Monday, March 15, 2010

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Personally I am quite fond of Dan Brown's works and his books never cease to amaze me. I picked up 'The Lost Symbol' hoping it would be an engrossing read and it didn't let me down one bit.

'The Lost Symbol"'s primary hero is still Robert Langdon who deciphers cryptic symbols and archaic transcripts like its a child's play. However that is just a meager part of the main plot. The plot revolves around the FreeMasonry brother-in and how they hold the key to the Ancient Mysteries of the world. It might sound convoluted in the beginning but as you read and grasp the philosophy highlighted in the book it leaves you dumbfounded.The plot is set in Washinton D.C and the description of the places are very vivid.

Peter Solomon,a free mason entrusts a talisman in the hands of Robert Langdon. However little does he realise that a person out there wants to take possession of it and decipher it at any cost. To obtain the talisman , Malakh takes Peter under custody. He also tries to destroy Peter's sister, Katherine's work. Katherine conducts experiments and research on Noetic science which if proved succesful could change the way the world thinks. The rest of the story is about how Robert and Katherine save Peter and also end up deciphering the Ancient Mysteries.
This book however is a little different from Dan's previous books. Apart from the mystery involved , there is so much of philosophy that is explained . What appealed to me the most, were the references to hindu and Indian philosphy. He talks about how are ancient scriptures are so rich with information that science draws its inspiration from the Vedas. To quote an example he says that Heinsenberg's uncertainity principle which we all have come across in Physics , drew its origin in the Upanishads . Dan stresses that the concept of dualism is the one introduced by Lord Krishna. He gives instances of the various practices followed and their significance and original meaning.

The final few chapters are extremely interesting and his perception of God and humans is mind blowing. It gives you a completely new perspective of life. However I dont want to go on more about it as it would be a spoiler to anyone who hasn't yet read the book.This book is a fascinating read and I would recommend it to anyone who likes philosophy and mystery rolled into a unique book.

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