This was my second book. When you see both my books juxtaposed on Amazon, you will nod: yup! only a Gemini could pull this off!

I am grateful that I was given this gift of compiling Prarthana in this form. With that also comes a responsibility of taking this message of our dharma to a wider audience. So I ask you to support this by purchasing a copy for yourself and your family.

With the festive season of Diwali soon approaching, you may want to pick extra copies for your friends and colleagues. Prarthana makes an excellent gift!

Get more details of Prarthana, as well as text excerpts at www.arunsprarthana.com
There you can also see details of the special pricing and how to buy it by credit card or check.

Prarthana is also available at Amazon for the List price.

I leave you with part of a review from Ellen Duranceau

… these prayers speak to something common to all of humanity: a spiritual impulse for light to dispel darkness; for connection to nature, to other people, and to the universe itself; for the courage to rise above our anguish or fears, to find hope and the best within ourselves, and to share our best selves with the world. In a time of great divisions, it is heart-warming to dip into another faith tradition and find common bonds, rather than alienation.

I have tracked scores of such books from the 18th and 19th century which shed a grim light on the atrocities of the Portuguese. In the midst of an enormous amount of historical literature, there are always the revisionists, trying to cast a softer glow on the Portuguese Inquisition. This one by an ordained priest takes the cake.

A few lines from his work and my related comments.
An Historical Sketch of Goa, Rev. Denis L. Cottineau de Kloguen (DK)
Gazette Press, Madras (1831), Reprinted pp 44-45
Also available digitized from the Library at Harvard College, Cambridge, MA; Pg 69 – 70.

Original text in italics is contiguous in one paragraph; my comments are in regular text.

AS – In this paragraph, the Reverend is trying to defend the Archbishop D Alexins de Menezes.
DK – … Some acts of violence by the Portuguese agents may have been committed, both before and after him, but they are not to be imputed to him.
AS - Really! Everyone else is to blame, but not the Archbishop.

DK – It is equally false, that, followed by the officers of the Inquisition, he went armed with fire and sword, to compel the inhabitants of Salsette to embrace the Christian religion. The Jesuits converted a great part of them by the usual and most laudable means;
AS – Reminded me of the recent controversial remarks by Pope Benedict 16th: (from the NY Times) “… in Brazil, … native populations had been “silently longing” for the Christian faith brought to South America by colonizers.” The Rev is probably alluding to such an “innate longing” for torture and death.

DK – but in order as they thought, the better to detach the remainder of the inhabitants from worship of idols, they destroyed all the temples and pagodas.
AS – Much to the embarrassment of the Jesuits, many forced converts continued to visit temples and kept to their traditional Hindu ways. The only way to prevent this was to destroy the temples. How many is “all”?

DK – This however, had the contrary effect; and the Pagans, exasperated at this circumstance, rose up in arms, murdered five jesuits, and several Portuguese.
AS – Did the Jesuits really expect anything else? Note the choice of the word “murdered” when associated with the Jesuits and the Portuguese. BTW, when “all temples and pagodas” were destroyed, how many of the locals were killed? Smoothly overlooked.

DK – The Governor then felt himself obliged to use arms likewise to reduce the rebels; and of course did not after wards permit the temples to be rebuilt.
AS – “reduce the rebels” here is an euphemism for “massacring the population”! And since when did the locals become the “rebels” in their own lands?

DK – But in all this, the Archbishop had nothing to do, and what is certainly better proved, are the good works and the pious establishments of Goa, of which he is the founder.
AS – Surprised he has not been nominated to be made a Saint!

When I saw the package from the Publisher, it was actually anticlimactic. Yes! I was glad to finally hold the tome. But it represented the culmination, the end of one project; and an opportunity to focus on another. I celebrate the confidence I gained, from assembling nearly 30 leading groups from around the world to contribute. The confidence of bringing such an undertaking to completion. I celebrate the friendships I nurtured, the friends I did not let down. A time to celebrate the long journey ahead, time to energize myself for the next push.

I don't expect you to rush out and buy a copy. It's expensive! At 783 pages, it will weigh your bag down considerably, but will look impressive on your book shelf. If you are trying to impress your boyfriend/girlfriend, this can certainly be an ice-breaker. If you are considering curling up with this book and a blanket, well … I strongly recommend against it. The first page will put you to sleep and the book falling on our face can hurt you! I suggest propping it up on a heavy table and resting your chin on a pillow. A particularly safe posture, especially when falling asleep is assured. There is no plot really, and the characters are lifeless. The writing is esoteric and dense. Very few pics and importantly, there is no sex! So, there you go! Ask your doctor or a engineering/medical school library to get a copy!

Find more details at this random site.

Over the weekend, a friend gave me this copy of “Explaining Hindu Dharma: A Guide for Teachers.” It's a coffee table sized (~ 8.5 in x 11 inches) hardcover book. This is a British publication and targeted for UK school teachers. Essentially teaching teachers about Hinduism, so they can teach school students. So it does have some info on British school regulations, which are easily skipped.

The information is provided in a very efficent manner. No boring research, or indepth treatment of the scriptures. Just the essence. Many a times, I only have simple queries regarding some aspect of our religion and this book seemed to have it. There are innumerable short stories and information provided in text boxes and lots of pictures – which makes it ideal for my short attention span. I could randomly flip the pages and start reading. Very well done. This will make an ideal book to give as a gift.

At first I was uneasy that the book was published by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council), but then I considered, who better to organize the resources and knowledge from the 1000s of sects and temples of India, than the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. I would not expect the Christian Coalition, or a gathering of Islamists, or some individual with suspect motives, to do justice to MY religion.

This local gentleman bought a large shipment directly from the publisher and is selling the book from his home essentially at his cost for $28.50 ($25 + 3:50 Shipping). BTW, the original price is 25 UK pounds. I was searching for it on Amazon.com and saw someone selling a 'used' copy for $215. What a rip-off! Ofcourse I told my friend to sell it on Amazon as well. I don't know when he will get around to posting it there.

In the meantime, if you are interested, you could contact him directly at: Brij Garg, 15 Ticklefancy Lane, Salem, NH 03079. his email is bgarg AT ieee.org

PS: I have no financial stake in the book or the publisher.