Wednesday, April 26, 2006

CODE NAME GOD






'code name god' by mani bhaumik. the spiritual odyssey of a man of science. it is not a book on religion. it is not a da vinci code type of book. it is a gripping reallife story of the author from rags to riches. dr mani bhaumik,a ph.d from iit kharagpur in physics and a post doctorate from UCLA and a co-patenter of the laser technology that has revolutionised eye correction by LASIK has seen it all.

he owns a bungalow and lives in beverly hills,and has four more. he led a fasttrack life when he made a huge fortune from his patent. he featured in the 'lifestyles of the rich and famous' serial. he had a romantic linkup with eva gabor. and then when the relationship broke up,he went into a long period of depression. his spiritual tool-kit enabled him to pull himself out from the vortex he was swirling in.

born in a a village in west bengal on a mud floor and son of a school teacher,mani bhaumik was a bright student. his father was a freedom fighter and mani spent some time in a mahatma gandhi camp. that left a deep impression on him. his family was religious and his parents and grandparents inculcated our traditional religious and cultural values into him. he listened to the translations of the vedas and upanishads and was struck with the saying "aham brahmasmi". i am part of brahman,the supreme power.

when there was a severe famine in west bengal,his family had hardly any food to eat. his grandmother gave away the little food that she received so that her grandson may live. that act left a lasting impression on the young mani. he realised during his personal crisis that happiness is an "inside job" and he began a serious study of the connection and complementarity between science and religion. the integration of mind and matter. the outcome of that study is the book that was released on monday 24th at crossword,kemps corner,mumbai.

dr bhaumik,76, is the founder of mani bhaumik educational foundation providing scholarships for the study of science and medicine to the poor and meritorious students. he continues to receive international recognition and he has rubbed shoulders with the high and mighty. he has successfully attempted to find a common platform between eastern mysticism and spirituality and western science. advances in quantum physics and cosmology are bringing science and religion closer to each other than ever before. as albert einstein said "science without religion is lame and religion without science is blind".

it is only 222 pages of easy reading. i recommend it strongly. it is published by penguin and is a 'los angeles times' best- seller.

1 comment:

rums said...

that was a really nice review uncle, now i feel like reading the book!!