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Dale Carnegie once remarked: “One of the tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming by our windows today”. That is precisely the message that Eckhart Tolle conveys in ‘The Power of NOW - a guide to Spiritual Enlightenment’. Through the use of simple, lucid language, this self-help book illustrates the importance of today in our lives. A unique question-answer format guides us towards spiritual Enlightenment and shows how procrastination can prove to be the enemy of human mind.
The author’s understanding of the human mind comes across through the various chapters in this extremely beneficial self-help book. It is a self help book in the real sense of the word. By no means easy to read, one will never be ready to fully live or practice it till one actually is. What Eckhart's power of Now does in fact do, is to manage to sow a seed of knowledge within you. As the writer himself points out that at a later time (when probably you are more ready), the "seed that has grown while reading this book will merge with the seed of enlightenment that each human being carries within and suddenly that seed will sprout and come alive within them" He opines that the truth already exists within the human mind and we need not go hunting in search of the same.He provides a pause (an artistically drawn S) symbol after certain passages in the book as he feels it will be important for the reader to pause a while, stop reading, "become still" to “feel and experience the truth of what has just been said.” In one place he asks "Can you be free of your mind whenever you want? Have you found the 'Off' button?" Tolle tries to instil the thought in our mind that ‘Nothing exists outside the NOW’. As you pause to consider what the writer just said, most of you will find yourself asking this question "Does the past or the future take up a great deal of my attention and time".
Tolle teaches you to Die to the past every moment becasue you don't need it. He makes a distinction between your life and your life situation.. he says "your lfie situation consists of your cicrumstances and your experiences while your life is your deepest inner being. The only point of access to life, to Being is is Now.It is when you finally accept what you have got, you are grateful for what you have got, grateful for what IS grateful of BEING...then this prosperity manifests for you in many ways.
The book begins with Tolle's own story of early despair and his bouts of suicidal depression that culminated in a life-transforming experience of enlightenment at the age of 29, which finally made him a spiritual teacher.In the course of the book, he suggests that the moment we are conscious of our thoughts and try to rack our brains thinking about what we are thinking, we actually reach nowhere. Only when we get out of this ‘state of consciousness’ does our mind again begin its ‘noise-making activity’ i.e. it resumes thinking. In his own words, “To be conscious of Being, you need to reclaim consciousness from the mind. This is one of the most essential tasks on your spiritual journey." He points out that the single most vital step on your journey toward enlightenment is to learn to disidentify from your mind.
In the chapter titled Consciousness: The Way out of Pain, Tolle requests us not to overburden the ‘present’ with pains that are completely uncalled for. Pain is self-created as long as ‘the unobserved mind runs your life.’ The mind usually tries to resist the ‘NOW’. Since the mind cannot function without time, it visualises the ‘timeless NOW’ as threatening. Time and mind are thus inseparable. A simple question may arise in our minds that I cannot believe there can be a time when I can be free of all my problems. To this, the author reasons that this is indeed true as it is not possible to ‘reach’ that point as you ‘are’ at that point ‘NOW’.
Tolle also discusses relationships at length. Unless we access the consciousness frequency of presence, all relationships, and especially intimate relationships, are deeply flawed and ultimately dysfunctional.
The more we learn to forgive and forget, the more we are open towards people and learn to love everyone without any pretensions. Romantic inclinations are much sought after mainly because they seem to offer liberation from a deep-seated sense of incompleteness that is part of the human psyche. Once with a partner, it becomes equally important to create space for your better-half in a relationship.
If there is anger, fear, frustration, jealousy or other such emotions in a relationship, which is very natural, it is imperative to know the reality of that moment and hold that knowing. That relationship then, in essence becomes a spiritual practice.
The Power of Now serves to provide an answer to all problems and miseries of life i.e. the easiest way out of a problem is to face it and not ignore it. When one is in the crossroads of his life, the power of Now can provide the ‘inner peace’ that he is desperately looking for. This book will turn out to be your soulmate once you discover the spirit of love that emanates from it.
It makes the statement of A.J Cronin ring true in our minds. Cronin had aptly stated, “ Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow. It only saps today of its strength.” Keeping this in mind, it is easy to understand why NOW with its all-encompassing power is so important in daily life.
Design: Suparna Sengupta
Review: Moitrayee Bhaduri
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| The Power Of Now |
by Eckhart Tolle
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