REVIEW OF NECTAR OF ALL WORLD RELIGIONS BY ISHWAR JOSHI AWALGAONKAR

Reading, or rather studying about the teachings of any religion is always more than what meets the eyes. It is never merely just understanding it, but rather making ourselves acquainted with the propagation and functioning. 

The Blurb is as follows:

Like a bee that goes to all the flowers in the garden and collects their essence to create Nectar - Ishwar read over 5,000 pages of the Holy books of all major 12 world religions over a period of 5 years. From these books he selected 1,000 quotes to capture the Essence of their Teachings and Wisdom. These selected quotes are presented to you in this book.

This book is unlike a typical one which you read from cover to cover. Each line and verse has been chosen for its depth and breadth of wisdom. Ishwar's suggestion for you is to read one verse per day and fully appreciate it, what it means to you and how it can be applicable to you in your everyday life. You could setup a recurring reminder on your Calendar to do this.

If you read through and fully appreciate all the selected teachings of your own religion in this book - the hope is that this could be valuable to you in dealing with the ups and downs of your life over time. You could also go beyond that and read about other religions and their teachings in the book. This could help expand your mind and your perspective on life & the varied rich traditions around the world.

These selected quotes are presented ‘raw’ without any commentary or analysis. Because Ishwar believes that adding commentary would be akin to him standing next to you on top of a mountain peak and talking incessantly. He would rather escort you to the towering mountain peak or the majestic ocean and fall silent to let you commune with it, to let it fully and deeply sink in and give you the unlimited joy, peace and tranquility that it naturally emanates.

My Review:

As the title of the book suggests, ‘Nectar of All World Religions’ by Ishwar Joshi Awalgaonkar is a definitive guide for showcasing and introducing the essential elements and teachings of the World's Predominant faiths.

As it may appear, we see that the book focuses on the inner dimension of these religions rather than their institutional dimensions, thereby making the readers much more relatable to it. 

By the way of the book, the author has tried to convey the unique appeal and the characteristics of each of the traditions that are especial in their own way and has also narrated and enumerated the way each of them can impact our lives and the hold that they have on our mind and imagination.

Whether we are devoted to our beliefs and have been following certain practices over the years or either we have never even given a thought about any particular one, the book makes you interested to recognize and acknowledge all that is around us. 

Beginning with Bahai, over the course of the entirety of the book, the author has given us some basic history and foundation of that particular religion, then explained about the particular symbol that pertains to it, and last but not least, has mentioned the selections, quotes and teachings which he got away from it, and which will be quite useful for the readers as well. 

While the readers like me may be well versed in their particular religion and its teachings, it was interesting to read about the other selections as there were few which I hadn't even heard about before. Hence I am going to give this book FIVE NECTAR STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐