Memoir,Religious Mythology Review

The Dharma Videos Of Lust And Bust: A Novel of Religious Mysteries
by Anoop Chandola
ISBN-10: 1419611445
Review by Heather Froeschl

Where does our mythology, religion, and belief system end and where does culture, social custom and individualism begin? Is there any distinction really? In the novel "The Dharma Videos of Lust and Bust" author Anoop Chandola, PhD, explores this notion and allows readers to take what they will from the wisdom he shares.

A Sociolinguistic professor and Hindu priest, Dr. Chaube, upon retirement as a professor in America, is given a package of video tapes from the people he has assisted over the years in various ceremonies. Each tape shows the ceremony and evokes the professor's memory of the personal interaction. His help goes beyond performing the specific ceremony and includes helping the participants to fully understand the meaning of it and what it represents in life. The narrative memory then becomes a lesson in mythology and religious belief instruction, complete with tales of old. It is a rich lesson, and each video, each chapter of the book, becomes an interesting contemplation of how our beliefs, customs, and social interactions shape who we are, as well as how they affect the characters in the book.

At times the professor encourages the people he is helping to turn away from certain beliefs and customs, inspiring them to think for themselves with the benefit of knowing the background of tradition, thus reinventing it. It is an honor to the old ways with respect to conventional thought. There are discussions of recent and current politics, attitudes towards women, human rights and much more. All are presented in such an enlightening way that the book could really be used in social study aspects. The professor also gives continuing lessons in linguistics, which is very interesting indeed.

I found the book refreshing in its exploration of Indian mythology and tradition and also in the social influence these things have on us. The political message in the last part of the book, that "no war is holy," is one that I agree with and feel must be highlighted as one of the greatest wisdoms in the novel. There is so much more to say about this book but I feel that giving it my highest recommendation will have to be sufficient.