Maaya: A tryst with self.

In the journey of life we experience many relationships, meet many people. Some work, some don't. Some relationships are deeply fulfilling, nurture our soul and encourage us to be better versions of ourselves, yet some drain us, making us sad and miserable. We click with some people instantaneously; the connection seems deep and meaningful as if it's been there for ages, whereas some people remain an enigma even after years of association. All of these interactions make us question; why? Why do we attract certain people? Why do we get into certain relationships? Why do we deserve certain experiences? Why do certain relationships mean more than others?

Maaya: A tryst with self, is one such fantastical journey that the protagonist Maaya takes, after being plagued by an unfulfilled relationship, which takes her on the path of self -discovery and spiritual healing.

The book takes on this journey with Maaya, who is divorced mother of one. Maaya is also in love with Rahul. She keeps connecting and disconnecting with him and wondering if and when they will have a future together.

At a critical stage in their relationship, she describes the state of affairs beautifully. “It’s becoming about ‘I’ and ‘You’ rather than about ‘Us’. ‘We’ are dissolving.” – she says in a letter to Rahul. Now this rings true for most of us at some point in time in our strongest and closest of relationships, doesn't it?

Maaya’s quest for an answer takes her down the path of spiritual healing and past life regression therapy. This quest also leads her to self -discovery and her own path in life.

Maaya could be any of us grappling with relationship issues. Going through life and seeking answers to various relationship issues. The most important lesson that Maaya teaches us is that the answers, we seek, are not outside but within us. We are always looking outside for support, for validation and even for our own happiness, yet we ignore looking inwards. We are not meant to suffer in our life time and yet we are insistent on complicating small issues and getting sucked into the negativity. We are constantly giving in to societal pressure while forgetting to cherish ourselves and discover the love within each of us.

Minal handles Maaya with a lot of love and affection and writes knowledgeably about her life-predicaments. The book makes for wonderful reading and very soon, becomes a page turner. It is certainly more than a love story; it’s a journey of self-discovery which many would identify with.

The book will make you introspect and seek to transform from within.

We are often confronted by concepts of past lives, destiny, soul, soul mates. We delve on, seek more explanations and answers. Not many of us believe in it, many are skeptical. Given that most of us are skeptical about these complicated concepts, the simplicity with which some of the concepts are introduced is refreshing and that too without losing the evocativeness. For example, the concept of past life is introduced as “fragments of soul that are stuck” or “It is ‘past’ that hasn't ‘passed’. Minal also brings about an interesting connection between our past lives and their influence on our current state of affairs – relationships, fears, desires, anxieties etc.  

This book is a good beginning to start understanding these concepts. In a simple language, the book attempts to answer many questions that we have about the universe, about our mission in life and more importantly about soul-mates and twin souls.

For believers, non-believers, and the in-betweens alike, this book is good beginning to your own quest of love and life.

Happy reading.

To know more about the author Minal Arora and her work visit here and here