The Bhishma Way

Contemporary dilemmas, whether in business or politics, bear an uncanny resemblance to the predicaments witnessed in the ever-timely epic, the Mahabharata. Who else but Bhishma Pitamah then to the rescue of the modern-day manager, politician or bureaucrat! In the epic, Bhishma is the upholder of truth and dharma, his life shaped by the difficult choices he makes. He isn’t always infallible, but even where his decisions are questionable, he serves as a role model. Prof. N. Balasubramanian uses this powerful figure and his selfless values as a guide to make the right choices in The Bhishma Way. He discusses the importance of values, dharma, truth, justice and governance in businesses and governments. Analyses of real-life cases—among them, Union Carbide and the Bhopal gas tragedy, James Hardie and asbestos in Australia, and Ok Tedi in Papua New Guinea—complement the mythological stories and insightful anecdotes in this illuminating and thought-provoking book. This serves as an instructive read for anyone striving for a higher moral code in day-to-day decision-making and leadership.

Book I: The Making of Bhishma, portrays the world of Hastinapura as its rulers try to manage the crisis. It explores the impact of this conflict on the life of Devavrata (Bhishma), eldest son of Shantanu, ruler of Hastinapura. His mother had committed suicide since the Kavi Sangha's one-family-one-child policy has required her to sacrifice seven of her children. Subsequently, Devavrata is disinherited so Shantanu can marry Satyavati, who demands the Kavi Sangha policies not apply to her. In a moment of anger, Devavrata vows to remain celibate. On the death of his father, he and Satyavati are compelled to rule as co-Regents for her underage sons - Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. But Devavrata is unable to prevent Chitrangada's murder by the invading Shakas. His subsequent actions to protect the borders of Hastinapura earn him the cognomen Bhishma (The Terrible). A secret love affair with Amba is cut short when she disappears. Vichitravirya dies just before his sons are born and Devavrata once again becomes co-Regent for his nephews, Dhritarashtra and Pandu. He narrates much of this story on his deathbed, as a prisoner of the sons of Pandu; other narrators fill in what he could not have known. At the end of his life, Devavrata muses over all that he gave up and left unmade in his own life while he built the Kuru Empire - an empire over which the Great War was fought.

Samson leaves his illustrious, high-profile career in Bangalore to mentor and lead a family-owned business in the middle east. Samson, his wife Stella, and their eldest son Kenneth, all thrive in the new environment. Oman turns out to be a hidden jewel with many wonderful places to visit especially in Muscat. They truly enjoy the company of Omani people who are very friendly and hospitable. But suddenly everything falls apart. Samson’s professional life becomes a rubble by some dramatic happenings. Everything happening around him seems surreal. Along with his family, he is compelled to leave the country and the onslaught on the Covid pandemic makes their life a more complicated. The family then lands in Canada. How did they navigate the adversity with dignity while staying together? What brings closure to the nightmare? Welcome to Juvenile Adults, it’s not just an oxymoron, it’s the surreal story of Samson’s life. This volatile and endearing tale will take you through some of the most beautiful places in Oman and Canada while narrating Samson’s take on gamification theories, lessons on family business management, and even Mahabharata. You also get to enjoy the micro-fiction stories on the oxymorons of life.

The pedigree of being a demi-god in his previous life and the scion of the foremost dynasty in the Aryavarta should have ensured a smooth life for Prince Devavrata. But, it was not to be. His upbringing by Goddess Ganga herself and training under the best Gurus of his time could not change his destiny in any way. His struggle to keep his dynasty afloat lasted his entire lifetime. Despite repeated counselling from his mother, Vedvyasa and Vidura, among many others, the feeling of having failed in his primary mission of protecting the Kuru dynasty haunted him even on his bed of arrows. Although he was revered and simultaneously feared as Bhishma, he spent his entire life in a struggle to resolve his internal as well as external turmoil. Like ordinary mortals, it seems that the extensive knowledge of scriptures gained from his guru Maharishi Vasishta did not, in any way, help him in overcoming his miseries. Bhishma would have been known only as a great warrior and someone who resolutely stood by his word, had it not been for the grace of Sri Krishna which brought forth the other facet of his personality of being a Brahmagyani. That enabled him to address all queries of Yudhishthira, lying as he was on the bed of arrows, before his departure from this world.

A powerful reimagining of the story of Ganga, goddess of the river, and her doomed mortal son, from Vaishnavi Patel, author of the instant New York Times bestseller Kaikeyi. A mother and a son. A goddess and a prince. A curse and an oath. A river whose course will change the fate of the world. Ganga, joyful goddess of the river, serves as caretaker to the mischievous godlings who roam her banks. But when their antics incur the wrath of a powerful sage, Ganga is cursed to become mortal, bound to her human form until she fulfills the obligations of the curse. Though she knows nothing of mortal life, Ganga weds King Shantanu and becomes a queen, determined to regain her freedom no matter the cost. But in a cruel turn of fate, just as she is freed of her binding, she is forced to leave her infant son behind. Her son, prince Devavrata, unwittingly carries the legacy of Ganga’s curse. And when he makes an oath that he will never claim his father’s throne, he sets in motion a chain of events that will end in a terrible and tragic war. As the years unfold, Ganga and Devavrata are drawn together again and again, each confluence another step on a path that has been written in the stars, in this deeply moving and masterful tale of duty, destiny, and the unwavering bond between mother and son.

In the age of Kali, you need a new path to achieve all that you dream of. What if someone told you that those age-old lessons on which you’ve based your whole life are ineffective today? What if they also told you that you could live a better, more fulfilling life by following the path of the Asuras? Is it not worth investigating what made the Asuras so successful against even the gods and trying to learn from them in this age of strife, chaos, and discord? In his first nonfiction work, Anand Neelakantan, the national bestselling author of Asura: Tale of the Vanquished, explores a contrarian way of living that makes more sense in this Kali Yuga. With great skill and logic, Anand shatters the myths associated with the so-called six enemies of the mind—anger, passion, greed, infatuation, pride, and competitive spirit. He explains how following conventional advice holds you back from achieving success and happiness in life. Using riveting examples from mythology, he demonstrates how these same six qualities can propel you in the direction of success and help you achieve your goals.

Man is a social animal; no man can live in isolation. We are surrounded by people. We have family, friends, social acquaintances, work acquaintances and so on. Since the time of our birth, we add names, relationships and people in our social calendars. They become an integral part of our lives as we interact with them on a daily basis. If a person does not acquire knowledge or does not put their common sense to use, continues to live an ignorant life or chooses to remain blind, it is the worst kind of life. It is a life of misery and ill luck. In Mahabharata Retold Part-1, we saw the reasons behind the war. Mahabharata Retold Part-2 marks the best and worst times of one’s life and the time after such a period. Life never ends. We gain and lose in the same life. Our decisions are right at one stage of life and the same decisions stand wrong on another. Life is a series of changes that are unpredictable by the human mind. It not only covers the greatest war of mankind but also tells us what happened after it—how war changes the world around us. Mahabharata’s war was not the only purpose of this Veda’s compilation.