Book Review - Many lives, Many Masters by Dr Brian L Weiss

I like to think of myself as a reader, who loves to curl up with a nice book and a cup of tea, eager to be led on by the book and happily resigning worldly cares for the next several hours.  However, ever since the birth of my daughter I have not had that luxury, what with being busy taking care of a very active baby and too tired to focus on the book when I get a little respite from all the chores.  With this book I went back to such an engrossed reading, completing the 16 chapters in about 30 hours, a personal feat of sorts.

I am a great believer of coincidences.  I had heard about this book a couple of years earlier and even though I had the time to read, I did not bother to get the book and start reading.  And then this week I happened to come across this book and immediately was intrigued, and till the last page was turned I was able to sustain my curiosity, primarily because of the subject matter.

It deals with reincarnations, communication in the spiritual plane etc.  This book is written by an eminent psychiatrist Dr. Weiss, who, in the course of therapy with a young patient makes some mind-blowing revelations, forcing him to question and change his well-accepted scientific views on understanding Life.  

Even though it may not be generally known, the concept of this book, i.e. reincarnation didn’t take me by surprise.  Because of my Hindu background (which believes in reincarnations of the soul, till it is finally released from such a birth and death circle and attains Moksha or "Release".  The release has to happen because the soul learns the lessons it has to learn, and if in one lifetime it is unable to do so, it takes another and then another till it finally has fulfilled its mission), I didn’t fall down from the chair in shock, the earth beneath me did not shatter when the author talked about messages being conveyed from in between births.  

To me the take home message was this: we are all busy with life, getting educated in early life, earning our living, stabilizing in our career; we get caught up in mundane existence and in the process we fail to understand our purpose for life, but all along getting rigid about our opinions and outlook: what were we put here for?  The sooner we understand and implement our learned lessons, the better it is, on a spiritual level; that would give us lasting peace.  And how do we achieve this harmony?  Only by introspection and meditation etc.

For me, on a personal level this book is momentous because I feel coming across this book now and reading it means that the time is just right for me to introspect and understand the purpose of my life, instead of shoving it under the carpet yet another time.