BOOK REVIEW:
Five Paragons of Peace: Magic and Magnificence in the Guru's Way
Author: Singh Sahib Guru Fatha Singh Khalsa
E-book launch: November 1, 2010
About the Book - A Whole New Way of Seeing
Five Paragons of Peace is an inspiring and entertaining masterwork of our dawning Aquarian reality. It is filled with hundreds of delightful stories of the heights of human excellence, the grandeur of nature, and the wonder of the cosmic design.
There are many heroes in this account. Guru Nanak emerges as the great teacher who saw and shared his understanding early on, when the world was still asleep in a dream of maya. Yogi Bhajan brings that vision and an empowering body of teachings to the west. In between, there are freedom struggles, scientific discoveries, challenges to tottering old beliefs, and a million sacrifices or more.
Five Paragons circles the globe and visits fascinating cultures to shed light on current developments. It spends time with quantum physicists, dolphin researchers, and people on the cutting edge of social change. It finds great stories, odd coincidences, and everywhere an awakening consciousness of oneness, human dignity, and the power of human compassion.
This book is an Aquarian guidebook to whence we have come and where we are headed, thoroughly indexed and richly referenced. It is recommended to every adventurer on the path of consciousness in these surprising times.
About the Author -
Singh Sahib Guru Fatha Singh Khalsa was born in Thunder Bay, Canada in 1954. At the age of sixteen, he left home and hitch-hiked to Vancouver to join the peace movement and with a hope to find some wisdom outside of books. Two years later, he returned east and settled at Guru Ram Das Ashram in Toronto, where he began the hard work of meditation and service under the inspired guidance of Yogi Bhajan - Siri Singh Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji.
Guru Fatha Singh today gives classes and workshops in the empowering, holistic tradition he has been taught. His writing interest blossomed when Yogi Bhajan assigned him the job of writing his biography in 1983. Five Paragons of Peace was written over five years, while awaiting permission to publish that biography.
"I used to think I would be rich and famous from writing Yogiji's life story. Then, as I waited years for that story to be approved, I realized there was no way it was going to be a best-seller so long as only a few thousand people even knew of him. That is when I set out to write Five Paragons of Peace to serve as an introduction to the life and teachings of Yogi Bhajan, and Guru Nanak's place as Guru for the Aquarian Age.
"Five Paragons is the most rewarding thing I have written, but it was excruciating to write. Basically, Guru Nanak is an avatar of a new age of holistic understanding, an age of infinite diversity and inter-connectivity. To convey that story in a such a way that the account itself was entertaining and reflected the Guru's supple spirit of universality was the challenge of my life. I am grateful to God and Guru for everything this work is."
Reviews by others -
In Five Paragons of Peace, Guru Fatha Singh ji has written a timeless masterpiece on the integration of the ancient wisdom of Guru Nanak and the evolution of humanity today. It is a must read for anyone interested in becoming knowledgeable, elevated and enlightened. Peace is the way and this book helps us along that royal road. Highly recommended!
Dharma Singh Khalsa, MD, author of Meditation as Medicine and The End of Karma
I have enjoyed reading your book - and admire your range of reading, arguments and presentation. Your treatment of the subject is very original, thought provoking and refreshing. It brings into sharp focus the relevance of Sikh spirituality for the modern world.
Balwant Singh Dhillon, Head of Guru Nanak Studies Department, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar
With such levels of violence in the world, young people need to hear the message of Guru Fatha Singh. He challenges us to create peace in our own lives and in our broader community.
Craig Kielburger, Founder of (Kids Can) Free the Children
…an impressive and thought-provoking document at many points. A worthy reference work to have and keep on hand.
Joseph O'Connell, Professor Emeritus in the Study of Religion, St. Michael's College, University of Toronto
I took my time reading your magnum opus. Wow! What a chronicle of the emergence of the Aquarian Age. Good job. I was amused, entertained, and thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Thank you.
Guruka Singh Khalsa, Founder and Executive Director of SikhNet
In this fascinating book, Guru Fatha Singh leads us through the evolution we have been going through for centuries - from the days when our consciousness was shaped in a way that has contributed to tragic amounts and forms of violence to our present searching for new paradigms supporting respect for one another and peaceful ways of meeting needs. Incorporated in the book is a brief, but intriguing history of the Sikh tradition initiated by Guru Nanak.
Marshall Rosenberg, Founder and Education Director of the Center for Nonviolent Communication