Life's Amazing Secrets by Gaur Gopal Das - Book Review

I got a copy of Life’s Amazing Secret from an Amazon pre-order.  I have seen many videos by the author Gaur Gopal Das, and so was excited to read his book.  The book explores many secrets of Life as it follows the life and challenges of a modern rich couple Harry and Lalita.

The book is divided into four parts which are Personal Life, Relationships, Work Life, and Social Contribution.  There are 20 succinct chapters with 2 Appendixes. The book has lot of examples and real life stories. Let us have a look at the nuggets of wisdom in some of the chapters.

The author highlights in the chapter on Correcting Cautiously that giving feedback badly is an addiction. Just as a smoker knows that cigarettes can kill but smokes nonetheless, similarly the way we interact with others carelessly becomes an addiction. Unless you have made positive deposits in the form of praise, criticism will not be taken in good spirit. 

  

In the chapter Press Pause, he talks about the story of world renowned violinist Joshua Bell. People pay nearly $100 to watch his concert in symphony halls. But when the same Joshua played the violin for 45 minutes as he stood near a dustbin in a famous metro station, not many stood and noticed him. Nearly 1070 people were oblivious to the miracle happening in the station. This is because context manipulates our perspective. Similarly, in life we focus only on the parts that give us wealth after hard work. We do not pause to appreciate the simple joys and beauty of life.

In the chapter on Competition, he says we have to sometimes overcome people who have envy, jealousy, and uncontrolled ambition. The best way to compete is to compete with ourselves and to become a better version of ourselves as the years pass by.

In the Chapter on Association, the author emphasizes that when you associate with people who have bad habits and views, you subconsciously imbibe those bad habits. This happens even when the other person does not force you or teaches you the bad habit. The author says you can build good relationships with good people by sharing food, gifts, and wonderful ideas.

In the chapter on forgiveness, the author says that we need not tell it is “your problem” or “my problem” and feel angry or guilty. Instead, if we focus on “the problem” there are solutions.  In one chapter under Relationships, the author encourages us to see both good and bad in people, but consciously ignore the bad. This helps relationships to flourish. However, the author advocates social justice and punishment for those who commit crimes and other heinous acts.

The author encourages us to move beyond hedonistic pleasures and be of service to fellow men. This service gives more deeper and lasting pleasure. However, the author does not discourage you from leading a rich lifestyle. Instead, he recommends that you need to share an equal amount of wealth to help the needy and poor.  He encourages us to move on a journey from being an ice cream (enjoy life before it melts) to a candle or from being selfish to selfless.

In the Chapter “Family First”, I was fascinated by the story of Lata Bhagwan Khare. She was 65 years old when she participated and won a marathon, competing with youngsters. She did this difficult and selfless task as she needed the prize money to help her sick husband.  

The Appendix  1 on forgiveness gives a worksheet to help us forgive. The Appendix 2 gives a Ikigai worksheet to identify your purpose in life. There are some contents in the book that are already there in his videos. 

The book is published by Penguin Publishers and has 208 pages. The prize on Amazon India was Rs.146 for pre-order copy. This is the type of book where you will reread chapters after sometime to inculcate the good thoughts. Grab your copy and get ready for a transformation. Happy reading J