Book Review - The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

Author - Robin Sharma.

To begin with, I liked the book - though not the entire part. In general I liked the concept but at some places it becomes boring and impracticable. Overall, I would recommend it especially for those who live a fast paced life.

To go into the details, its a story of a highly successful lawyer. In the middle of his glorious career, he faces a heart attack. Its a result of a hectic routine and complete lack of caring for health. He uses this event as a blessing in disguise and goes to the East looking for Peace of Mind - This is the part that does not make sense. I think that its only because the author is Indian that the lawyer comes to India - another reason might be to woo the Indian readers :-)

But once on a visit to Nirvana, this lawyer learns some techniques of quality living. He then comes back and passes on the knowledge to an ex-colleague. The part that I liked the most was the list of 10 rules for radiant living -

1. Ritual of Solitude.

2. Live nourishment - Eat healthy food. Though I don't quite agree with the concept of eating veg because I love Chicken and Mutton :-)

3. Physical nourishment - Daily exercise

4. The Ritual of a Congruent Character - To build a morale and conscience and to envision a mission for life

5. Abundance of Knowledge - In short the habit of reading (good!) books. "He who doesn't read good books has no advantage over those who cannot read them"

6. Self introspection / reflection

7. The Ritual of Music

8. The Ritual of the spoken word - e.g. Some mantras or some Pledge etc.

9. The Ritual Of Early Awakening

10. The Ritual of Simplicity

If taken seriously, the book has the potential to make a real impact on your life.

The thing that I loved the most about the book was its name. Its a great idea to name something like that. When you hear the words "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari", You immediately start thinking about - How did a Monk own a Ferrari? Or How did a Ferrari owner become a Monk, and Why the hell did he sell it? But its a very good way of capturing a reader.

Cheers,
- Tosh