The Monk explores mystical practises

Author and inspirational speaker, Robin Sharma is a gifted transmitter of timeless wisdom. The message conveyed in The Monk who sold his Ferrari, isn’t new, rather brilliantly re-wrapped and presented in “fabled” style.
Ever since Indian swamis eyed the Western market to sell their wares, the spiritual seeker in the West has become transfixed, opening the door to abuse and corruption of a hitherto esoteric knowledge.
 

Today, the media circuit is replete with motivational speakers and courses in self-enlightenment, monetised to the benefit of those who well understand and manipulate the needs of others.
Unfortunately, the deficit of peace and equanimity among peoples and nations is reflective of how even timeless truths are bastardised, as snake-oil gurus offer “quick-fix” solutions to humankind’s moral disease.
 

Refreshing though is Sharma’s undertaking. Here, the author allows the protagonist and lawyer-turn-mystic, Julian Mantle to pontificate to his erstwhile legal partner, John.
The story of Julian Mantle provokes the readers’ senses. He is successful, a legendary exponent of rare court room skills and theatrics. He is just damn good at what he does. But fame comes with a price, a heavy one that nearly costs Mantle his life. In an existential moment, he is felled by a massive heart attack.
 

Mantle retires, sells his possessions, including his prized Ferrari, and leaves for India where he absorbs the pearls of wisdom in a community of savants called Sivana.
It is epiphanical, a period of study, reflection, and learning. He returns, rejuvenated, with a slimmer frame and youthful appearance.
 

Gone are the petulance, avarice, insatiability, and self-centeredness.
It is a transformation incredulous to John, to whom Julian must transmit the wisdom he was taught at Sivana.
 

Julian proves to be equally engaging in matters of arcane wisdom. He simplifies the keys to unlocking the human potential, cautious of sounding overly extreme and aware that his friend may not trek eastward.
 

Not everyone could. Further, not everyone has to sell his worldly possessions to uphold and practice timeless truths.
 

During a night-long session, when the rest of the household is fast asleep, Mantle, dressed the part of the perspicacious monk he has become , with mala (prayer beads) to match, honours his guru at “Sivana,” and teaches John, now an eager student of the mystic pathway.
 

The teachings are Zen like , axiomatic, thought provoking, and allegorical. Some of the dictums linger after the last page is read. “If age only knew, if youth only could,” Mantle says as he conveys the message that seems uninviting to so many at an early age.

Then the mantra: “I am more than I appear to be, all the world’s strength and power rests inside of me.”
Mantle goes on a tear to a rapturous listener. John is counseled on reconfiguring his life, replacing old habits with new practices.
 

It appears simple but requires discipline, fearlessness, and acknowledgement that he is under-performing, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
 

Taking advantage of quietude, rising early, before dawn, concentration, contemplation, the art of visualisation, the intonation of the word (mantras), pranayama (rhythmic breathing), exercise, the benefits of vegetarianism and laughter, and gratitude are all spelled out.
“Practice and more practice,” John is told, if he must reconfigure his life.
The moral factor is also thrown into the mix.
 

In the end John is told: “No man is free who is not master of himself,” made famous by Epictetus.
He must embrace “kaizen” (never–ending improvement), and “joriki” (mental concentration) as his watchwords.
 

The truths of Monk are indisputable, and Sharma’s decoding of Zen Buddhism makes it an easy study.
However, I cannot help but question the effectiveness of such a discourse in transforming the lives of all and sundry.
 

Mantle sought this wisdom only after a brutally traumatic experience.
What Monk does not mention is that “Saul-like” moments are the real catalyst for inner transformation and not the dictation of gurus and Western style motivational speakers. 
Yes, Mantle did mention: “When the student is ready, the master will appear.”
But he did not define readiness, which, in the field of metaphysics, is the exploration of consciousness, often times precipitated by a searing trauma.
 

Anything short of that is yet another exercise in ephemeral musings.  Sadly, Monk, like books, become additions to collections, untouched,  their pearls squeezed between cramped pages , befitting only those baptised by pain and calamity.

Dr Glenville Ashby
New York correspondent
The Guardian Media Group

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by

Robin Sharma, Harper-Collins Publishers Ltd,

199, ISBN 0-00-255721-5
http;www.harpercollins.com/canada,
Available: Amazon.com
Rating: Recommended.***