Have you read SHANTARAM?
What a mesmerisingly amazing book! So honest, so magical and so
bloody intense! If you haven't had the pleasure yet – yes, the almost 1000
pages might be a bit scary at first, but it's really worth it. A
wonderful and very rare reading experience is waiting for you!
There is a story going
round that Gregory David Roberts, the author of Shantaram, started to
write the book in prison. One day the prison guards found the
manuscript (paper in those days) and threw it away. Roberts started
from zero, got half way through the book and then the same thing
happened again! So he set off a third time and when he finally got
out he managed to finish it. Now, that's dedication!
Whether this story is
totally true or not, I don't know, but it's possible. And for me
that's what this book is about: A reminder that life itself is a
crazy adventure and that each moment carries endless possibilities.
When I finished Shantaram
I read a few articles and watched some interviews to find out more
about the book and the author. At some point I stumbled across a
video with Roberts speaking at an event in Mumbai. The whole video is
really good but there is especially one part where he talks
about the current state of the world, and the way he describes our
situation I find quite remarkable.
We are in transition – a
much needed transition! For a long time we've been competing with
each other and consuming the hell out of this planet. In fact, most
of the stuff we do involves competition and consumption, the two have
become God-like ideals to strive for. But our circumstances have
changed, rather drastically, and so unless we start to cooperate and
to conserve, very soon this whole place will be a story of the past.
WE will be a story of the past.
I was going to write more
about what he says in the video but I think that he puts it all so
well, so clear and inspiring, speaking passionately and beautifully,
that I recommend you to simply watch it.
“If we don't change, if we don't learn how to cooperate, we will compete ourselves to death.”
(The part about competition and cooperation is from minute 3:05 - 15:50)
