Today we talk about A Beginner’s Guide to Spirituality, a book by Abhishek Chaturbedi published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the author Abhishek Chaturbedi to get to know him better and what is moment that led him to the writing of his book A Beginner’s Guide to Spirituality. He also precisely described what are the 10 key messages he would like to leave to his readers.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- What is the message you want to send out with your guide?
The entire humanity is one living cosmos. We are one. It is not a philosophical statement but a metaphysical truth too. So treat everyone like you yourself would like to be treated. This was Jesus Christ greatest message “we are children of same creator” and “do unto others as you would like to be done to yourself”. Love is all there is. Forget your little ego, which is non consequential in whole wide cosmos. Most of the humanity is sleepwalking. They are busy with their worldly duties that they have forgotten why they came to earth in the first place. It is to express their true self to the best of their abilities. So be a shining star and a blessing to everyone whose life you will touch. Do not mark your success and worthiness based upon other’s life or what society tells you. Only you know who truly you are and what life means to you. You can only gauze your passions in your life. Follow your heart and soul no matter what hurdles may come your way. You may not get materialistic success but your will always be happy, peaceful and wise. Do not remain in the conscious realm. All you will hear is mental chatter. Your mind is a mental construct. Very few people have mind of their own. Most have constructed based on what world has shown them. Do little soul searching, transcend from consciousness to super consciousness. Super consciousness is that aspect of your inner awareness that connects you to the creator, the higher power or intelligent life force that pervades the entire universe. There you will find true and everlasting happiness, serenity, wisdom and your own defined meaning of life. Meditation is one way of elevating self from conscious state to super consciousness. Anything that makes you connect to the creator or makes your heart filled with love, peace and happiness is the way to super consciousness. It can be as simple as smelling the fragrance of a rose, enjoying the beautiful scenery, playing with your child or enjoying the gentle breeze stroking your face. Love should not be reserved for humanity but for all the living bodies on earth. Our mother earth belongs equally to every living creature. They have equal right to live as much as you or me. Do not hurt another life for food or financial gain. Above all, protect mother earth from climate changes, deforestation, ozone layer depletion, pollution and over population. One day our blue planet may not be hospitable for humanity or worse, it may not sustain life anymore.
- Is there a particular moment in your life that led you to the writing of your book?
I consider it no less of a miracle how I got introduced to spirituality which eventually led to writing of this book. I was working as a doctor in Seattle, USA and used to visit a local DVD store frequently to search for entertaining movies. Religious/Spiritual section of the DVD store was never my cup of tea. On an eventful day, something in me almost literally forced me to review the religious/spiritual section. I was surprised and awestruck that I have spent about an hour browsing through several DVD. Finally my eyes rested on a movie that chronicled the life of Neale Donald Walsh, the author of New York Times best selling trilogy “Complete Conversation with God: an uncommon dialogue”. The movie did not have any known Hollywood actors, looked more like a documentary movie, which was not my foray. Something in me forced me to rent this movie and I watched the movie. The movie was about a guy who almost reached his fifties and was still struggling to make a living. He asked the higher power for his miserable life and got all the answers he was seeking. It was finally translated in a book and he became spiritually and materialistically successful. Then I decided to buy his book knowing that it is going to be a game changer for me. Believe me, I read the book almost 5 times till everything become crystal clear to me. I realized that till that time I was taking every one’s word for granted and the reality of creation, the creator and the meaning of life was hiding in plain sight. As I am typing this message, I believe I have answers to all the bigger questions in life. But being spiritual means leading a spiritual life, not filling your head with only what is the larger truths in life.
- What you would like your readers to feel inspired by?
I would like to answer this question in bullets:
- We are all children of God. We are one; the different identity we hold in this relative world is an illusion. Hence love thy neighbour and treat others like you would like yourself to be treated.
- Love is all there is. Fear is an illusion.
- God loves you unconditionally. The talk of God has preference and wants you act in a certain way is a lie. There is no place called hell or for that matter heaven. It is a state of being. When you are being the best of yourself that is heaven. When you are being less than who you truly are, that state of being is called hell.
- We are eternal beings. We are first and foremost a spiritual being. A spirit inhabiting a body. The soul is immutable, eternal, indestructible and pure. We are in this world, but not of this world. The death we experience in this world is just shedding of our gross body. Our soul never dies. In the afterlife, there is nobody keeping the score card of what you did during this life time. No judgement whatsoever. You will however have the ability to reflect upon your past life and decide whether you were being what you thought of yourself. If not, you will have another chance to take a body and be born in this relative world to fulfil where you left off. In the afterlife, you will feel incredible lightness, surrounded by other loving souls. You will be able to experience joy, peace and manifest anything or be anywhere with the speed of thought. The illusion of time and space does not exist on the other side.
- It is true that mother earth is being ravaged badly by the greed of mankind. But we still have time to fix it. Let the entire humanity change our way of living for a greener world where all the resources and living beings are respected and caressed.
- If we love each other with all our might, we will have no reason to fight.
- Forget religion, adopt spirituality. Unfortunately, organized religion that perpetrates segregation and believes in its superiority over other faith has been one of the greatest detriments in creating world peace.
- Remember how hard your life is or has been, it is just a make believe world. The play we participate in this world is temporary and a created reality like a movie. Till the movie lasts, it feels very surreal. Once the movie is over, you will know that it was just a trick played on your mind.
- Practice meditation and yoga in general to connect to the higher power. This is the only way to create a permanent peace, joy and wisdom no one can take away from you. No matter what the world throws at you, you inner core will be at ease in any given circumstance. Thrive for it, work toward it on a daily basis.
- Let the young ones think for themselves. Everyone is trying to teach something that has not worked in their lives. Let each one decide their own path in their life, without judgement and prejudice. Just gently guide them in discovering who truly they are and be the best of themselves. Let each person’s individuality shine and help them in pursuing their passion. Let each one decide what success means to them.
- How was your publishing experience?
It has been a wonderful learning experience. I am elated beyond description of words that my dream to publish a book on spirituality has become a reality. It has hit the world market for everyone to read. My goal is to awaken humanity to a higher possibility. After reading my book, if certain lives are changed for good, I will consider my life has been a boon to humanity. This has been made a reality by the Europe books publishing group. They have been a thorough professional and have guided me through every step in editing, publishing and marketing the book. Hats off to them for a splendid job.
- Are you planning to write more books to guide people on their personal introspective journey?
To be honest, at this juncture the answer is no. However, a newer edition is always on the menu card. There are still certain aspects related to spirituality I want to elaborate on, that can provide further insights. For example, I want to espouse Yoga in more detail so that people can better comprehend how to connect to the divine.
Europe Books thanks the author Abhishek Chaturbedi once again for taking the time and answering our questions. We are really pleased to have walked alongside him on the editorial path that led to the publication of his book A Beginner’s Guide to Spirituality. We wish him the best of luck for this novel and for his future works.
To you, my dear reader, I wish that the messages the author Abhishek Chaturbedi wants to send out with his guide can somehow resonate with something in your soul and in your spirit and that they could genuinely help you to make your life a better life every day!
So, my dear reader, I just have to wish you to enjoy your reading!!!
Your editor!