Why should we be good? How should we be good? And how might we more deeply understand contemporary moral and ethical failings—splashed across today's headlines—that have destroyed individual lives as well, bringing communities, nations, and the global economy to the brink of collapse?
Gurcharan Das seeks answers to these questions in the Mahabharata. Each major character in the epic embodies a significant moral failing or virtue, and their struggles evince familiar emotions of anxiety, courage, despair, remorse, envy, compassion, vengefulness, and duty. Das explores the Mahabharata and compares the successes and failures of the poem's characters to those of contemporary individuals, many of them highly visible players in the world of economics, business, and politics. In every case, he finds lessons for everyone faced with ethical and moral dilemmas in today's complex world.
Das is the author of 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 as a playwright, an anthology, Three English Plays.
New York City, NY; NYC