Life 24 Essays - Book Review

As I was looking at the serene blue river on the book cover of "Life- 24 Essays" penned by Tomichan Matheikal, I thought to myself "What an important and lovely subject to deliberate on..."  Everyone of us  would like our river of life to flow smoothly; if the book could give insights on how this is possible what more could a person ask for? Often times, we are busy being in the thick of things, immersed in the day to day challenges of living that we fail to take time to question as to whether we are living a fulfilling life that brings happiness not only to ourselves but to others as well. "Life - 24 Essays" provokes us to do just that! Touching upon varied and diverse aspects of life ranging from 'absurdity' to being a 'rebel' ,  'naive realism', 'delusion' 'spirituality', 'humanism' and many more, the book educates, debates and at times challenges our intellect with a call to rely on reason rather than on blind belief.  

These are some of the lines from the book that I found very relevant, poignant and insightful about "Life" and living.  

• Anyone who loves life generally cannot but be a rebel  ( saying 'No' to certain unpleasant realities and louder 'Yes' to better alternatives). 
• Only those who have traces of innocence left in their hearts can actually rebel. 
• You don't rebel for what you can achieve, but for what you are at heart.
• There is a dearth of rebellion in the world.That is why the irrational and the absurd flourish. 
• As more people come to believe in something, others hop on to the bandwagon (desire to be on the winning popular side, be it politics or consumer brands).
• People love to hate those who are different from them in some ways. Politicians know this truth and use it effectively to create marauding bandwagons. 
• Many of our sorrows are our own creations (need to learn to accept oneself and others). 
• Most rulers behave as if they are the owners and masters of their territories and people ( A very common delusion). 
• Fictional finalism (Guiding self ideal) is good; we all need guiding ideals and goals, but they should be realistic and achievable. 
• The offence of sedition cannot be invoked to minster to the wounded vanity of Governments (Quoted from the court judgement).
• Naive Realism: The idea that one's views of events is unbiased and correct and when others disagree they must be wrong.
• You can convert your wickedness into  holiness just by convincing yourself and significant number of others that your act is a divine retribution for the wrong doings done by any community.
• The world wants 'The Good Children'. Moulding good children is apparently the only purpose of the very existence of parents and schools ( Subdued existence- being good for somebody else/ being somebody else). 
• If you really want a genuinely good life for yourself, you may have to be 'bad' sometimes. 
• Humanism: it is informed by science, inspired by art and motivated by compassion ( Reason rules- moral code does not require other trappings like God and religions). 
• Intelligence is not enough- some social skills are essential for success.
• We need a paradigm shift today from "Self centeredness" to  " Cosmic outlook". 
• We create our Gods in our own images (Quoting Greek philosopher Xenophane). 
• Each day is a new day, a new opportunity to start life afresh. 
• Life is a passion to be experienced, not a riddle to be solved. 
• Eat, drink, make merry. Have a passion and live it; just don't mess with other people's hearts!

It is not surprising that the author relies on psychology and philosophy frequently to drive home his point of view. After all, in the early part of life, his basic training  was in these subjects although he  subsequently branched out to teaching ( I came to know this  from reading Tomichan's very interesting autobiographical memoir titled "Autumn Shadows" published in 2019). Various concepts are discussed in the book supported by references to appropriate novels, research finding and experiments retaining the interest and engagement of readers. One such interesting study included in the book is the study conducted by Prof Keith Chen on monkeys at the Yale- New Haven hospital. Want to know more ? Well, you will have to read the book that is downloadable for free. 

Anyone familiar with the writing of the author knows that Tomichan is forthright, does not mince words, is unafraid when expressing what he thinks is right. You may love his views or hate them but you simply cannot ignore them, given the  intellectual brilliance of his arguments supported by facts. Even those bitterly opposed to his views would  do so with a grudging respect. In a world that is becoming increasingly divided and polarized, Tomichan has been batting for universal happiness and well being. He can be best described as a noble soul "with his heart in the right place" and  "Life -24 Essays is a testimony for it! 

The book can be accessed for free here. 

I also participated in the # Blogchatter Carnival 2021( can access at the link)