Chennai
It is the first time the concept of the Gita has been translated into a modern and engaging story. We have taken the epic battle within the Gita, brought out its universal message, and transported it into the body of a young boy, Dev. Having recently lost his father, we meet Dev in a state of turmoil, lashing out at those around him. But then he meets Sanjay, a sprite-like being who represents divine introspection. As Sanjay enters Dev’s body and travels up his spine through a yogic route of chakras, we are able to explore the metaphor of good and bad — the battle within the Gita — residing within us all. On his journey, Sanjay encounters worlds of darkness, greed, rage, fire, until finally, he finds Arjun, on the battlefield, ready to face his enemy and cousin Dhuryodana, who we have called Prince Ego. In a retelling of the famous moment that is the foundation of the Gita, Arjun hesitates, and it is now that Sanjay sees Krishna, Arjun’s Guru and friend. Here, on the battlefield for the boy’s heart, we are privy to their conversation, we see how even the great warrior Arjun struggles to overcome his bad tendencies, and we realise that this is the challenge for Dev too, for all of us: how to face and defeat the bad, and open our hearts to the good,” says Sonal about the book published by HarperCollins.
The compelling reason for writing the book was Sonal’s and Jemma’s desire to make timeless and much-needed messages of the Gita accessible to children. “We want the Gita to be the book that children read over and over again, that speaks to them in a modern and actionable way and helps guide them through their lives. This is needed now, more than ever, with rising rates of depression and mental health issues. We have the guidance we need in our own holy scriptures — we just need to access them,” shares Jemma.
The author duo says there is no dearth of good children’s book in our country and has many talented children’s authors. “However, there is a place for a fun and engaging book based on the Gita, which is written in a way that children cannot only relate to but actually apply in their everyday lives,” adds Jemma.
The duo has been friends since they were little girls and have grown up together — from learning ballet as toddlers to studying at Cambridge University. Their partnership worked well as they both brought different aspects to the book. “Sonal brought knowledge and understanding of mediation and the Gita, and I brought my expertise in creative writing. Together we came up with the unique concept of this story which was a very special process for us, and enlightening in itself,” shares Jemma.
Our tradition and culture are so valuable for our children and they need to embrace them. “If they are blindly following rituals, they will not make their culture a part of themselves. Just knowing about the battle of Kurukshetra, and the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna is not enough and can be perceived as simply a story. However, if children can truly understand the deeper meanings behind our spiritual texts — then they will be the ambassadors of our culture and will pass it onto future generations,” believes Sonal.
Their main inspiration was the Gita translation by Paramahansa Yogananda, who has been Sonal’s guru for over 20 years. He explained the deeper meanings of the characters in the Gita and also the link to meditation. “In order to make some of these complex messages more accessible, we intertwined the key messages of the Gita with an adventure story of a young boy that children can identify with. The key for us was to make the story engaging and gripping in itself, with the messages of the Gita subtly weaving their way into the child’s consciousness at different levels,” share the duo.
The important takeaway from the book is that we can all use meditation and right activity to create peace and happiness in our lives. “Also, that the Gita is a timeless spiritual text with concepts that are fully applicable to children’s modern-day lives,” sums up Sonal.
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