tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3888736451965206055.post749276353282106844..comments2024-03-17T16:53:40.334+05:30Comments on WINNOWED: Dirk Collier's "The Emperor's Writings" – A Book ReviewWinnowedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11073005581801465319noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3888736451965206055.post-49625699638721232752012-11-15T10:19:39.545+05:302012-11-15T10:19:39.545+05:30i find your writings to be quite lucid and engagin...i find your writings to be quite lucid and engaging.the way these books have been narrated makes me yearn to read these masterpieces.i have read Delhi thrice, and am travelling those times once again.<br />khushwant is a writer who knows how to put forward even the most serious content in a good-humoured way.i too write bits and pieces at times, but lack the congruity to continue with one subject for a long enough time.but i takes a bit of maturity to get above the apparently lecherous narrations and get through to the real content.it is good in a way.it keeps the non-serious and un-deserving away! @marhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18040106113106743722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3888736451965206055.post-15995996360138222772011-06-14T17:08:50.819+05:302011-06-14T17:08:50.819+05:30Arun Mehta, Mumbai, writes,
Dirk Collier’s “The E...Arun Mehta, Mumbai, writes,<br /><br />Dirk Collier’s “The Emperor’s Writings” is a masterpiece. One of the finest books written on the Moghuls. It is a book as much about Akbar as it is about management strategies, as much about state craft as about principle of parenting. The book is sprinkled with nuggets of wisdom on almost every page. <br /><br />• “The victorious and the powerful may never be short of friends and supporters, but let them not be deceived: loneliness, bitter loneliness is the fate of the defeated” <br /><br />• “Good ideas are goods ideas, no matter where they come from, my son” <br /><br />• “The path of self-indulgence may be pleasant and easy to follow, but it does not lead to God much less does it lead to success in this world.” <br /><br />• “Be aware my son, that the first and foremost task of a King is to conquer himself.”<br /><br />• “A wise King will be careful my son, he will check, recheck and check again. He will never confide in just one single individual.” <br /><br />• “When you leave a void, you should not be surprised to find others make haste to fill it. When the elephant leaves, the tiger returns.”<br /><br />• “Never forget people are moved by mainly two things; their own self interest and fear; a wise ruler knows how to make judicious use of both.”<br /><br />• “My God deliver me from my friends and I will gladly deal with my enemies.”<br /><br />• “He who tries to escape from the world in the joys of leisure, will soon discover that the neglect of duties unsettles the mind and fills it with remorse and sadness.”<br /><br />• “Power is a dangerous thing my son. It poisons even the purest of minds.”<br /><br />• “Eagerness to learn is the beginning of all wisdom.” <br /><br />• “Strong real Kings, are never afraid to attract strong and talented helpers, who will help them grow and rise above themselves.”<br /><br />• “Only those who are not lazy, my son, can really enjoy the rewards of relaxation.”<br /><br />• “The difference between truth and lie is the distance between eye and ear, because what we see with our eyes is true, but what we hear with our own ears usually is not.”<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />• In Epilog (1) of the book, Mulazimm Hakim Ali Gilani says that Akbar’s view on religion was, “In the end, his concept of religion was a rather simple one. There is but on God, and all must worship and honor Him, and allow other people to do so in the way they prefer. All must subdue evil passions and practice virtue. All must be led by reason and not merely bow to the authority of any one man or tradition. Differences in creed or ritual are of little importance; the people of the land should be united under their king, whom God has placed above them, and whose duty is to serve God through bringing justice and prosperity to the people entrusted to his care.” <br /><br />• “Akbar fundamentally was an eclectic, a rationalist as well as a mystic, who came to regard all religious as merely human attempts to honor and serve an ineffable, unattainable Reality. In his words: Each person, according to his personal condition, gives the Supreme Being a Name, but in reality, to name the Unknowable is vain.” <br /><br />Dirk Collier’s knowledge and understanding of Islam and Hinduism is profound and he has written with reverence. The Emperor’s Writing is a timeless book, a classic.Arun Mehtanoreply@blogger.com