Book Review | 7 Secrets of the Goddess

7 Secrets of the Goddess
by Devdutt Pattanaik

Knowing every fact is worth, this book proves it!

I have been a great fan of Devdutt Pattanaik, be it his leadership lectures or his well-researched books. I have been lucky enough to possess almost of his books but I have not read all of them. This book is the fourth release in this series, but it is the second one in the series that I have read. Blame it on my laziness and also the lack of time, but yes, I make sure that I don’t miss on to some great authors and their great work. Mr Pattanaik is one of them. One striking feature of his writings is that he very well brings out both sides of the coin so that his readers can perceive many known legends and stories of the world in an unbiased way.

Summary

Narration

The book has a perfect storytelling narration which no one would find very difficult to read. Though the language is pretty simple the intensity of the flow is so much that one might find it difficult to understand with the context and the theme of the book.

If you are thinker, someone who has a keen interest in mythology without being judgmental about things, let me tell you, this is not a fast book. This book will certainly push you to think, relate and research on many things that you read.

This book is very well illustrated, but not by the illustrator, Mr Pattanaik, but contains paintings and photographs which are really old and are well captioned. The structure of the book is like that of the practical notebooks that we used in school. Every page that is written has an appropriate picture on the adjoining page which makes the reading all the more interesting.

Theme and Setting

The book is definitely an encyclopedia of facts regarding the Goddess. From the establishment of Devi as the prime power to the story of every Goddess that has been covered in this book, this book has definitely done the job in a perfect manner.

In detail, Devdutt Pattanaik takes you through the life of the seven Goddesses namely Gaia, Kali, Gauri, Durga, Lakshi, Saraswati and Vitthai. Another of the interesting thing is that this book has covered the Hindu and the Greek ladies of power in a manner that won’t make you think that things are out of place at any point of time.

Plot

As the title suggests, it has actually dealt with the facts and secrets that revolve around these Goddesses. It has very beautifully touched upon the sexuality of the superwomen in this book and has clearly shown that things like virginity, prostitution and polyandry were not a taboo and were differently perceived than what they are today. This is just one of the examples. But yes, this is a book for contemporary readers. For people who don’t want to look beyond what has been taught to us, read the rose-tinted picture of everything that we believe, this is certainly not a really good read.

My Opinion

When I started reading this book, I was really amazed because it started with the story of Adya, the mother of the universe, of which I was particularly unaware of.

This part tells about how Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were born out of Adya’s unfertilized eggs because she was on the quest of her femininity. She sought to unite with her three alleged sons but they couldn’t do it because it was their mother. So one of them burns her up and they marry the three Goddesses who emerge out of Adya’s ashes.

This left me confused. I shared this with the most intellectual and thoughtful person I know. Where I was shocked by the level of hypocrisy that existed even then, my friend was feeling bad for Adya. Well, he had a point. He also said one really crucial thing – Don’t believe in everything you read, you are intelligent enough to weigh and judge.

That was the point where I realized that I have to dig deeper into the book. Look for every possibility about everything that has been said about the mythical world we are supposed to believe in.

Read this book as if your mind is a blank slate and everyone can scribble onto it.