Unparalleled Parallels

About the Book

People talk about freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of press etc. Do they really free us? Unfortunately, the truth is far beyond. Then, what is real freedom? Real freedom is not expecting anything in return from anybody. Can this be achieved? Yes..Lao Tzu and Shri Krishna show us the royal road to freedom. They show us how to win by losing...how to serve without taking credit..how to wage war without enmity...and that is the icing on the cake. Lao Tzu says 'be a guest' or live like a 'guest'. A guest stays for a short period of time. He will be accommodative and non-demanding and accept with gratitude whatever is offered by his host. We are here for a short period of time, just like the guest. In this period of our sojourn on this earth, if we develop the qualities of a guest just mentioned, we enjoy peace. The host also becomes more gracious with such a guest. They are comfortable with each other and such comfort in each others' presence is divine communion.

About the Author

Pramila Iyer, a resident of Pune, Maharashtra for almost 40 years, is actively involved with education for underprivileged children. She has been teaching slum children for more than thirty years. More than poverty, it is the ignorance of those people that made her go beyond just teaching children to being with their parents as well and guiding them to come out many bad habits. It has been a tough journey for her but her surrender to Lord Krishna and reading the Bhagvad Gita again and again gave her more clarity as to her field of action. Though born and brought up in typical Hindu family, her spirit has broken all shackles. This freedom is expressed beautifully in her poem "Cages, cages, everywhere". Equally at ease with every form of worship, and every type of prayer, she lives what she preaches: "Ekoham Bahushyama" one becomes many". She has been writing poems since the age of 13 or 14 which used to be in her mother tongue Tamil. She now also writes in English and Hindi. "If one man is corrupt, a few people suffer". "if one ruler is corrupt, that country suffers"; but if religious people become corrupt (not understanding the depth of their religion) the whole world suffers", she concludes.