Book Reviewed: Parables by Swami Chinmayananda

The Hindu Dharma and Vedanta as illustrated from simple stories

The parables described in this book are simple, succinct, didactic stories narrated in prose style, which illustrates the basic concepts of Vedanta philosophy. The stories are simple but the teachings are profound precepts from Swami Chinmayananda. These parables inspire and remind us of the wisdom of Advaita Vedanta with the emphasis on the teachings Upanishads and Bhagavadgita. The stories teaches us to sow the seeds of self-discovery, and help it grow into a tree of self-knowledge culminating in self-realization and unification with the Brahman.

Parables are powerful means of teaching the message of God, and Jesus himself used them in his message about the kingdom of God. In this book the author describes 25 simple stories from which the principles of Vedanta is made apparent. For example, in the story of Mahanta (Chapter 3), Swami exemplifies the teachings of Bhagavadgita 16.13

Avibhaktam cha bhooteshu vibhaktamiva cha sthitam;
Bhootabhartru cha tajjneyam grasishnu prabhavishnu cha.
Translation: Without and within (all) beings, the unmoving and also the moving; because of His
Subtlety, unknowable; and near and far away is That.

In the story of Rama Sharma (Chapter 13), Swami Chinmayananda illustrates the teachings of Isavasya Upanishad verse 1.
Savasyam idam sarvam yat kim ca jagatyam jagat, tena tyaktena bhunjitha, ma gridhah kasyasvid dhanam in which it states that: "The entire universe is enveloped by the Supreme Being."
The author says that we must renounce the material aspects of nature first before we find peace.

Two most important stories from Upanishads are of course the much-celebrated story of Nachiketas. He was taught Self-knowledge and the separation of the Supreme Self from body by the god of Death Himself, Yama. Nachiketas is noted for his rejection of material desires which are ephemeral and for his single-minded pursuit of the path of realizing Brahman and the emancipation of the soul from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Another well-known story is that of Satyakama Jabala which appears in Chapter IV of Chandogya Upanishad. His teacher Sage Haridrumata Gautama sets him with task from which he learns the Nature of Brahman, The Ultimate Reality and Pure Consciousness.

The book is easy to read and the complexities of Vedanta is reduced. The message is illustrated in the form of simple stories. Recommended to readers interested in Vedanta.