Book 3 of 2013: Hinduism A very Short Introduction, by Kim Knott

I imagine that many yuppie types, like me, think of yoga only as American yoga classes: mostly geared towards fitness types with a few new-age type people sprinkled in.  I’ve only been to a few yoga classes, and did find it interesting from a physical perspective, but never really thought too much about any spiritual aspects.  I did not know until reading this book that what I thought of as “yoga” is actually Hatha Yoga, and along with Karma Yoga, the path of action, Raja yoga, the royal path (deep and profound meditation), Jnana yoga, the path of knowledge, and other types of yoga form one of the 6 philosophical systems called Darshana that are present in Hinduism.

For someone who is used to the highly structured nature of Western Christianity, Hinduism now appears to me as more of a regional culture that varies all over India and other parts of southeast Asia.  These variations all appear to have common threads, such as the divinely revealed Vedic scriptures, but the text gives examples of how the emphasis that is placed on which text, or which avatar (Krishna, Shiva, etc) is chiefly recognized as the incarnation of the godhead is not assured.  Knott raises questions regarding whether Hinduism is a religion, a regional culture, polytheistic, monotheistic, and touches on how Hinduism has influenced and been influenced by modern India, women, and the world outside of it's traditional geographical reaches.

To be clear, this is a 120 page book that I can imagine might be assigned as a quick read in the first week of a One-Oh-One college class.  More than anything, this Cliff-Notes-ish little $3 HPB impulse buy made me want to learn more about something I already had an interest in.  Reading this sort of book only made me more aware of how little I know.

Here are some of my favorite bits:

• The Ramayana television teries was a prime-time soap opera re-telling of an epic tale of the same name that was central to Hinduism (the epic, not the soap opera), and from what I gathered, it was the "Dallas" of India.
• When the Maharaja of Jaipur was invited to the coronation of Edward the VII in London, he took dried fruit, rice, cows, water from the Ganges, and even dirt from India along on a ritually consecrated ship for the journey.  These preparations allowed him to maintain his sacred person, fulfill his duty, and keep his subjects out of potential harm.
• "Tat tvam asi!"  is a Sanskrit phrase that is translated as "That's how you are!"  from the Chandogya  Upanishad (one of several Sacred Upanishads).  The phrase comes from a son being told by a father to drink from each corner of a container of water that has had salt placed in it.  The salt is everywhere, and it encapsulates the idea that the self  of each person is the essence of all other people and of the world and is all one life-force.  Naturally, not all schools of Hindu thought agree with this...

I don't know that I would recommend this book in particular to any random person, but I will recommend grabbing a book you think you might have only read if it were assigned back in college.  The book may be the academic equivalent of an episode  of  PBS' NOVA, but I love NOVA! and watching that still beats watching a re-run of "When Zoo Animals Attack IV" in my not so humble opinion :-)

Book 2 of 2013: The Snowman, by Jo NesbØ

Book 2 of 2013: The Snowman, by Jo NesbØ (Translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett)

Good thriller, and I liked it, but I have to say that it didn't completely blow me away.  There’s a hard-nosed cop with issues, a serial killer, the story has twists, and it is thrilling…but it’s supposed to be, right?  I used to like reading mystery / thriller novels a lot, but reading this didn't make me want to run out and start one of his other novels right away.  However, it may be that my tastes have changed, and I certainly think it’s a fine example of its genre.

More than anything else, I would describe this book as “cinematic.” I couldn't help but keep envisioning the scenes in a movie seat in a dark theater.  Peppered throughout the novel are quick scene flips where an action or conversation is continued right through the two scenes, albeit with different characters or situations.  My favorite example is when Harry, the cop, cannot sleep, and gets up to listen to the radio and hear that George W. has been reelected.  He climbs back into bed and flips his covers over his head in lighthearted despair.  The scene flips and Jonas, a boy whose mother has gone missing and is suspected to be murdered, flips his own covers off his head when he hears a noise and is terrified.  Was she murdered?   Is the murderer back?  The novel moves from lighthearted to tense with the flip of a duvet.

Cinematic? Or have I been watching too many movies, and rather than this novel being “like a movie” are movies produced to be “like a well-written thriller?”

1-2-3

My first exposure to a waltz was in the animated Disney movie "Sleeping Beauty."  My mother explained to me that in a waltz you counted to 3 over and over again.

I know you.  I

walked with you 

once upon a dream.

I may have been 6 or 7 when my mother, my sister, and I performed this waltz as a trio at a recital given by students of The Conservatory of Central Illinois: my mother on piano, my sister on flute, and me on the snare drum and high-hat symbol.  Sounds crazy, but my mother had bought me fan brushes for the occasion  and I had been taught how to sweep them over the drum head to create a beat out of swishing sounds.  I thought those fan brushes were pretty cool.

I've got this song in my head: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgCukvmi_4g

A waltz in a minor key: sad and mournful.  I know it's obvious that a song titled "the Sad Waltz" would make someone feel this way, but the more I think about it, the more appropriate it seems.

In high school when I first saw my band director conduct a 3/4 time piece as a single beat and in struck me how a waltz is a truly a repetition.  Yes, in 4/4, 4 leads back to 1, but there are 2 down beats.  In a waltz, 2 and 3 just lead back to 1 and that's it.  One of the most depressing parts of life is when you are in stuck in a rut: the lack of change leads to a depressed feeling and it seems like nothing will break you out of it.  1 causes 2 - 3, but then there's nowhere to go but back to 1.

There can be safety and familiarity in repetition.  A calmness.  I suppose it's best though if the safety and familiarity is leading to to something new.  In life you've got to hope there's a movement with the words "allegrissimo con brio" just up ahead.

Book 1 of 2013: Born Standing Up a Comic’s Life, by Steve Martin

Steve Martin’s autobiography left me with the impression that he is someone who had talent and intelligence, but achieved success primarily through hard work and a driving work ethic.  The formula that led to his eventual success was developed over his entire life beginning with magic shows as a teenager, brief comedy acts opening for folk music performers, and road tours of night clubs in the mid 1970’s.  In particular, the road tours gave him the opportunity to experiment with comedy in ways partially driven by a college interest in psychology and philosophy.

Autobiographies always make me wonder how truthful the author is being.  When you get a chance to showcase yourself, you can choose what to emphasize to insure you are presented as you want to be, and perhaps not how you actually are.  However, I guess the same would be true with any biographer.

This book was well written, it had plenty of dry humor and interesting stories, and I enjoyed it.  It is worth checking out if you have an interest in Steve, stand-up comedy, performance art in general, or an American celebrity with more depth than may be immediately apparent (at least to someone who was not around in the 1970’s).