Title: Dog, Yogi, Banyan Tree
Author: Rajan Sankaran
Softbound, 225 pages
Publisher: Homeopathy Medical Publishers, India
Reviewed by Dr. Manish Bhatia
When this book was being written, I was aware of it taking shape. However, when I received it, the title struck me as queer. And many of you will find the book also the same because it is unlike any other book written by Dr. Sankaran. This work is biographical in nature but is not a biography.
Each one of us have our own individual journeys, which are often full of struggle, confusion, trying to find a meaning and purpose of self, search for a guru, presence of mentors, successes and failures. With each new experience in life, we grow a little bit more – sometimes socially, sometimes intellectually, and sometimes spiritually. And we can learn our lessons from anyone or anything – be it a dog, or a yogi, or a banyan tree! Our journey to find the real self is as individualistic as is each case in homeopathy. Through this work Dr. Sankaran shares his own journey in search of self, the mentors and gurus he met, and the lessons they brought to his life.
The book starts with the life of his parents and charts his life at different stages – childhood, adolescence, homeopathy student, a young practitioner, a successful practitioner and teacher and ends with an ongoing spiritual quest. Within those chapters lie the emotions of a young man who lost his father untimely, his desire to fill his father’s shoes, his hunger for success, his innovations, his mistakes and follies, his friends and foes, the stories of his mentors, the gurus he found, the lessons he learnt …and the journey he is still on.
Written in a narrative style, the book is engrossing due to its details, story- like presentation and some very important lessons for those who are receptive. For homeopaths, there is much to learn from the many anecdotes that Dr. Sankaran has shared about his homeopathic teachers. Though not a biography, it gives a very good account of Dr. Rajan Sakaran’s personal and professional life. I enjoyed the book very much and would recommend it to others too.
For more information and to purchase the book, follow this link.
