Shantaram Man Of Peace 1-404

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“...the systems created by civilization is the villain,
laws create criminals by outlawing fulfilment
of human needs - except for the rich...”

[pp. 270-404]

Reached p. 404, juxtaposition between love –
which always kills romance - and imprisonment
of the man called Lin, the author, he receives
a beating

I can look back with him, but in case of pain in
present tense, I can’t go on; the only pain I can
contemplate is my own, when another one
is suffering

It becomes too much – the woman he loves sud-
denly losing him, I can’t stand the feeling,
Lin Shantaram, Man Of Peace, author
of so many good deeds

Beat by police on page 404 – I can’t go on,
stopped to cry until I’m calm enough to be-
gin again, it hurts too much, give pain to
me in retrospect

NEVER use the present tense!

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[p. 83 – 370]

Reading in a mad, glutinous way, the author
a philosopher-poet, I can digest everything
I detest because he presents every event
within a perspective of enlightened com-
passion, an empathy and loving instinct
stronger than the suffering life forced
on him

Describing a painful life journey from the
vantage point of victory and the magic of
courage and wonderment, celebrating the
sensual beauty of life compared to cynical
opportunism and the dilemma of making
choices, taking action, in a corrupt and
immoral world

Without principles except survival and expe-
diency, without help or guarantees, following
his heart, raw, hurt, loathing himself, yet his
actions were perfect, even though he and
everyone else was cynical and tough,
seeking escape

His honest bumbling did so much good, the
systems created by civilization is the villain,
laws create criminals by outlawing fulfilment
of human needs - except for the rich...

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[p.35-82]

This is a song I can listen to
this is a voice that presents
the depravity of the world
suffused in a soft golden
light of understanding

This is a stream of conscious-
ness that reverberates with
love and insight, that perceives
the beauty enclosed within
suffering and filth

That extracts jewels from apparent
ugliness and highlights the deeper
meaning of gory scenes, the author’s
beautiful mind presents the truth we
are helpless to change

In such an endearing way that the cost
of knowing is willingly paid by the reader,
his soft eye sees the miracle and wonder
within the ostensibly corrupt and dishonest
system and relays the whole spectacle

With a sweetness that soothes the sting of
knowing before the pain really starts, he
cushions the fall into reality by the soft
touch of an affection for humankind

All its ruses for survival, all its attempts
at spreading goodness, and I love it...

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[On starting the book, pp. 3-35]

Reading Shantaram, I am impressed,
he introduces his tale by realising he
is free while being tortured, freedom
represents a whole universe

His eyes zoom in on the happiness of
people living in slums, women ethereal,
his mind fastens on the wide, radiant
smile of a Bombay guide

He finds in him a marvellous friend, he
trusts the hotel owner on instinct, be-
comes a trusted companion, he sees
the attractive, inviolable aura

Of a beautiful woman, loves her on sight,
recalls Sanskrit legends about a destined
karmic connection, souls enraptured,
loving every thought of the other

Legends also warn fated love may be the
obsession of only one of twinned souls, he
describes a love affair with the city of Bom-
bay – the delight that sings in his feelings

Enchanting my mind!

Gregory David Roberts “Shantaram” Abacus 2004
pp. 1-404
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