Recently all the spiritual, business and/or selfhelp books that I have read, Jaico had an upper hand from the content point of view. "Into the Great Heart - Legends and Adventures of Guru Angad the second Sikh Guru" by Kamla K. Kapur is a unique combinational master peice. I haven't read the first book so I was not aware of the beauty of Kamla Kapur's writing. The book is amalgumation of biography, fiction, philosophy, and spirituality. You will not notice when you will be taking a turn in the subject. After reading the first 30 pages I have added the first book in the series on my wishlist.
Book Blurb
From the bestselling author of Classic Tales from Mystic India, The Singing Guru and Rumi: Tales to Live By, comes the second book in the Sikh saga series about Bhai Lehna’s journey from being Guru Nanak’s constant disciple to becoming Guru Angad (1504 – 1552), his successor and the second Sikh Guru.
Into the Great Heart carries forward and concludes the stories of Guru Nanak and Bhai Mardana, his favourite minstrel, from the first volume of the Sikh saga, The Singing Guru. History, legend and fiction merge to populate this book with fascinating personalities from Sikh history. Pivotal to this narrative are forgotten female luminaries such as Guru Nanak’s wife, Mata Sulakhni, his sister, Bebe Nanaki, Bhai Lehna’s wife, Khivi and daughter Amro. Brought to the foreground, their wisdom and insights as they overcome obstacles to spiritual growth embody the basic tenets of Sikhism in everyday living. They enhance Guru Nanak and Bhai Lehna’s tale with their diverse approach to life.Filled with captivating characters that enrich the tapestry of this compelling narrative, Into the Great Heart is a must-read for anyone who loves a rich story about human nature in its search for spiritual awareness.
The story or the book is written on Guru Angad succession over Guru Nanak. A priest of Maa Durga Temple came to Kirtarpur just to see Guru Nanak out of curiosity. His name was Bhai Lehna and he had herd one of the Poem composed by Baba. When he met Baba, both came to know that they were bound to meet. The first half of the book covers how the selfless act of Bhai Lehna and his devotion towards Baba Nanak had won Baba's heart. Baba had already decided that only Bhai Lehna could take the place of the successor after him. But Baba's family was against it, so Baba had to send Bhai Lehna away till the time was proper. That is the 1st part of the book. It was pretty well maintained with medium pace.
The second part started rather slow. Even the story part reduced by 30-40% in the first 50 pages of the second part. But slowly the story part picked up. The starting events of the second part were rather sad. This part ended with Guru Nanak announcement of Bhai Lehna as his heir (as Guru Angad) followed by Baba's demise.
All the characters in the book are painted with the brush of reality. You can feel their mind as if they are your closed one. The devotion of Bhai Lehna, Wisdom of Guru Nanak, Grasping and understanding of Bhai Buddha, the Inner turmoil of most of the women won my heart. Each page is filled with wisdom and spirituality without affecting interest quotient. In just 280 pages you can learn so many things. Those incidents of Baba's journey with Bhai Mardana, the hidden message behind Baba's statements or reactions, the conversation of Buddha with Bhai Mardana and family. There are so many things that made me love this book, I have listed only a few here.
A must read. Just go for it. I am not eligible enough to rate this book anything below 5/5.
Reviews from other readers can be found at GoodReads
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