BOOK REVIEW - "The Choice is yours"

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BOOK REVIEW

"THE CHOICE IS YOURS"

Author: Sri Satakopan Iyengar of Coimbatore.

Published by: SRIsukti Pracharini Sabha, Singapore

Year 2005

Price: Rs.450 in India (US $ 25 in other countries)

 

Copies available with:

K.Satakopan Iyengar, 39 T.Nagar I Street

Ramanathapuram, Coimbatore - 641 045 INDIA

Phone: 0422 - 2310 576

 

Srisukti Pracharini Sabha

Blk-611, #02-171

Choa Chu Kang Street - 62

Singapore - 680 611

Tel: 6877 0248

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One may be proficient in one or more subjects. Another may have the gift of

the gab to convey ideas. Yet another may be excellent in expounding the

deeper nuances of the subjects.

 

The danger in attempting to translate from one language to another has been

well brought out by Sir Walter Scott - “The noble transmutation is from gold

to lead”. We may perhaps add “from the sublime to the ridiculous”. To

reverse this process and to transform the idiomatic expressions of one

language into those of another foreign language without jeopardizing the

spirit of the original is really a feat that very few can boast of. Like an

alchemist who can transform base metal into gold, only some may be able to

sublimate even ridiculous looking commonplace ideas into great philosophical

thoughts while presenting them in a manner understandable by lay folks.

 

If there is one among us who combines in himself all these and more, surely

it is our dear Sri Sadagopan Iyengar Swami of Coimbatore. His style of

writing is as inimitable as his humility in his approach to men and matters

incomparable and his Achaarya Bhakti unfathomable. No wonder readers

literally fall in love with his expositions and yearn to enjoy his nectarine

outpourings that he generously showers from time to time. The sprinkling of

appropriate quotes from scriptures that he provides is neither forbiddingly

numerous (a foible that many claiming to be pundits fall for) nor appearing

to be inadequate in the contexts.

 

Though the title says “The choice is yours”, in reality we seem to have no

choice at all! Every single article enshrined in his “Essays on the Eternal”

or the present one, “The Choice is yours” is a gem and a master piece and

one cannot choose one article over another. This speaks volumes about the

magic wand that he wields to spin his stories.

 

We take pride in the fact that he is the Srikaryam Swami of our “Swami

Desika Darsana Satasangam” (SDDS) and its electronic Journal “Sri Ranga Sri”

(SRS), who (in spite of his busy schedule as a Senior Bank Officer

constantly “on the move”) is coordinating between the Administration on the

one hand and the Board of Advisory Consultants on the other and is really

crucial to the success of your Journal.

 

We wish him all the best in life. From a purely enlightened self interest

angle; we wish his providing us with an unending stream of articles that

proclaim his seal of excellence.

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