The Call of the Sun - Surya Green

Finally finished this book. although it started out to be really enjoyable, I found it to really drag towards the end. The first part which is set in India, I found really enjoyable. The rest which is mostly set in Amsterdam, I found just did not grab me.

"The Transformation takes place for the most part in old Amsterdam, where the writer turns her canal side flat into her personal temple to the Divine, much to the skepticism of her friends, acquaintances and journalistic colleagues. But step by step reborn Surya Green goes through a conscious transition "from secular to spiritual", with all the pleasures and the pains thereof. As if by greater design, there appears in her life the Himalayan spiritual Sun-master Sri Swami Purna. Not coincidentally, Sri Swami Purna comes from the Surya-vansa, the solar race of India. Under his unique guidance there begins for Surya a process of spiritual training during which the meanings of soul, karma, reincarnation and Divine Plan become clear to her"

I'm afraid a lot of this book was not clear to me, it deals in part with Sufi Mysticism, and this has never been really clear, or of interest to me.

However, the book was quite well written, but it will not be one that I will be keeping.

Man, Monk, Mystic - Mayank Chhaya.

Written with the full cooperation of the Dalai Lama, this fascinating, up-to-date biography at once captures the public persona and enduring mystery behind one of the world’s most important spiritual leaders. I have just received this book and can't wait to start it.

Three Cups of Tea

I have just finished this amazing book by Greg Mortenson. I must admit that until I read this book I had never heard of this great man. After reading it I know I will never forget him.
Greg Mortenson was a mountain climber. He had recently lost his cherished sister to epilepsy. In 1993, to honor his deceased sister's memory, Mortenson went to climb K2, the world's second highest mountain, in the Karakoram range of northern Pakistan. He wanted to place a necklace of hers at the summit.After more than 70 days on the mountain, Greg and 3 other climbers did what would be a life-saving rescue of one of their climbers that took more that 75 hours. After the rescue, he had no more energy to complete the climb so he began his descent of the mountain.He became weak, exhausted and lost. Two local Balti porters found him and took him to their homes in Korphe village to help him recover. Out of gratitude for the villagers’ assistance in providing him care and shelter for seven weeks, Mortenson vowed to build the town’s first school. From this promise grew a great humanitarian project, his non-profit Central Asia Institute. Mortenson ’s dedication to promoting education in remote, often volatile villages in Pakistan and Afghanistan has resulted in the birth of 55 new schools and brought literacy and education to over 20,000 children.

I urge everyone to read this wonderful book. This man should be, in my opinion a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. Hopefully, it will be not too long for the powers that be recognize this and act. A truly remarkable, remarkable man.