Radhakrishnan Pillai - Chanakya in you: adventures of a modern kingmaker

Published by Jaico Publishing House
A-2 Jash Chambers, 7-A Sir Phirozshah Mehta Road
Fort, Mumbai 400 001
www.jaicobooks.com

Radhakrishnan Pillai

CHANAKYA IN YOU
ISBN 978-81-8495-660-3

First Jaico Impression: 2015

No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

To all my readers who have inspired me to write this book.

Grandpas Advice

I once had a very loving grandpa

I guess all grandpas are loving. But the bond I shared with my grandpa was different. First of all, I had only ever known one grandpa in my life the father of my father. Also, I was brought up in a metropolitan city, while my grandparents lived in a village.

So, every vacation I looked forward to visiting them. It was a special event for both me and my grandparents. They waited eagerly for their grandchildren to come home and spend time with them. As a child I knew that with them around me, no one in this entire world would dare object to my pranks not even my own parents. I had full freedom to do whatever I wanted!

There is a saying, Why are grandparents and grandchildren close to each other? Because they have a common enemy in between

So, the bond between these two generations is very unique. While you are a parent, you are burdened with so many responsibilities, that it is difficult to dedicate enough quality time to your kids even though you really want to.

As for our grandparents, since they have all the time in the world, they need someone to pass on their love and experience to. They find lifes fulfillment in their grandchildren. And the kids in turn look forward to receiving their wisdom in the form of stories, long walks in the gardens, fields and market places.

My grandpa was a master storyteller; he had so much to tell us. While many of these stories were from his own life, most of them were from the lives of others. He would lead us to his library, which was full of books, while grandma was busy in the kitchen preparing a variety of delicacies for everyone.

At the time, my cousins and I were not really interested in the books he held so dear, yet his library was amazing. It was his private den, with neatly arranged books classified and categorized and each covered and neatly labeled. He even showed us a register, where he maintained a list of the type of books he had: from science to world literature, and poems to paintings, he had books spanning a wide range of interests. But I was far more interested in listening to his stories than reading those, heavy, wordy books. Besides, grandpa had a knack for recalling events from different books he had read and weaving them into stories that we as kids could understand.

One of my senior cousins, who was very studious, once asked him, Grandpa, what is more important: reading books or listening to stories?

Both! he said with great enthusiasm. Not everybody has the interest and patience to read books, but everyone likes to listen to stories. And you will find that when you pay attention to the story, you will never be the same person again. But given that you he pointed to all of us sitting around him, are fortunate to go to school, you must make the effort to actually read books.

It felt like grandpa had conveyed a message to me. We were the lucky few who were blessed with good education and so, we should read books. There are many children in the world, who do not have the privilege to go to school and therefore cannot read or write. Instead, their only path to wisdom is through the tradition of story-telling. And so, from that day on, I decided to put my efforts into reading books, the very habit grandpa had cultivated all his life.

That evening, we were to be taken to the market along with my grandma, uncles and aunts. We looked forward to the outing as we knew we would be treated to some delicious roadside snacks. But for some reason, I did not feel like going out; I just wanted to spend time with grandpa.

When all my cousins had left, I hurried to the library to find my grandpa. He was sitting in his chair, engrossed in some books spread on the table. When he looked up, he was surprised to see me standing all alone.

Why did you not go to the market?

I quietly said, Grandpa, I want to see your books!

He had a smile on his face as if to say, Okay, my dear little one, welcome to the world of books!

Over the next one hour, he took me through every rack he had organized. He opened some of the books he held so dear and showed me the notes contained in each one of them.

What really attracted me was the number of books he had on ancient Indian wisdom. He had everything from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Upanishads to the fables of Panchatantra. I realized then where he got all his stories from.

Suddenly, a question hit me and I asked him Which of these books is your favourite, grandpa?

Kautilyas Arthashastra, he replied instantaneously. What is that? I wondered.

Reading my mind, grandpa picked up the book and led me back to his table.

Kautilya was also known as Chanakya.

Soon, a new world of stories began unfolding before me

The History of India

T he loud, excited voices in the distance announced my cousins arrival home. They all rushed into grandpas study with two intentions: to let grandpa know they were ready for more stories, and to make me feel jealous that I had missed all the fun they had at the market. But my cousins had no idea that I had only gained by remaining home with my grandpa. I will forever treasure those special moments with him.

Once again, we sat down around grandpa to hear his next story. For my cousins, it was a new story, but for me, it was to understand what Kautilyas Arthashastra was.

Grandpa had a fascinating way of building up the story before he came to the point. We could visualize the events as though they were unravelling before our very eyes and we were a living part of that moment. He had the amazing ability to spark our imagination.

The history of India is very unique, he began. It is rich and vast. It is about the huge monuments such as forts, palaces and temples; it is about personalities, like kings and saints; it is about literature that describes various subjects, ranging from science to art. But most importantly, our history is about spirituality.

Spirituality? one of my cousins asked.

Yes. Spirituality is mans search for God; the search for the meaning of life. It is a journey from being ordinary to becoming extraordinary, to discover your huge inner potential and the ability to achieve the impossible. Yet, spirituality is about overcoming your ego.

He was describing the essence of Indian history in a few, yet profound words.

Where can we find spirituality in India? asked a curious cousin of mine.

Everywhere. Its all over. You can see it in the temples and other places of worship, in our homes and in the streets. You can see it in the idols you worship or in the quiet meditative state of your mind. It is the very essence of our culture.

I was a bit confused. These were abstract concepts and I could not understand what grandpa was trying to tell us. Maybe I was too young to relate to what he was saying; maybe I would have to wait until I grew up to understand exactly what grandpa meant. I guessed one needed to reach a certain level of maturity to understand spirituality.

I asked him, Grandpa, when I grow up, will I become mature?