{"product_id":"difficulty-of-being-good-on-subtle-art-of-dharma-ihf071","title":"The Difficulty of Being Good: On the Subtle Art of Dharma","description":"\u003ch2 class=\"title is-size-3-desktop is-size-5-touch has-text-centered product-details-description-title\"\u003eBook Specification\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ctable\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd class=\"product-details-specifications-label has-text-grey-dark\"\u003eItem Code:\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003eIHF071\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd class=\"product-details-specifications-label has-text-grey-dark\"\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pt\/book-author\/gurcharan%20das\" class=\"underlined\" title=\"Gurcharan Das\"\u003eGurcharan Das\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd class=\"product-details-specifications-label has-text-grey-dark\"\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pt\/book-publisher\/penguin\" class=\"underlined\" title=\"Penguin\"\u003ePenguin\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd class=\"product-details-specifications-label has-text-grey-dark\"\u003eEdition:\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e2012\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd class=\"product-details-specifications-label has-text-grey-dark\"\u003eISBN:\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e9780143418979\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd class=\"product-details-specifications-label has-text-grey-dark\"\u003ePages:\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e486\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd class=\"product-details-specifications-label has-text-grey-dark\"\u003eCover:\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003ePaperback\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd class=\"product-details-specifications-label has-text-grey-dark\"\u003eOther Details\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd rel=\"product-dimensions\"\u003e9.4\" X 6.0\"\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003c\/table\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch2 class=\"title is-size-3-desktop is-size-5-touch has-text-centered product-details-description-title\"\u003eBook Description\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"product-details-description\" style=\"max-height: 63rem; overflow-y: auto;\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eFrom the Jacket\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e Most of us spend our lives wrestling with day-to-day questions of right and wrong that are either left unanswered or have no easy answers. The Difficulty of Being Good turns to the \u003ca href=\"\/pt\/book\/Hindu\/sanskrit\"\u003eSanskrit\u003c\/a\u003e epic, the \u003ca href=\"\/pt\/book\/Hindu\/mahabharata\"\u003eMahabharata\u003c\/a\u003e, in order to answer the question, 'why be good?' and discovers that the epic's world of moral haziness and uncertainty is closer to our experience as ordinary human beings than the narrow and rigid positions that define most debate in this fundamentalist age of moral certainty.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e The Mahabharata is obsessed with the elusive notion of \u003ca href=\"\/pt\/article\/dharma-for-modern-man\"\u003edharma\u003c\/a\u003e-in essence, doing the right thing. When a hero does something wrong in a Greek epic, he gets on with it; when a hero falters in the Mahabharata, the action stops and everyone weighs in with a different and often contradictory take on dharma. The epic's characters are flawed; they stumble. But their incoherent experiences throw light on our familiar emotions of anxiety, courage, despair, remorse, envy, compassion, vengefulness and duty. As the Mahabharata's story unfolds in The Difficulty of Being Good, the focus shifts from character to character-Bhishma, Yudhishthira, Arjuna, Draupadi, Duryodhana Karna, Ashwatthama and \u003ca href=\"\/pt\/article\/lord-krishna\"\u003eKrishna\u003c\/a\u003e-their ethical problems, and the significance of these issues for our lives.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e Gurcharan Das's best-selling book India Unbound examined the classical aim of artha, material well-being. This, his first book in seven years, dwells on the goal of dharma, moral well-being. It addresses the central problem of how to live our lives in an examined way-holding a mirror up to us and forcing us to confront the many ways in which we deceive ourselves and others. What emerges is a doctrine of dharma that we can apply to our business decisions, political strategies, and interpersonal relationships-in effect, to life itself.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eGurcharan Das\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of the much-acclaimed India Unbound, which has been translated into many languages and filmed by the BBC. He writes a regular column for six Indian newspapers, including the Times of India, and occasionally for Newsweek, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and Foreign Affairs. His other books include the novel A Fine Family, a book of essays, The Elephant Paradigm, and an anthology, Three English Plays, consisting of Larins Sahib, 9 Jakhoo Hill and Mira.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e Gurcharan Das graduated from Harvard University where he studied philosophy with John Rawls and Sanskrit under Daniel Ingalls. He was CEO of Procter \u0026amp; Gamble India before he took early retirement to become a full-time writer. He lives in Delhi.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003ccenter\u003e \u003cb\u003eContents\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/center\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003ctable width=\"100%\"\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd width=\"10%\"\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd width=\"80%\"\u003e Acknowledgments\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd width=\"10%\"\u003e xiii\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e A Note on Rendering Sanskrit into English\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e xiv\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e The Central Story of the Mahabharata\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e xiv\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e Dramatis Personae\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e xvi\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e Genealogical Table\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e xxviii\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e Chronology\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e xxix\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e Prelude\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e xxxi\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e I take an academic holiday\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd\u003e 1\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e Duryodhana's Envy\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e 1\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e 'What man of mettle will stand to see his rivals prosper and himself decline?'\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd\u003e 2\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e Draupadi's Courage\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e 33\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e 'Whom did you lose first, yourself or me?'\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd\u003e 3\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e Yudhishthira's Duty\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e 63\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e 'I act because I must'\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd\u003e 4\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e Arjuna's Despair\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e 88\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e 'There are no victors in war'\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd\u003e 5\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e Bhishma's Selflessness\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e 117\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e 'Be intent on the act, not on its fruits'\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd\u003e 6\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e Karna's Status Anxiety\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e 151\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e 'How could a doe give birth to a tiger?'\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003c\/tbody\u003e \u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Occultnthings","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44620038537517,"sku":"IHF071","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2094\/2117\/products\/ihf071.jpg?v=1677767651","url":"https:\/\/occultnthings.com\/pt\/products\/difficulty-of-being-good-on-subtle-art-of-dharma-ihf071","provider":"Occult-N-Things","version":"1.0","type":"link"}