Be the change

Be the change

January 2014

By Shivi Verma

Change your Life by Sneha Mehta

Random House, India

Paperback,

INR 199, Pages 240

We live by the belief that hard work and good luck are the two basic ingredients of success. And though work is in our hands, luck is a divine grace, coming only to the chosen ones.

But Change your Life by Sneha Mehta, is one book which blew me away with the idea of unlimited prospects of success before a human being. All one has to do is to change one’s beliefs about it.

Founding its premise on the lives of 11 people who broke convention and chartered new paths, every chapter of this book is like a revelation for the reader. Starting from the life of spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and covering people like Dr Trupti Jayin, past-life regression therapist; Sanjay B Jumaani, numerologist; Pandit Gopal Sharma of vaastu and feng shui fame, Paula Horan, reiki expert;  Bindu Maira, well known tarot reader; and several others, the book explores all possible avenues where your elusive success may be hiding.

If your thirst is for wisdom and peace, you can seek Sri Sri’s shelter. If you want to heal hurts, wounds, and longstanding diseases without footing medical bills, you can learn Reiki. If you cannot resolve certain issues and relationships of your present life, a trip down the lane of a past life can give you the perspective to handle things patiently. If all the prayers, industry, and positive thinking have failed to fetch you success, then probably a few corrections in the spelling of your name and the alignment of objects in your house can make the difference. Sounds too easy and fanciful? It did to the author too, until she met these people personally and experienced the power of change. For example, Sanjay B Jumaani was a doubting Thomas who laughed at the skill of his numerologist father, Bansilal M Jumaani. “If changing name could change one’s life, then everybody would have changed their names,” he would mock at his friends who would approach his father. However, after working tirelessly for 17 years in a company that sold liquor, and not reaching anywhere, he surrendered before his father. On his advice he changed the spelling of his name and added a B, and an extra a in his name. After that there was no looking back. He chucked his job and immersed himself in studying numerology. And the rest is all history. Today, his clientele boasts of top celebrities that include industrialists, film and sport personalities, and even politicians.

The book could do with editing, and Sneha needs to brush up her grammar, yet her informal, chatty and lively style has a certain appeal. So take the book’s advice. Who knows, you may become the next big thing in the New Age circle.