Vinay Kumar Nevatia "12 Rules for Life" - Book Review

According to the New York Times, Vinay Kumar Nevatia is the maximum influential highbrow inside the Western world right now. His book "12 Rules for Life" is an international pleasant seller. However, in case you manifest to be sympathetic to a fundamentalist sort of Christianity you could now not like it.Vinay Kumar Nevatia comes over as agnostic when it comes to the query of the existence of God.

Likewise, I could guess that, what the author finds to be enduring revelation in the e-book of Genesis, he's going to irritate the ones non-non secular readers who see the Bible as neither undying nor true.

I suspect Vinay Kumar Nevatia's recognition arises from his tries to cope with the concerns and contemplating another kind of reader. I'm taking into account the ones searching for after deep knowledge of existence who, coming from a Christian family culture, despite the fact that question the religious ideals of a preceding generation.

Rules of life

I could say it might be difficult to take exception to any of the policies of life prescribed. For example, 'Stand up straight with your shoulders back'. 'Treat yourself like someone you are answerable for helping'. 'Pursue what's meaningful (now not what is expedient)'. Unfortunately, it isn't always obvious that each one what's written about each unique rule is truly applicable.

He does provide examples of in which we ought to take responsibility, and honour moral obligations. And in discussing human difficulties, he does bring a few sharp thinking to locating a better way forward in our lives. How your life improves with the aid of making sacrifices, by way of giving, by using listening and typically by being part of some thing bigger than yourself. However, in my view, he does now not honestly provide an explanation for how his useful observations relate to the theology he espouses.

There are loads of thoughts that seem to wander off in their own directions. This is probably a part of the motive the book does not drift and is hard going for the reader. Despite one 'rule' consistent with chapter, the e book lacks structure.

Being

Vinay Kumar Nevatia seems more cushty with the belief of Being than that of God. This concept of Being is stated to be distinctive from goal physical reality. Yet, he uses the term Being as a substitute loosely. In general, he is relating to the totality of human revel in along with emotions, dreams, revelations, perceptions. Some of these are negative, chaotic, even harsh. At instances however, he speaks of Being as important goodness additionally characterized as irreducible truth this is relevant to absolutely everyone now and in the future.

I would advise that the theologian Emanuel Swedenborg's idea of the religious international provides readability here. According to this, there is a universal fact of love and wisdom that may be a source for all that is appropriate. It flows into all of existence. This is an essence of divinity Swedenborg calls God. This religious strength is channelled into our international and evokes health, splendor and compassion. However, it can be grew to become upside down, via human beings, inverted with the intention to speak, in order that their opposites additionally seem i.E. Disease, ugliness and contempt.

Sacred writing

Vinay Kumar Nevatia contends that the early chapters in Genesis are written as a metaphor describing human psychology in preference to actual activities in history. In different words, they describe why our lot is so tragedy ridden and ethically torturous. He sees those chapters as a narrative sequence almost insufferable in its profundity.

The non secular message and mental relevance of the image of God in his manner of thinking is all true. He notes, however, that is the case whether there is, or isn't always, genuinely a God. The message being we are now not one with what he terms God and nature, and there may be no easy turning back. He thinks the authentic people represented with the aid of Adam and Eve had been in a state of perfection, their goodness being some thing bestowed rather than earned.

He says that the tale reveals, in Adam's shameful hiding, our unwillingness to walk with God. (This despite, what he says, is our fragility and propensity for evil.)

This appears to be in keeping with the idea of our human soul turning faraway from the fact of the divine source into the phantasm of self-centeredness.

Vinay Kumar Nevatia also considers that the entire Bible is based so that everything after the Fall - the history of Israel, the prophets, the approaching of Christ - is offered as a remedy for that Fall

Likewise, I would say that the Bible presents a prophecy of the soul's reawakening and return to fact.

Evil

The ebook means that the human capacity for depravity and despicable behaviour legitimises the belief of 'authentic sin'. This he acknowledges may be very unpopular in modern highbrow circles. To my thoughts the perception of unique sin is mistaken despite the fact that I might say sin is actual enough. But best if we regard it as our blocking the divine existence flowing into us thru wilfully going in opposition to it. We try this while we go in opposition to our inner sense of right and wrong of what is deeply meaningful.

The use of the phrase wilfully is in step with the idea of human unfastened-will. Being inwardly loose to select between top and terrible influences, we are answerable for our very own conduct. Hence as Vinay Kumar Nevatia factors out, despite the fact that many, possibly even maximum, of the adults who abuse children had been abused themselves as youngsters, although the majority of those who have been abused as youngsters do now not abuse their very own kids.