Hello Book Dragons!
How have you all been doing? We are closing in on the month’s end and I am happy to announce that I have found 4 favourites in May and read around 15 books! š„³š„° I also posted almost everyday on Bookstagram and tried my best to blog about the books I have been reading too! All in all, May has been a fulfilling month š¤©
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It has been a really long time since I last read a travelogue. Travelogues are probably the only books in the non-fiction genre that I love reading. I recently read a travelogue titled The Monastery of Solitude and loved the way the author combined spirituality, philosophy and a great long expedition to understand the Plotinian concept.
In 242 CE Gordian III, caesar and emperor of Rome marched out at the head of his glorious army with the objective of defeating Persia in war. Embedded in the army was Plotinus, a philosopher who nurtured a secret dream – one of reaching India. Plotinus had long yearned to study the Upanishads and he saw an opportunity to reach as far as Persia with the army and then make his way into ancient India. But his dream lay shattered on the banks of the Tigris.
1,780 years after Plotinusā failed attempt at reaching India, Moin Mir travels in his footsteps fulfilling his dream of reaching India and reading the Upanishads. Through his travels across India, Egypt, Italy, Greece, and Turkey the author tries to understand the core concept of Plotinian thought – āUnity and onenessā. He uses Plotinusā philosophy to observe how the free will of intellect uses āunityā for good and evil. Intimate conversations with refugees escaping war, innocent boatmen drifting down the Nile, simple farmers, and monks in Greece along with observation of ancient art and architecture inform his thoughts and writing on the concept of the oneness of humankind – its immense power to bring good and yet its vulnerability to the stealth of intellect to destroy and self-destruct.
The Monastery of Solitude is a travelogue where the author attempts to complete the philosopher, Plotinus’s, yearning to reach India and study the Upanishads by following in his footsteps.
It is quite interesting to note how everyone from around the globe was attracted to India and wanted to explore the country. From kings to philosophers to religious leaders, their fascination with the wealth of knowledge, the culture and heritage of India was undeniable.
Now 1780 years later, in an attempt to cover for Plotinus’s incomplete journey to reach India, Moin Mir accounts for his odyssey through India, Egypt, Italy, Greece, Turkey and ultimately tries to understand the Plotinian concept of ‘unity and oneness’. This voyage soon turns into an interlinked affair of shared ideas, enlightening conversations with people, intermingling of different cultures and borrowed traditions leading up to the integrated idea of ‘oneness’.
This was my first book from this author and I loved the crisp straight-forward style of writing with philosophical undertones whenever he contemplates on Plotinus’s way of thinking. I loved the incorporation of verses from the Upanishads and how it relates to the Plotinian thought.
The Monastery of Solitude is an introspective quest of soul-searching through ancient wisdom and an impeccable portrayal of the Plotinian notion of unity across humanity in our search for a profound peaceful life despite our differences.
Use my code Sohinee25 when you buy your copy from Roli Books’s website to get 25% off! You can get a hardcover copy for Rs. 521 instead of Rs. 695. The kindle edition of the book is available on Amazon.
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