Code Name God.

Yes, it is the title of a book and not something that I wanted to expound on.

My cousin Damodaran was browsing books in a local lending library when he came across this book, was intrigued by the blurbs “This book may change your life” – Sydney Sheldon; and “The author’s personal odyssey… in an attempt ot find common ground between Eastern spirituality and Western science is eloquently told and makes for fascintaing reading.” – Fritjof Capra, author of The Tao Of Physics. He borrowed it from the library, returned it after reading and decided to buy a copy for himself to keep as a source book and a few more copies to be distributed among his friends. After he had done all that, knowing my interest in Buddhism and Vedanta as well as my involvement with Vipassana for over three decades, he ordered me as he is wont to, to get myself a copy which I promptly did and have just finished reading it.

I can safely say that I finished ‘reading’ the first half of the book but for the second half of the book, I should really be using the word ‘studying’ instead. The second half is when the author gets away from the background story of his rags to riches story to how he gets on a journey of spiritual enquiry and how he reconciles his background as a Scientist with Eastern mysticism and meditation.

There is really nothing new in what he writes as Capra has written extensively on the subject and I have read all the latter’s books, but how he writes is where the book scores. It is easy to read and understand even for a non scientist and the examples he gives lead one to understand the complexities of quantum physics and that makes all the difference.

I recommend this book to people who are interested in exploring how Physicists are now validating the findings and experiences of Eastern mystics without access to sophisticated equipment like colliders. It is also a fascinating story of the journey of a poor farmer’s son from penury to riches, despair with materialism and eventual happiness through spiritualism.