"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested" said sir Francis Bacon. A great thought but only from the readers' perspective. What about the authors? Do they also write books with a particular objective in mind?
Let us take the case of some world famous books and their authors. What was the purpose of Alvin Toffler when he wrote Power Shift? Was it a systematic enquiry of the historical power shifts or merely a recording of History? Did the master want to record the past events or find an undercurrent that can be extrapolated to predict future? Was it an expression of musings or an attempt to institutionalise a new medium of scientific enquiry with social trends as the raw material?
Take the case of "Discovery of India" by Jawaharlal Nehru. I am sure all the readers of this book have their opinions on the utility and character of the book. But let us try to scan the purpose of the genius brain behind writing the book. Was it intended to be a History text book? Or did he attempt to present the real India, unknown to the world prior to that? Or was it an intellectual experiment conducted by the author to enable him to read a lot and present the reflections thereon to the western world?
OK. Let's move to the book 'Mere Sapno ka Bharat' by Mahatma Gandhi. Did he aspire to give a direction to the freedom struggle or provide a vision to the leaders then? Was it an attempt to legitimise the demand for freedom or to provide a road map for the post independence era?
The process of this enquiry is of course interesting but without any trustworthy conclusions.
Let me suggest an approach for the young leaders. Before reading a book, just scan through the introductory part. Then contemplate on the theme. Write down your thoughts in a notebook. Also write down the expectations from the book. Now is the time to go through the book at length. After completing the same, try to write the message of the book. Now we can compare our own prior writings with this newly acquired wisdom. The delta is the contribution of the book to the mind. This is what the writer has been able to achieve.
Impact of some books can also be judged by extrapolating the subject. For example, Power Shift tells us about the changing currency of power. In the beginning, it was muscle power only. Power flew from the barrel of a gun at that time. Jiski Lathi uski Bhains! (The buffalo belongs to the one with the weapon!) But soon it changed. And came the advent of money. Money became the next currency of power. Moneyed ones were able to hire musclemen and get things done. And then came the latest shift. Knowledge has become the most significant currency of power. We are of course living in a knowledge economy today. Knowledge is power.
In my humble opinion, conveying this should not be the sole purpose of this great intellectual experiment. The reader must be able to apply this knowledge and understanding. Can we predict the future? What will dethrone knowledge from its present seat of power? I want to end this post with this open ended question.
I will summarize it in these many words. Muscle power gave way to money power and that was the first power shift. Money power is giving way to the knowledge power and this has been the second and the latest power shift. What will be the next?
