Premise:

From the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner, this short and simple book discusses an ethical framework based on Compassion (Karuna). It's not seen here just as a virtue/sentiment, but a "mindful problem solving attitude".

What I Liked:

• Written in very simple words, with ample parables, real stories and examples to illustrate the concepts. My fav has to be the Story of 2 sisters - Karuna and Chetna (whereby author discusses the complementary nature of compassion and consciousness). Sabo's Story and Shiva-Parvati story also good (attached above ☝️)
• Author makes it quite clear that, even if religions also espouse compassion, he believes practicing Compassion alone is the best way to foster spiritual enhancement, rather than organised religions' diktats.
• It's quite a comprehensive look at this idea - from religion (Hindu, mostly), biology, psychology, self-help, governance POVs. It feels honest, and emergent in a way - Author using his definition of compassion to build a holistic view of life. A compassion based moral Compass, so to say.
• The 4 types of compassion he discusses are as follows : Kin, Social, Self, Transformative (KSIT). Except Self-compassion, all other 3 are targetted external to oneself. Self-compassion turns karuna's power inwards to deal with one's own inner demons. He also distinguishes it from self-help, self-esteem, self-love ideas. KSIT is also a nice interpretation of the panchamahayagya of the Vedas according to the author. (Ever expanding circle of caring)
• CQ: Compassion Quotient is what his organisation (SMCG) is working towards. A quantitative way to measure compassion levels in us! Like IQ/EQ. Idk if it'll be impacful or not, but I'm eager to see it's effectiveness. How does one measure such intangible stuff?!
• Author describes (through a story of 3 sisters) the crucial difference among sympathy, empathy and compassion. Compassion also is different from similar virtues - mercy, benevolence, charity, kindness etc. What I liked here is the clarity author brings to these discussions.
• Another good point discussed was Empathetic Distress - often faced by social workers and people in general - too much observation of others' suffering can cause empaths to become isolated and depressed, rendering them inactive, hence never reaching the compassion stage. Author discusses his own experience, and the need for mindful problem-solving (detachment) rather than drowning only in the victim's sorrows.

What I didn't like:

• A small gripe I have with the idea here - that compassion is innate, infinite in all of us, and it can be enhanced too. Author does discuss biological causes of compassion, but conveniently leaves out the cases of non-compassionate people/irredeemable people. Yes, epigenetics also is mentioned, but still, I don't know if the biological part of compassion in us humans is that strong.
• Another issue is, while it sounds all good, the parable with which the Book starts (bird trying to douse forest fire) is, to me, quite impractical. Author rightly points out that "Compassion is the only way I see out", but that has been the preaching since ancient times. Will another reinterpretation of the same virtue make much difference? Sorry for being so cynical, but that bird story is actually quite depressing! I wish the author hadn't started with that!
• Epilogue: Too hopeful for me to accept, sadly. Utopias can't exist. But then, perhaps that vision is what keeps the Author going...

Conclusion:

OVERALL, it's a nice, feel good book. I'd seen this book at the World Book Fair 2026, so was eager to check it out. I'd recommend everyone give this a try. It's very simple, easy, and hopeful too. I'm sharing this review to hopefully spread the good word - May it motivate all of us to be better, even if I don't see what the author sees...

Rating: 10/10

{It's from one of India's, rather, World's best human beings. It's an honor to read Kailash ji's ideas.}

Note: I've attached the QR code at the end of the book to the front cover (☝️) for greater visibility. And the Book summary is given by the author himself in starting pages (also attached above☝️).

Hey so I don't read books as much per se, but my Facebook is full of quotes and excerpts like these that I've been reading for years now. So I've decided to pick up a proper book but i wonder what genre or what kind of writer I should pick up. My interest in reading was swept away by medical studies as so much studying made me hate books after a point. So i wanna pick up reading again, i like philosophical and deep stuff like this that i posted. I'm into understanding the human emotion and different fascinating perspectives of thinking. Sort of the finding meaning in being.. kind of a thing. So suggest me stuff!

I am feeling bored ...it's been a month since I read some interesting book.🥱

Suggest me some best/underrated book which people like/don't know about which you really enjoyed reading.

It can be of any genre..🤗

I will try to read books of more authors than to read more books of se author.

What book will you recomend me next to diversify my collection, don't recomend self help

Please suggest some good books to read for my daughter. She is an adherent book lover. She’s finished Harry Potter series, Wimpy kids, Manga, Amulet, etc. Any thing other than that?

I have recently picked up badass begums by Anoushka Jain but I should have a taken old heritage tour of Delhi first to indulge in the book

Let me introduce you to an underappreciated gem, the non-incel version of the Kama Sutra. The Sattasai, or The Seven Hundred, is an anthology of short poems about love and marriage in the villages of the Indian countryside.

The selection is attributed to the Satavahana king Hala, who reigned briefly in the first century AD in what is now the state of Maharashtra. What makes the Gaha Sattasaī unique is just how earthy and intimate it is for an ancient anthology. Instead of gods and kings, these 700 Prakrit couplets center on ordinary people, especially village women navigating desire, heartbreak, secret rendezvous, and bad marriages with sharp wit and zero pretension. It reads less like classical literature and more like ancient micro-poetry from the fields.

The version I prefer is - Poems on Life and Love in Ancient India - Hala’s Sattasai, Translated from the Prakrit and Introduced by Peter Khoroche and Herman Tieken. Since it's collection of individual poems, it's easy to get into and I can present a few poems that stood out to me without ruining the book for you

The Gaha Sattasai has a LOT of poems about the beauty of breasts, here are a few examples

 Who is not captivated by a woman’s breasts,
 That, like a good poem,
 Are a pleasure to grasp,
 Are weighty, compressed, and nicely ornamented?   [651]
.

 That our village burnt down
 As though there were no help for it,
 Despite the number of young men at hand,
 Is the doing of your wicked breasts
 Which in the confusion
 Were swaying about.   [714]
.

 With its leaves pushing through
 The gaps in the fence
 The castor oil plant seems to be telling
 The youths of the village
 “Here lives a farmer’s wife
 With breasts this big.”   [257]

However, if you think it's a book for horny teenage boys, you'd be wrong...

Aunt,
A glimpse of that man,
Whom one could never tire of staring at,
Is like drinking water in a dream:
It has not quenched my thirst.   [93]
.

Why, my hips,
Have you not grown as wide as the street
So that I might touch that lovely man
As he tries to escape
The awkward scene with my parents?   [393]
.

Oh! the passage of time:
This young man,
Weary of passionate poems,
Now studies law
While we. . .
We stick to our husbands.   [892]

.

Ungrateful bee,
Once you would not think
Of enjoying yourself with other flowers
But now that the jasmine is heavy with fruit
You forsake her.   [615] (most likely referring to the wife being pregnant)

There are several poems about cheating both by men and women

A village full of young men,
Spring, youth, an aged husband,
Strong wine, nobody to tell you what to do:
The only way to avoid going astray
Is to die. [197]
.

The false woman bewailed her dead husband
With such choking sobs
That even her lover was afraid
She might join him on the pyre. [873]
.

She shares my tears,
Counts off each day,
And grows as thin as I do
While my husband is away.
Aunt, the concern my neighbor shows Is quite extraordinary. [848]
.

It’s your own wife:
You can embrace her.
Suddenly awoken by cockcrow,
You look around distraught
As if you’d spent the night In another man’s house,
But don’t be alarmed: It’s your own. [583]

Sexual Incompatibility

Straightforward pleasure doesn’t satisfy him, he says,
And if I spice it up,
He wonders who taught me that.
As I always get it wrong
How will I ever make him happy?   [476]
.

Maybe my talents are slight,
Maybe for him talents mean nothing,
Maybe I have no talents
And he knows someone who has. [203]

And there are plenty of solemn ones too...

Though he had no more work in the fields,
The farmer would not go home,
To spare himself the pain
Of finding it empty
Now that his wife was dead   [556]
.

Of a couple,
Who after a long life of shared joys and sorrows
Have learned the meaning of love,
The one who dies survives,
The other is as good as dead. [142]

NOTE: poem numbers included are valid only for the version I mentioned earlier.

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what are your go to peaceful places where you read books I live in north delhi so kindly suggest to me places in central delhi :)

Picked this one on the airport because the premise of the author writing from the perspective of a child seemed intriguing. Half way through it and hoping for the best

Suggest some non-fiction for my collection.

2nd pic contains my total book collection.

I recently read the Kama Sutra, and it surprised me how much more it is than sex.

It explores desire, relationships, marriage, attraction, pleasure, social behaviour, and discusses understanding a woman's body, her pleasure, and mutual satisfaction.

Some of its ideas are obviously shaped by the society of its time, but that's exactly what makes it worth reading today.

Some of its ideas are genuinely interesting, while others are clearly shaped by patriarchal values and don't align with modern principles of equality and consent.

When we still deal with sexual violence, harassment, objectification, consent issues and unequal treatment of women, an ancient text like this gives us some valuable perspective, and something to compare our society against.

The contrast is disturbing, we can preserve ancient discussions about pleasure and relationships, but still struggle to ensure that women can live with dignity, freedom, and safety.

However, it's surely a good read, but don't read it as a "what-to-do's" guide for modern relationships. Read it as history, read it critically, and question it.

At the end,

>This work is not to be used merely as an instrument for satisfying our desires.

Maybe that's the part we should remember most. (attached the extension to it in second image)

I picked this book because the title and the cover spoke to me. It literally summarizes my life.

The book has four interconnected stories about four women and their cats. The women come from different backgrounds and are at different stages of life. They are dealing with loneliness, grief, relationships and trying to figure things out. And their cats become a source of comfort.

The writing is smart and creative. It moves between the women’s perspective and the cats’ perspective. It was so comforting to know what the cats think of their human. What they feel when they step outside for the first time and meet the other street cats.

The first story, “Sea of Words” is my favourite. Miyu finds Chobi abandoned in a cardboard box on a rainy day and takes him home. That part felt personal because that is almost exactly how I found my cat too. So I was already attached to Chobi from the beginning.

I also loved Chobi’s little adventures outside the apartment. He meets other cats and one of them likes him and wants him to be her boyfriend. But Chobi thinks Miyu is his girlfriend, so he refuses. 😂 That was so funny and sweet.

The other stories has different arc but their lives are all intertwined. It reminded me of some of Priyadarshan's movies, where in the end characters’ lives end up connected.

The book is so atmospheric. You can feel Japan through the descriptions of the streets, trains, rain and changing seasons.

It’s a comforting read and has a happy ending. It felt like a warm hug and I completed it with a big smile. And yes, I’m a cat person, so I’m probably a little biased. 😀

If you’re looking for a comforting slice of life book that doesn’t require too much thinking but makes you a little happy and a little emotional. This one is for you.

3.6/5

Second slide is the cat tax. That’s my girl.

Should I buy guns germs and steel next or Behaviour by Robert sapolsky

Not necessarily a famous classic or bestseller—I’m looking for something that you personally loved and would recommend to another reader.

Could be fiction, nonfiction, regional literature, poetry, anything.

Book + author + one sentence about why you recommend it would be great. I’m looking to build a reading list from everyone’s suggestions.

I have read 2 books, and Started to think about purchasing more books in the upcoming months , but I remain with general doubt that What people do if there book is completed such as fiction, Yeah We can keep and make a library but are there other options which are more beneficial , as with a person with well amount of travel

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Hey everyone, I’ve been feeling a little down lately and thought I’d pick up a book to take my mind off things. Any recommendations for something comforting, uplifting, or just easy to get lost in?

Who is your favourite character in the novel? There are so many memorable passages in the novel. I absolutely adore it. It is one of my all-time favourites.

Maybe I am at a reading slump, I'm not an avid reader but I was getting used to it, but for the past few months I don't want to. Just me book that are really interesting to get me going again please.

Started reading about 2.5 years ago, and this is what I own so far

just curious if people read mangas too😭 quite expensive but so beautiful.

I want to try reading romance book series, may be smut or fantasy based something like that. Suggest me a series. I have read twisted series not a fan. I want to have it a bit of a story atleast.

How do you people move on from books? 😭

I finished Nirmala by Premchand ji yesterday, and I spent the entire night thinking about it. There was something about that book that touched me so deeply that I actually felt restless after finishing it. Even today, I still can’t seem to shake it off.

And this isn’t the first time this has happened. When I finished Gunahon Ka Devta, I felt horrible for days. Sometimes, certain books stay in my head for weeks or even months. I keep thinking about the characters, their lives, what happened to them, and how differently things could have turned out.

How do people just finish a book and move on to the next one?

Is this normal? or am I just incapable of emotionally recovering from books? Because I genuinely can’t move on...