Book Review of Maya: I Bow to Thee, You Cannot be Overcome By Prashant Acharya

Maya: The world of Illusion and not mere concept

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ILLUSION” can be best described as “an instance of a wrong or misinterpreted perception of a sensory experience.” In Hindi and many other Indian languages, the word illusion is always termed MAYA.

Author Prashant Acharya through his book, Maya: I Bow to Thee, You Cannot be Overcome, made an effort to bring us closer to the meaning of Maya and its effects and attributes in human life. For me, it was the very first work of the author that I read and got a closer view of the world of MAYA.

What the book narrates?

This book takes a reader on a journey to find the real meaning of Maya. The surprising fact is that many of us talked about it sometime and somewhere in our lives. In most cases, we discussed it unconsciously without understanding the essence of Maya.

Maya is not a mere concept but something which is an integral part of our daily life. In a few situations, we display our biased tendencies when giving reactions towards social scenarios. It makes us partial and ignorant. 

One of my favorite quotes from the book:

Our world is full of Knowledge that harms us. And when I say ‘Our World’ I do not mean the Earth; I mean our personal world, our mind. The aim of spirituality is to rid the mind of false knowledge.

To divert your mind from Maya, you need bodily detachment. You must look for wisdom and take a dip, in the ocean of spirituality.

The book consists of Thirty-Five Chapters. Every Chapter is unique and talks about the enriching experience in varied forms of questions. If you wish, you can randomly pick any chapter to read. But if you read them in the sequence, you will understand MAYA better. The book contains real-life examples that turn it easy for readers to connect with the concept. Want to know about MAYA? Pick this book to learn.

What I liked about the book?

  • Talked about a topic that many of us know but rarely talk about in practical life
  • Discussed some of the materialistic scenarios of life in a reader-friendly manner
  • Explained Maya and its materialistic approach toward human lives
  • Explained how to maintain a bigger yet balanced thought process toward Maya
  • The writing style of the author is simple and lucid
  • The cover design is excellent
  • Offers informative content about Maya 

What I disliked about the book?

  • Yes, I indeed liked the book, but there are a few things that are known and unnecessarily over-explained, like fillers.
  • Despite the brilliant writing style, the book is very slow-paced. Readers may lose interest to read, after a few chapters.
  • Some chapters are quite boring and talk about things that can get ignored.
  • Lacks crispness in the presentation, which turned the book bit lengthy. 

Final Verdict

Maya – A topic well explained in this book. People with a strong inclination toward spirituality will find the book, worth a read. Considering the likes and dislikes mentioned, I give this book, a rating of 3.5/5.