There are a lot of sayings about the awesome feeling called ‘Love’. Many say that marriages are made in heaven and there is only one happiness in this life – ‘to love and to be loved‘. This concept has been depicted in many Indian movies and it also brings a feel-good factor in the audience present in the theater. Many novels have also been written on the same theme and surprisingly, most of them portray frustrated love and the upheavals it causes in life. If you ask any of your friends or colleagues about their ideal life-partner, the first quality that most of them look in their partner is ‘loving & caring attitude’. Many times, that feeling of everlasting love dies with time and the reason should be introspected by ‘the couple who was once madly in love with each other’.
The point to ponder over here is ‘If love is such an overwhelming emotion in human society, then why it does not last?’. Why is humanity losing faith in the existence of true love? Why are people losing faith in the institution of marriage? These are some of the important questions that would come to your mind when you hear the word ‘True Love’.
As mentioned earlier, there are plenty of books that preach about love or showcase ‘rosy things’ about that amazing feeling, but sadly you cannot employ their learnings in real life since situations are completely different in reality. This is what prompted noted author Shubha Vilas to come up with a book that explores the idea of eternal love, love that withstands the test of time. Unlike other books in a similar genre that only depict fictional love stories, his book ‘Perfect Love: 5.5 Ways to a Lasting Relationship’ is a thought-provoking narrative that presents six attributes of relationships that can make your love story a phenomenon that lasts a lifetime.
Today we review the book Perfect Love: 5.5 Ways to a Lasting Relationship by the noted author Shubha Vilas. We have reviewed earlier books by Shubha Vilas namely Open Eyed Meditations, Ramayana: The Game of Life (Shattered Dreams), and Ramayana: The Game of Life (The rise of Sun Prince).
About the Author
Shubha Vilas holds a degree in engineering and law with a specialization in patent law. But in essence, he is an author, a motivational speaker, lifestyle coach, and a storyteller par excellence. You can find more about him here
Detailed Review
Since childhood, many of us have been listening to mythological stories like the Ramayana, Mahabharatha, etc. and characters & learnings are in someway etched in our minds. There are many characters in each of these series that are ‘ideal portrayal’ of real love. Like Shubha Vilas’ previous books where he utilized the medium of ‘mythology’ to come up with stories & learnings that can still be implemented in today’s era, the stories in this book is primarily derived from the Mahabharatha, the Srimad Bhagavat, and the Kathasaritsagara. The book comprises of selected six stories that have nail-biting twists and turns with edge-of-the-chair adventures. These are the tales of adventure and intense love, love that tests the limits of patience in lovers who find their faith in unconditional trust, compassion, and forgiveness.
Nala and Damayanti, Krishna and Rukmini, Shakuntala and Dushyanta, Udayana and Vasavadatta, Satyavan and Savitri, Draupadi and the five Pandava brothers – these are the accounts we may have heard many a time but not had an opportunity to understand in such depth and detail, and with such empathy. These stories are narrated in a beautiful manner, which keeps the readers engaged & connected, even if you have no prior knowledge about mythology or the central characters mentioned in the book. The stories are written in a simple, yet artistic manner so that it strikes a chord with the audience. In case you already have prior knowledge about these mythological characters, the book would add a fresh perspective to your understanding. Each chapter/story in the book ends with a crisp write-up about the learnings from the same. This is a similar format followed in his other books and we are glad that Shubha Vilas has stuck to the same format 🙂
The title mentions 5.5 ways and not 6; the primary reason is that the sixth way is a half-truth, which can be twisted either way. Below is the list of chapters in the book
- Wheel of Fortune
- The Golden Letter
- A Silent Voice
- The Other before Oneself
- The Woman who Chose
- A Condition about Conditions
There are many one-liners in each chapter and each word in the one-liner conveys a lot of meaning that makes you ponder about love, life, and yourself. Some of the notable one-liners are below:
- Just like birthmarks on your body reveal your identity, your values are birthmarks on the soul that reveal your character.
- When you jump to conclusions, you land in the quicksand of confusion. Ask rather than bask in conclusions.
- Love is planted by active care, rooted in trust, watered by words, nourished by struggles together, protected by commitment, decorated with fond memories and made to blossom with reciprocation.
- When you don’t make choices, life will not give you options.
- To accept reality one needs dignity and humility. Dignity to stand after a fall and humility to say, ‘I tried’.
- Attachment and detachment are twins that look alike but have completely different natures.
- The cost of love can only be paid by the currency of sacrifice.
- A disturbed person is looking for hope, not advice.
- The only thing that is predictable about the future is that it’s unpredictable.
- Just as one ant in the ear of a huge elephant throws it off completely, sometimes a tiny defect in a human being, amongst oodles of good qualities, messes up his life completely.
It is these small factors that add a lot of punch in each story and this is what makes the book ‘Perfect Love: 5.5 Ways to a Lasting Relationship’ a read whose learnings can be incorporated in real-life. You can refer to these learnings when you are at a crucial & critical juncture of your love-life!
Closing Thoughts
Perfect Love: 5.5 Ways to a Lasting Relationship is a book that can be read again and again since it reveals many profound thoughts that can nurture a different aspect of your life. This is one thing that is true for any book written by Shubha Vilas.
You may ask that in an era when the institution of marriage itself is being questioned, does it make sense to read a book that talks about love stories of stable marriages from an ancient age? You can find out the reason by delving deep into this book. Combing powerful story-telling with deep philosophical truths, ‘Perfect Love: 5.5 Ways to a Lasting Relationship’ is a treasure trove of scriptural wisdom for the modern age.
You can purchase Perfect Love: 5.5 Ways to a Lasting Relationship by Shubha Vilas by clicking on the link below