6 Eye-Opening Books by Bestselling Author Devdutt Pattanaik

Devdutt Pattanaik writes, illustrates and lectures on the relevance of mythology in modern times. He has, since 1996, written over thirty books and 700 columns on how stories, symbols and rituals construct the subjective truth (myths) of ancient and modern cultures around the world. Here’s our list of six eye-opening books by the author that everyone should read.

Faith: 40 Insights into Hinduism by Devdutt Pattanaik

Answering key questions on Hindu philosophy and associated Indian history in simple, lucid, engaging ways, and exploring the often curious customs and beliefs that are an intrinsic part of the Hindu faith, Devdutt Pattanaik’s latest book is a treasure house of information on the complex tenets of Hinduism. For many a curious reader, Faith: 40 Insights into Hinduism will prove to be a delightful and eye-opening introduction to the intricacies of one of the world’s most practiced religions.

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Dharma Artha Kama Moksha : 40 Insights for Happiness by Devdutt Pattanaik

In Dharma Artha Kama Moksha, Devdutt Pattanaik uses his unique understanding of mythology to provide an accessible and lucid guide to the Hindu way of thinking, with short essays that are crisp expositions of important concepts.

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Leader: 50 Insights from Mythology by Devdutt Pattanaik 

Devdutt Pattanaik, India’s leading mythologist, provides a fascinating account of what leadership entails. How to choose the right leader, effectively communicate with a boss, maintain the right balance between discipline and leniency? In these and other workplace situations, Pattanaik shows what leaders of today can learn about the art of leadership from stories written thousands of years ago, things no management course can teach. Leader: 50 Insights from Mythology uses myths and legends to arrive at wisdom that is both time-worn and refreshingly new, on what makes a good leader.

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Culture: 50 Insights from Mythology by Devdutt Pattanaik

Devdutt Pattanaik, India’s leading mythologist, breaks down the complex maze of stories, symbols and rituals to examine how they shape cultures. He investigates how stories influence perception and construct truths, the cultural roots of the notion of evil and reveals the need for mythology through a telling of various Indian and Western myths. In doing so, he shows how myths reflect the culture they emerge from while simultaneously reinforcing the source. Culture is a groundbreaking work that contextualizes mythology and proposes that myths are alive, dynamic, shaped by perception and the times one lives in.

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Shiva to Shankara: Giving Form to the Formless by Devdutt Pattanaik

We live in times where people have extreme views. On the one hand, there are scholars who describe Shiva’s linga literally as a phallus, and see all metaphoric meaning as embarrassed apology of the uneducated. On the other hand, we have puritanical Hindus who want to strip the Shiva linga of all sexual meaning and sanitize Shiva’s lore. In both cases, a symbol is being reduced to a sign. In Shiva to Shankara, Devdutt Pattanaik, India’s leading mythologist, seeks to bridge the gap. As he explores the layers of meanings embedded in Shiva’s linga, we discover why and how the Goddess transforms Shiva, the hermit, into Shankara, the householder.

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Yoga Mythology: 64 Asanas and Their Stories by Devdutt Pattanaik

Devdutt Pattanaik’s newest book Yoga Mythology (co-written with international yoga practitioner Matt Rulli) retells the fascinating tales from Hindu, Buddhist and Jain lore that lie behind the yogic asanas the world knows so well; in the process he draws attention to an Indic worldview based on the concepts of eternity, rebirth, liberation and empathy that has nurtured yoga for thousands of years.

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In case you want more…

Behold, I Make All Things New by Devdutt Pattanaik

This is a landmark work that recasts religion — especially Abrahamic faiths — as an ally and not an adversary of queer emancipation, and thus significantly informs the secular and legal movements for LGBTQ rights around the world. It follows in the same vein as I Am Divine, So Are You (2017), which put forth perspectives on sexuality from the Karmic faiths of Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Hinduism, and played a small but significant role in the reading down of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Taken together, the two groundbreaking books expand the conversation between world religions and human sexuality to a truly global level.

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I Am Divine, So Are You by Jerry Johnson

In 2015, a historic panel discussion took place at the global Festival of Theology held in Sweden. Its objective was to examine what the sacred texts of the Abrahamic faiths – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – had to say about human sexuality. By bringing in perspectives from the Karmic faiths of Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Hinduism, which together represent the beliefs of almost a third of the world’s population, I Am Divine. So Are You expands this conversation between world religions and human sexuality to a truly global level.

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