with my husband. At the end of third book, Engaging the Enemy, I felt it necessary to pen down my thoughts.

Vatta’s series is all about interstellar trade, politics and wars. Elizabeth Moon has eloquently woven fiction with family issues, business, sister rivalry, relationships, military, wars and female protagonism. Having been a girl who used to be put in tough situations and then having seen them through, it was easy for me to relate with Ky. Youthful madness and crazy ambitions are traits we all have within ourselves although buried at more or less depths . Through Ky, I was able to live it all again.

The beauty about Moon’s writing is that even after completing the third book, I am equally eager to start the fourth book, Command Decisions, as I was when starting the second. She builds the plot very patiently yet intriguingly. Every book will have some action, arriving unexpectedly and of an advanced level than that in the previous book. The books end with a plot for the start of the next book, leaving the reader utterly curious.

After finishing Engaging the Enemy, I thought of giving it a break, let it sink and read something else before starting the fourth. I spent 24 hours in that endeavour but everytime I opened kindle, I felt the book four was calling me.

So here I am, embarking on an FTL (faster than light) flight to Cuidad (one of the planetary systems in Universe). Are you with me?

Siddhartha, originally written in German by Hermann Hesse, first published in the US in 1951s, is translated in Gujarati by Deepak Soliya as well as in many other languages. Siddhartha is a fictional character during the time of Gautam Buddha who is on a journey of spirituality and self-discovery. Usually we come across people who renounce their materialistic life in search for a greater meaning of life. But Siddhartha was different. Born in a Brahman family, he was rigorously taught about scriptures, rituals and Hinduism. However, his thirst for spiritual knowledge was not quenched so he embarks on a journey to search for answers and thus becomes a monk. After spending some years as a yogi, he realises he needs to understand the worldly pleasures, fears and insecurities of a common man to really understand life. Thus, he renounces his monk-hood, gets involved in a relationship, becomes a shrewd businessman and engages himself in drinking & gambling.

Does he get what he seeks? Does he get the answers? Does he achieve true meaning of existence? Yes, he does, but to find out how, one needs to read this incredible literary work. Siddhartha is easily relatable to us because some of his beliefs, inner turmoil, questions and vision about spirituality are very natural to us commoners. He doesn’t believe in any gurus or in following footsteps of a learned one. He believes every individual must find his own unique path to spirituality. This thought process has been articulately described in his dialogue with Gautam Buddha when he refuses to join Budhha’s sangh.

We all know that the journey of spirituality is a journey inward. This is conveyed very creatively as a hidden gist, which comes out through Siddhartha’s life experience. Deepak Soliya has also provided in-depth analysis and his own interpretation at the end of every chapter making it an interesting dialogue.

Some take away thoughts –

1. Knowledge can be passed, not wisdom.
2. The world is whole, we shall not divide it into good or bad, evil or dark, love or hatred, violence or non-violence. We must learn to accept the wholeness of everything, in everyone. Every human is good and bad at the same time, what is different is that everyone is at a different point in the spectrum. There is good in a thief and evil in a monk.
3. Truth has two sides like a coin. One must exist for the other to exist.
4. It is good to have a goal, but having a goal makes one too focussed on the goal, makes one narrow minded and renders them to ignore things that are close to them. To have an open mind, to accept everything, to be able to flow like a river is something we need to learn. Instead of trying to seek something, we must try to become something.
5. There is nothing like time. Universe is timeless. Past, present and future all exists at the same time. Past in our memories, present in present and future in our thoughts – just like a river which exists at her source, on her way and on her destination all at the same time, yet she is constantly flowing.

I would quote myself from my diary where I wrote some years back after returning from the trek of Kashmir Great Lakes in the Himalayas, “One must go through the journey of questions in order to comprehend the answers”.

Tatvamasi. Literally meaning, it’s you! Belief, faith, strength, determination, love, gratitude, everything is you. It starts with you and ends with you.

Dhruv Bhatt has yet again created a masterpiece where he takes the reader through the century old, popular among believers, the Parikrama of the sacred river, Narmada (a river pilgrimage) and how that tradition- that faith is still holding strong. The book is narrated through an Indian-origin-American character who is a researcher and a non-believer. One who sees everything through a critic eye, questions every tradition and superstition. One who is like you and me. His journey from being a non-believer to becoming a devotee.

In this journey, the book brings forth some heart-touching facts about the rural/tribal community living in the areas along the riverside. One such startling experience described is – the villagers put some oil and oil lamps (diya) outside their homes every night for the pilgrims to massage their feet. Some conversations with Shashtriji and Gandu Fakir shake your very foundation. When asked if he believed in past births, Shashtriji replied, do you believe in this birth? Gandu Fakir being a non-hindu had undying faith in this Hindu tradition of worshipping a river. As he said, whether I am a Hindu or a Muslim, spirituality begins at my home. 

A story that will move you to the core and inspire you to, if not take the pilgrimage, at the very least, worship this great river once. Story that reveals the truth behind a diverse and vibrant country that is bound strongly by a force. One who has never visited India, never read or heard the mythological stories, Ramayana and Mahabharata, will still know about it. It is in the blood. This fact is so beautifully brought forth in the book that we start observing such minute behaviour of ours which sets us apart from other cultures. One such incident happened with me at work. An English colleague was sitting next to me, having a chat, when by mistake my feet touched him and as a reflex, I touched him lightly, took my hand to my head and apologised. He was surprised by this reaction although didn’t say anything. But that look on his face made me wonder that the belief of seeing God in fellow humans is so well imbibed in our behaviour. Many such beliefs that are interwoven between our culture and behaviour are eloquently described in Tatvamasi.

As I read Tatvamasi, I felt being born and brought up India, how little do I really know about our culture, ancestors and the scientific logics behind certain rituals. It is incredible to know how science and religion have been merged to reach the population. Without revealing much about Tatvamasi, leaving it for you to explore, I shall end my review with one last quote by Shastriji, “Have faith, not needing to define in what. Just have faith.”

Reva

The movie adaptation of this book has done excellent justice to the story. Capturing every crucial and soul changing incidents, the story has been modified a little to reach the greater audience. The direction, acting, screenplay and dialogues have been incredible in bringing forth the depth of the book. Even having moved once by the book, I was equally moved by the movie.