REGIONAL PRESS RELEASE
Journalist-author Anshul Chaturvedi reveals what motivated him to write “The Vivekananda Handbook for Everyday Living”
Journalist-author Anshul Chaturvedi shared his views on his new book on Swami Vivekananda at a virtual session of The Write Circle Special, organised by Prabha Khaitan Foundation and presented by Shree Cement. Filmmaker and environmentalist, Padma Shri Nila Madhab Panda, engaged Anshul in a lively chat, which was followed by a Q&A session. The session was introduced by Rishmi Gill of Ehsaas Woman of Chandigarh.
The book, titled The Vivekananda Handbook for Everyday Living, is an essential guide to apply the principles of Swami Vivekananda’s teachings to one’s everyday life. The book was officially launched on June 28, 2021.
“This is not a scholarly analysis of his religious views, but a narration of the practicality of his thoughts to our daily life. It is not an academic work – there are already many such works on him – but more of a travelogue where Vivekananda is the travel guide,” the author explained in response to a query from the audience. “I didn’t write this as a gyan (pontification) statement. The idea is that the book should be easy to comprehend and implement – not be read as an intimidating religious book primarily about the greatness of the person concerned.”
“The reason the book hasn’t come along that way is also because of the same philosophy which this individual (Swami Vivekananda) planted into my head very early when I was younger and more combative,” Anshul added. “I kept the book to what I have practically experienced – how I saw him through my eyes. That is it. In the last 100 years, many scholars have written about him. So I did not need to reiterate his greatness. I am not qualified to comment on his personality – his stature and intellect are immense. I am qualified to comment on how he has shaped my thinking,” he said.
Nila, who has made award-winning films like I Am Kalam, Kadvi Hawa and Kalira Atita, said that he has mostly come across bulky, multi-volume readings on the monk and was quite impressed with how this book distils and explains Vivekanada’s teachings in less than 200 pages. He added that the book was a mental and emotional booster in today’s difficult times. The book, which is now available on Amazon, is priced at Rs 279 (kindle edition) and Rs 499 (paperback).
NATIONAL PRESS RELEASE
“Swami Vivekananda has been my coach, Covey, Carnegie all rolled into one”, says Indian author of The Vivekananda Handbook For Everyday Living
Journalist-author Anshul Chaturvedi shared his views on his new book on Swami Vivekananda at a virtual session of The Write Circle Special, organised by Prabha Khaitan Foundation and presented by Shree Cement. Filmmaker and environmentalist, Padma Shri Nila Madhab Panda, engaged Anshul in a lively chat, which was followed by a Q&A session. The session was introduced by Rishmi Gill of Ehsaas Woman of Chandigarh.
The book, titled The Vivekananda Handbook for Everyday Living, is an essential guide to apply the principles of Swami Vivekananda’s teachings to one’s everyday life. The book was officially launched on June 28, 2021.
“This is not a scholarly analysis of his religious views, but a narration of the practicality of his thoughts to our daily life. It is not an academic work – there are already many such works on him – but more of a travelogue where Vivekananda is the travel guide,” the author explained in response to a query from the audience. “I didn’t write this as a gyan (pontification) statement. The idea is that the book should be easy to comprehend and implement – not be read as an intimidating religious book primarily about the greatness of the person concerned.”
“The reason the book hasn’t come along that way is also because of the same philosophy which this individual (Swami Vivekananda) planted into my head very early when I was younger and more combative,” Anshul added. “I kept the book to what I have practically experienced – how I saw him through my eyes. That is it. In the last 100 years, many scholars have written about him. So I did not need to reiterate his greatness. I am not qualified to comment on his personality – his stature and intellect are immense. I am qualified to comment on how he has shaped my thinking. People are influenced by management gurus and super-achievers. Vivekananda is my ideological anchor. He is life coach, Stephen Covey, Dale Carnegie all rolled into one for me,” he said.
Nila, who has made award-winning films like I Am Kalam, Kadvi Hawa and Kalira Atita, said that he has mostly come across bulky, multi-volume readings on the monk and was quite impressed with how this book distils and explains Vivekananda’s teachings in less than 200 pages. He added that the book was a mental and emotional booster in today’s difficult times.
In response to a question about what he would say to the new generation, Anshul said, “Do not be in a hurry to believe. Keep questioning, question hard like Vivekananda used to do. Find your own anchors in life and don’t give in to collective thinking. Think for yourself.”
The book, which is now available on Amazon, is priced at Rs 279.30 (kindle edition) and Rs 499 (paperback).
INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE
“Swami Vivekananda is life coach, Stephen Covey, Dale Carnegie all rolled into one”, says Indian author of The Vivekananda Handbook For Everyday Living
9 July 2021, Kolkata (India): Author-journalist Anshul Chaturvedi, in a virtual session of The Write Circle Special, organized by Prabha Khaitan Foundation and presented by Shree Cement, spoke about his recent book “The Vivekananda Handbook For Everyday Living”. Award-winning filmmaker and environmentalist Nila Madhab Panda engaged Anshul in a lively chat, which was followed by a Q&A session. The session was introduced by Rishmi Gill of Ehsaas Woman of Chandigarh.
Anshul came across the works of Swami Vivekananda when he was 16 and began writing about him in his 30s. Now, in his 40s, he has come out with a comprehensive, easy-to-navigate book on how the monk’s teachings help us in everyday living. The book is an experiential account of practising the teachings of Vivekananda on a day-to-day basis, and is especially relevant at a time when people across the globe are emotionally weighed down by increased career pressures, discord and uncertainty.
The works of Vivekananda, one of the most revered monks of modern India, cover several volumes. Many, therefore, know of him but few have fully read him. Anshul’s book is a 180-page primer on how to follow the practical suggestions of Swami Vivekananda. “My book is a transmitter to make you want to read him,” the author said.
“This is not a scholarly analysis of his religious views, but a narration of the practicality of
his thoughts to our daily life. It is not an academic work but more of a travelogue where Vivekananda is the travel guide. There is no pontification. People are influenced by management gurus and super-achievers. Vivekananda is my ideological anchor. He has been life coach, Stephen Covey, Dale Carnegie all rolled into one for me,” Anshul said.
In response to a question about what part of Vivekananda’s teachings would he suggest to the new generation, Anshul said, “Do not be in a hurry to believe. Keep questioning, question hard like Vivekananda used to do. Find your own anchors in life and don’t give in to collective thinking. Think for yourself.”
Vivekananda was a key figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world. He was one of the speakers at the very first Parliament of Religions (which is still held annually) in Chicago in 1893. His speech “Sisters and brothers of America!” got a standing ovation as he greeted the world on behalf of “the most ancient order of monks in the world”. His speech attracted widespread attention in the American press, which called him the “cyclonic monk from India”. After the Parliament, he spent several years lecturing across America, and founded the Vedanta Society of New York in 1894. He also travelled to Europe, meeting Max Mueller in the UK in 1896. Vivekananda was offered academic positions in Harvard and Columbia, but he declined both.
He returned to the West in 1899, established several more Vedanta Societies in the US, including in San Francisco, and a peace retreat in California. He then went to Europe, giving lectures in Paris, Vienna, Istanbul, Athens and Egypt, before returning to India. Published by Bloomsbury, The Vivekananda Handbook for Everyday Living is available on Amazon globally.
