{"product_id":"the-difficulty-of-being-good-on-the-subtle-art-of-dharma-9780199754410","title":"The Difficulty of Being Good: On the Subtle Art of Dharma","description":"Why should we be good? How should we be good? And how might we more deeply understand the moral and ethical failings--splashed across today's headlines--that have not only destroyed individual lives but caused widespread calamity as well, bringing communities, nations, and indeed the global\u003cbr\u003eeconomy to the brink of collapse? \u003cbr\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Difficulty of Being Good\u003c\/em\u003e, Gurcharan Das seeks answers to these questions in an unlikely source: the 2,000 year-old Sanskrit epic, \u003cem\u003eMahabharata\u003c\/em\u003e. A sprawling, witty, ironic, and delightful poem, the \u003cem\u003eMahabharata\u003c\/em\u003e is obsessed with the elusive notion of dharma--in essence, doing the right thing.\u003cbr\u003eWhen a hero does something wrong in a Greek epic, he wastes little time on self-reflection; when a hero falters in the \u003cem\u003eMahabharata\u003c\/em\u003e, the action stops and everyone weighs in with a different and often contradictory take on dharma. Each major character in the epic embodies a significant moral failing\u003cbr\u003eor virtue, and their struggles mirror with uncanny precision our own familiar emotions of anxiety, courage, despair, remorse, envy, compassion, vengefulness, and duty. Das explores the \u003cem\u003eMahabharata\u003c\/em\u003e from many perspectives and compares the successes and failures of the poem's characters to those of\u003cbr\u003econtemporary individuals, many of them highly visible players in the world of economics, business, and politics. In every case, he finds striking parallels that carry lessons for everyone faced with ethical and moral dilemmas in today's complex world.\u003cbr\u003eWritten with the flair and seemingly effortless erudition that have made Gurcharan Das a bestselling author around the world--and enlivened by Das's forthright discussion of his own personal search for a more meaningful life--\u003cem\u003eThe Difficulty of Being Good\u003c\/em\u003e shines the light of an ancient poem on the\u003cbr\u003emost challenging moral ambiguities of modern life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/01\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780199754410\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 488\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.36lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.10w x 1.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/15\/2010 pg. 85\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Gurcharan Das","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41132856180917,"sku":"9780199754410","price":17.84,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_2391e6e8-beda-4800-8af5-d78c47b814d9.jpg?v=1632833650","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-difficulty-of-being-good-on-the-subtle-art-of-dharma-9780199754410","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}