The Book

Beautifully designed, large size softcover, 80p., 28 full page color illustrations

https://www.nbtindia.gov.in/books_detail__10__nehru-bal-pustakalaya__8602__aryanand-and-the-crown-of-life-hindi-.nbt

Sehr schön gestaltetes Hardcover, Grossformat, 23,5 x 30 cm, 80 S., 28 ganzseitig, farbige Illustrationen

Beautifully designed, large size hardcover, 23,5 x 30 cm, 80 p., 28 full page color illustrations

In the symbolic language of a fairy tale 'Aryanand and the Crown of Life' tells the adventurous story of Aryanand's quest to find his innermost cosmic Self.

Each step that brings him closer to his cherished goal is narrated as an adventure he has to master or a riddle he has to solve. Between the lines each of these steps is described as a step of transcending an increasingly subtler aspect of his personality: Body, nervous system, senses, mind, intellect, ego. 

Whenever there seems to be no way out, Aryanand recalls the wisdom his master has taught him. At the end he discovers that throughout his search he had carried the treasure he had been looking for on his adventurous journey with him along without even being aware of it. 

A travelling sage is the first to inspire Aryanand to search for the Crown of Life, and a dream of truly cosmic dimensions serves as a final catalyst. At the onset of his quest a hermit who had already been the teacher of Aryanand’s father provides some final instructions and hands him a mysterious bundle which he has kept in custody as Aryanand’s inheritance and which will ‘only reveal its secret in time.’

Aryanand’s first encounter is with a fierce colossus grown from a giant piece of rock. At the end of their fight it crumbles and Aryanand finds himself in a most beautiful palace. His inherited bundle reveals a smaller but equally mysterious box made from wood. A huge tree blocking his path is the next obstacle on his mountain trail and he is only allowed to climb this tree and thus to continue his journey after having solved a riddle placed before him by the warrior guardian of the tree.

Having reached the crown of the tree a charioteer offers to take him along. But as soon as Aryanand steps unto the chariot he finds himself left alone and at the mercy of the five wild running horses. However he gains control and once more masters another dangerous situation.

A day later Aryanand has to discover the secret held by the depth of the sea: How waves arise and how they silently merge again within the vast unbounded ocean. In the course of each one of these adventures Aryanand discovers how in applying the secret art of going inward taught by his master, difficulties are transcended. Each time he has to sacrifice the box he carries but is always rewarded with a smaller, more precious one.

In a valley entirely made from crystal Arynand has to cross a lake while carrying a crystal tree, and when eventually he reaches the peak of the ‘Mountain of Wisdom’ he finds himself confronted with his ‘little ego’ in the shape of a dwarf who challenges him to jump over his very own shadow to get to the Crown of Life.

After successfully passing even this toughest test of all, treasures of gold are piled up for Aryanand’s final challenge: He is free to choose and take anything but renounce his quest for the Crown. A beautiful and enlightening cosmic vision makes Aryanand realize that what he had been searching for on this mountain can only be found within his innermost Self. The last box he carries springs open and reveals the Crown he is looking for. The outer world now reflects the brilliant light of his innermost being and Aryanand feels like he is walking in Heaven on Earth.