Speaker And Author Mayur Kalbag Shares His Favourite Inspirational Books

American author, Richard Bach's novella tells the story of a seagull who is exploring life, flight and the concept of self-perfection. On a journey of self-discovery, Jonathan carves his own path, learns from wise teachers, and through his learnings becomes a teacher in his own right. 

Another by author Richard Bach, Illusions is Bach's second novella following the bestselling Jonathan Livingston Seagull. The book's protagonists are both pilots, like Bach himself. The two pilots grow into a teacher-student relationship and explore the idea that the world we live in is illusionary and that reality is actually an illusion " we create for learning and enjoyment".

Stephen Hawking's path-breaking Theory Of Everything is a series of seven lectures narrated by the genius physicist that touch upon, well, the theory of everything! These lectures break down for us, the layman, in simple and witty terms how the Universe itself began i.e. the theory of existence. Touch upon Aristotle, Augustine, Hubble, Newton and Einstein; Black holes and Big Bang in this book that explains a theory of the world through the eyes of science.

The iconic Autobiography of a Yogi takes us through Paramahansa Yogananda's life and his spiritual learnings from Eastern and Western spiritual teachers and his own journey in becoming a monk and establishing his teachings of Kriya Yoga Meditation. Translated into over 50 languages, this is one of the most widely read spiritual classics. 

Jnana Yoga is a series of lectures by Swami Vivekananda, transcribed by Joseph Josiah Goodwin, a stenographer and one of Vivekananda's disciples. The lectures explore Vivekanada's philosophy of knowledge as the 'ultimate goal' and how one can work towards the true objective of Jnana Yoga ie freedom of the soul. 

Another bestselling self-help book, The Monk Who Sold His Ferarri is inspired by author and motivational speaker Robin Sharma's own life experiences after giving up his life as a litigation lawyer at 25. Through the two characters, best friends, Julian and John, we follow the conversation in which Julian shares his spiritual journey in the Himalayas after selling his Ferrari and holiday home. 

Mayur is also an author himself and has recently published Aghori- An Untold Story. This story takes us through protagonist Subraiya (or Subbu's) experiences as he follows his desire to know more about the Aghori Sadhus. This wish to know more about the Aghori Sadhus / Babas becomes the basis of a unique and indelible journey of adventures and experiences. Read on to know more about this mystical journey, the unusual places and rituals these real-life sadhus perform.