Aesop's Fables

No one in this world is may be unknown with this book Aesop's Fables.
For most of the people this is a book of short stories but for me this book has always been a book of wisdom.

Aesop is quite an unknown man. Nothing significant about his life is noted down in the pages of history. I will try to write whatever little is known about him.
Aesop, born 2000 years ago in 6th century, was a slave but was later granted freedom.
He used to travel a lot & these fables were told by him during his journey.
He was accused of theft of gold in Delphi & was condemned to death by hurling him off the cliff.

There are 656 fables in this book. Some of them are :-


In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.
"Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling in that way?"
"I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to do the same."
"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; we have got plenty of food at present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.
When the winter came the Grasshopper found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing, every day, corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer.
Then the Grasshopper knew...
It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

The Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger. Suddenly they saw a traveller coming down the road, and the Sun said: "I see a way to decide our dispute. Whichever of us can cause that traveller to take off his cloak shall be regarded as the stronger. You begin."
So the Sun retired behind a cloud, and the Wind began to blow as hard as it could upon the traveller. But the harder he blew the more closely did the traveller wrap his cloak round him, till at last the Wind had to give in despair.
Then the Sun came out and shone in all his glory upon the traveller, who soon found it too hot to walk with his cloak of.

One afternoon a fox was walking through the forest and spotted a bunch of grapes hanging from over a lofty branch.
"Just the thing to quench my thirst," quoth he.
Taking a few steps back, the fox jumped and just missed the hanging grapes. Again the fox took a few paces back and tried to reach them but still failed.
Finally, giving up, the fox turned up his nose and said, "They're probably sour anyway," and proceeded to walk away.

Afather had a family of sons who were perpetually quarreling among themselves. When he failed to heal their disputes by his exhortations, he determined to give them a practical illustration of the evils of disunion; and for this purpose he one day told them to bring him a bundle of sticks.
When they had done so, he placed the bundle into the hands of each of them in succession, and ordered them to break it in pieces. They tried with all their strength, and were not able to do it.
He next opened the bundle, took the sticks separately, one by one, and again put them into his sons' hands, upon which they broke them easily.
He then addressed them in these words: "My sons, if you are of one mind, and unite to assist each other, you will be as this bundle, uninjured by all the attempts of your enemies; but if you are divided among yourselves, you will be broken as easily as these sticks."

This book, I love a lot.

Commentaries On Living : J Krishnamurthy

Jiddu Krishnamurthy, the sage who would'nt be guru, had declined to accept the throne of the world master in 1930. The order of the star of the east was offered to krisnamurthy by Annie Besant the then chief of Theosophical Society. He was brought up by Annie Beasnt & Leadbeater in order to become the world master that they were awaiting. The twist in the tale came with the awakening of Krishnamurthy & he announced that truth can never be organised or cannot be sought with the help of any guru.

He died in 1986 in Ojai USA.

Although he refused any kind of guruhood but he went on to become a world reknowned teacher & preacher of his own experiences in the form of his discourses & writings. A small group also flourished around him by the name of Krishnamurthy Foundation.

Commenataries On Living is one of the many writings by Krishnamurhty. In this book he talks in details about every aspects of human life.

some excerpts from the book:-

The mind moves from the known to the known, and it cannot reach out into the unknown. You cannot think of something you do not know; it is impossible. What you think about comes out of the known, the past, whether that past be remote, or the second that has just gone by. This past is thought, shaped and conditioned by many influences, modifying itself according to circumstances and pressures, but ever remaining a process of time. Thought can only deny or assert, it cannot discover the new.

Disciplines, renunciations, detachments, rituals, the practice of virtue—all these, however noble, are the process of thought; and thought can only work towards an end, towards an achievement, which is ever the known. Achievement is security, the self-protective certainty of the known. To seek security in that which is nameless is to deny it. The security that may be found is only in the projection of the past, of the known.

For this reason the mind must be entirely and deeply silent; but this silence cannot be purchased through sacrifice, sublimation or suppression. This silence comes when the mind is no longer seeking, no longer caught in the process of becoming. This silence may not be built up through practice. This silence must be as unknown to the mind as the timeless; for if the mind experiences the silence, then there is the experiencer who is cognizant of a past silence; and what is experienced by the experiencer is merely a self-projected repetition. The mind can never experience the new, and so the mind must be utterly still. The mind can be still only when it is not experiencing, that is, when it is not terming or naming, recording or storing up in memory.

This book, I love a lot.

Tao Te Ching : Lao-tzu

Tao Te Ching roughly translated as the 'The Way & It's Virtue' was written by Lao-tzu in around 600 B.C.
Lao-tzu, a chinese philosopher & contemprory of Buddha, was considered to be a man of wisdom in his country. Somewhat eccentric in nature, Lao-tzu, talks about the way to enlightenment in a very awkward way. The name Lao-tzu means the old man. Since his childhood he was as wise as any old man & that's why he was named as such.

Tao Te Ching being the only book written by Lao-tzu carries a very strange & interesting story behind it's creation.
Lao-tzu, on the order of king of China was caught on the borders when he was on his last journey towards the Himalayas. The king's order were very clear that Lao-tzu should not be allowed to go untill & unless he writes his teachigs in form of a book. Miserably, Lao-tzu wrote Tao Te ching. But did'nt wrote a single word about Tao(the way) in the whole book.

He starts the book with these sentences:-

The Tao that can be told of is not an Unvarying Tao;
The names that can be named are not unvarying names.
It was from the Nameless that Heaven and Earth sprang;
The named is but the mother that rears the ten thousand creatures,
each after its kind.

On the introductory page Lao-tzu writes:-
My words are very easy to understand ; yet no one under heaven understands them.

The Tao Te Ching can be seen as advocating mostly "feminine" (or Yin) values, emphasising the qualities of water — fluidity and softness (instead of the solid and stable mountain), choosing the obscure and mysterious aspect of things, and controlling things without ruling them, in other words to 'have without possessing'. In this respect, this book can be understood as challenging "male" (or Yang) values such as clarity, stability, positive action, and domination of nature; such values are often referred to as Confucian values. Yet a perfect balance between the Yin and Yang is still encouraged.

Something more of wisdom from the book:-

So a wise leader may say: I practice inaction, and the people look after themselves

Knowing others is wisdom;
Knowing the self is enlightenment.
Mastering others requires force;
Mastering the self requires strength;

The contrast of opposition — i.e. the differences between male and female, light and dark, strong and weak, etc. — helps us understand and appreciate the universe.

The harder one tries, the more resistance one will create for oneself.

When the spring comes, grass grows on it's own.

This book, I love a lot.

The World As Will & Idea : Arthur Schopanhauer

The World as will & idea, although this book was rejected by most of the contemprory thinkers of Schopenhauer but still, I fell in love with this book as soon as I started reading it. The book was published in 1844.
What strikes me most is the style of this book. Here is no chinese puzzle of kantian terminology, no hegelian philosophy but there is blunt honesty, refreshing vigour & uncompromising directness.

The book starts with the first sentence of Schopenhaeur , 'The world is my idea'.
The most vital part of the first section is the attack on materialism. 'How can we explain mind as matter, when we know matter only through mind ?'.

In the second section i.e. The world as will he writes ' Consciousness is the mere surface of our mind, of which, as of the earth, we do not know the inside but only the crust'.

He ends this book with a sentence which I think partly became the cause of rejection of this masterpiece ' No time can be more unfavorable to philosophy than that in which it is shamefully misused on the one hand to further political objects, on the other hand as a means of livelyhood.

This book, I love a lot.

Bertrand Russell

I appologize dearly to all the readers as I have again deviated from the topic of books to the authors. But in this case it was necessary;just to save time & space.

Bertarnd Russell, the logician,philosopher,thinker,mathematician & the reformer, was born in Britain in 1872. He was awarded Nobel Prize in 1950.
There have been two Bertrand Russells : One who died during the war; & another who rose out of that one's shroud, an almost mystic communist born out of the ashes of a mathematical logician.Perhaps there was a tender mystic strain in him always. I tried to focus myself on the later Bertran Russell.

I had a chance to read four of his books:

1). An Inquiry Into meaning & Truth :-In this book Russell is concerned with the foundation of knowledge. He approaches his subject through a discussion of language, the relationship of truth to experience & an investigation into how knowledge of the structure of language helps our understanding of the world.

2). Analysis Of Mind :- This book has grown out of an attempt to harmonize two different tendencies, one in psychology, the other in physics, with both of which Rusell found himself in sympathy, although at first sight they might seem inconsistent. On the one hand, many psychologists, especially those of the behaviourist school, tend to adopt what is essentially a materialistic position, as a matter of method of metaphysics. In this book, Russell talks about consciousness, desires, instincts & habbits.

3). Why I am not a christian :- This book actually is the collection of Russell's lectures & debates over his firm postion of atheism. Russell deeply goes into human mind in order to investigate the origins & causes of religion. Like Nietzsche Christianity is symbolic for Russell's rational ideas. He opposed all the organised religions.

4). The Roads To Freedom :- This is political doctorine of Russell. A pro-revolution book in which Russell developed his specific political idealogy more clealry than in any other book that he wrote during the first world war.

Saaye Mein Dhoop : Dushyant Kumar

Saaye Mein Dhoop is a collection of urdu ghazals by Dushyant Kumar, a well known hindi poet.
Although Dushyant Kumar lived a very short life of only 42 years but he succeeded in making his impression on the field of hindi literature.

I am in deep love with this book simply because these poems are seminal & heart touching.

Leaves Of Grass : Walt Whitman

I CELEBRATE myself;
And what I assume you shall assume;
For every atom belonging to me, as good belongs to you.


I loafe and invite my Soul;
I lean and loafe at my ease, observing a spear of summer grass.


Houses and rooms are full of perfumes—the shelves are crowded with perfumes;
I breathe the fragrance myself, and know it and like it;
The distillation would intoxicate me also, but I shall not let it.


The atmosphere is not a perfume—it has no taste of the distillation—it is odorless;
It is for my mouth forever—I am in love with it;
I will go to the bank by the wood, and become undisguised and naked;

I am mad for it to be in contact with me.

'I Celebrate myself ' These lines from the book Leaves Of Grass makes stand Walt whitman tall in comparison to all the poets.

Today, more than a century after the publication of the final edition of Leaves Of Grass, Whitman's place in American literary history often seems as nebulous and enigmatic as the ideas upon which America was founded. Numerous poets since Whitman have consciously either placed themselves in the wake of his tradition or reacted violently against him, and the aesthetic value of Whitman's poetry continues to be a controversial subject. The intention of this exhibit is not to make a critical appraisal of Whitman's work; instead, it is hoped that the materials assembled here will help explain the phenomenon which was Walt Whitman. While the subject matter and themes present in Whitman's poetry reflect the historical attitudes and concerns of his day, the books themselves are also artifacts of a fascination and extremely dynamic period of American publishing history.

This book, I love a lot.

Zen Flesh, Zen Bones : Paul Reps

Zen Flesh, Zen Bones is an amazing book & it’s was fortunate on my part to be a part of all those who are in love with this book.
This book is actually a compilation by Paul Reps. He has simply translated the Zen stories & I should add that he has done a marvelous job.
I have seen many books on Zen but Zen Flesh, Zen Bones is a mile-stone as far as the Zen philosophy is concerned,

The best thing about the book is this that Paul Reps has not added a single word from his side. He tried to be very fair ; in this regard even D. T. Suzuki has also failed.
Although Suzuki’s approach is no less than that of Zen master’s but still his work on Zen lags far behind from Paul Reps’s.

Apart from Zen stories this book also contains 112 meditative techniques of Lord Shiva. In Hindu mythology these techniques are compiled in a book called Vigyan Bhairav Tantra. Paul Reps when came to India visited a famous saint in Kashmir. The saint was Lakshmanju. From him Paul Reps came to know about the ancient hindu meditative techniques.

Zen Flesh, Zen Bones is a very small book; pocket size.
Paul Reps picked up the name for his book from a very interesting story :
Bodhidharma, when asked his disciples about the Zen, the firs one replied that Zen is this world. Bodhidharma said you have skin of Zen. The second one replied that not only earth but also sky is Zen. Bodhidharma said you have Zen flesh. The third one replied that universe is made up of four elements & the fifth unknown element is Zen. Bodhidharma said you Zen bones. The fourth disciple did not said anything; he just kept quite. The Bodhidharma said you have Zen marrow.
So, the name Zen Flesh, Zen Bones comes from this story. The Zen marrow is not added in the title simply because it cannot be said.
That which cannot be spoken about, must be passed over in silence--- Ludwig Wittegenstein.

The Zen stories are one of the most complicated things in this world. Although, being an engineering student, complication was never a problem for me but speaking frankly Zen stories are even more complicated than cracking CAT or UPSC.
Just read some of them & one will find me correct.

But I will narrate a very simple story just to make the reader aware of the taste of Zen :

Once a warrior came to Hakuin ( famous Zen master).
He asked Hakhuin , ‘ Do you know anything about the heaven & hell ?’.
Hakuin said , ‘ Who are you ?’
He said, ‘ I am a warrior.’
Hakuin replied, ‘ Well, you look like a beggar instead of warrior.’
On hearing this the warrior felt offended & drew out his sword.
Hakuin said, ‘ Oh! So you have a sword too. From here my son, opens the gate to hell.’
Instantly the warrior felt that he was going to do something wrong. He placed the sword back & touched the feet of Hakuin.
Hakuin said, ‘ And from here my son, opens the gate to heaven.’

This book, I love a lot

Fyodor Dostoevsky

I cannot remain mute about Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) when I am talking about my favorite books. The man of extreme knowledge & insight, Dostoevsky, a Russian novelist, journalist, short story writer whose psychological penetration into the human soul had profound influence on the 20th century.

He joined a group of utopian socialists for which he was arrested in 1846 & was sent to Siberia. He spent there four years in hard labour but when he returned back he was a different man.


I have read two works of Fyodor Dostoevsky :

1). Crime & Punishment :- This a story of a poor student who kills a rich money-lender under the self impression of being a person who is extremely talented. Gradually he realises his mistake due to his illness.

2). An Honest Thief :- A collection of short stories starting with the story of a drunkard for whom alcohol is out of the limits of good & evil.

Nietzsche said of Jesus: “it is regrettable that no Dostoevsky lived near him.” He also stated “Dostoevsky was the only psychologist from whom I had anything to learn: he belongs to the happiest windfalls of my life.”

Fyodor Dostoesky is a worth reading writer. If I am allowed, I will certainly place him above Tolstoy.

These books, I love a lot.

The Godfather : Mario Puzo

The Godfather Mario Puzo has here created an extraordinary novel; it pulsates with dramatic and evil incident, brute rage, and the naked terror of an infamous underworld. Puzo takes us inside the violence-infested society of the Mafia and its gang wars. He shows us its trials by gunfire and torture and the nature of Mafia friendship. The Godfather is essentially the story of a man and his power, and it is a reading experience one is not likely to forget.

The Godfather is Mafia leader Vito Corleone, benevolent despot who stops at nothing to gain and hold power.

The Godfather is a friendly man, a "reasonable" man, a just man -- and the deadliest gang leader in the Cosa Nostra.

The Godfather's command post is a fortress on Long Island, from which he presides over a vast underground empire that encompasses the rackets, gambling, bookmaking, and unions. Tyrant, blackmailer, murderer -- he gives his friendship (no man dares refuse it), rights wrongs (even murder is not too great a price for "justice"). His influence runs through all levels of American society, from the cop on the beat to the nation's mighty.

Mario Puzo introduces us to an extraordinary gallery of men and women and re-creates the feudal world of the Mafiosi. The elements of this world explode electrically to life in this violent and impassioned chronicle. It is a spellbinding story, written with authentic knowledge of this particular milieu and with the hand of a master storyteller.

This book, although fictitious, still throws some light on the grim life of Italian Mafias. Every character apart from Vito corleone, is like a painting created from the pen of Puzo.

The world of fictions in English literature is incomplete with out The Godfather.

This book, I love a lot.

A General Introduction To Psychoanalysis : Sigmund Freud

A General Introduction To Psychoanalysis is the classic work of father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud. The book was written or rather published in 1938 as it the collection of Freud’s lectures on psychoanalysis on different places.

Freud is one of those fews who influenced the whole thinking of humanity. After Freud the thing were never as they used to be.
Although controversial, his theory ( Oedipus & Electra Complex) earned him the very name & fame that he rightly deserved. Today most of the part of his theory is disregarded in the light of modern psychology but no one can question the remarkability & importance of his work.

I did’nt mentioned here his major known work Interpretation Of Dreams simply because A General Introduction To Psychoanalysis covers most of the part of that book.

This book opened new doors for me & that is human mind.

This book, I love a lot.

Kabir Granthavali

Another book that I am mentioning here is the jewel of Indian mysticism. The book is Kabir Granthavali. It is the parables of great Indian mystic Kabir.

Kabir was a rebellious spirit & was the most influential mystic in 15th century. He was incomparable. Being a sooth-sayer along with a blend of criticism of organized religion, makes Kabir stand at the peak of spiritualism.

I came across Kabir a few years ago & was simply taken aback with his innovative writing method. But if I am truly being asked I would say that he was the preacher of love, as the world has never seen before.

Only by understanding Kabir one can easily understand the very core of religion & religiousness.

This book, I love a lot.

Diwan-e-Ghalib

Diwan-e-Ghalib is for me the very source of all the inspiration regarding the humankind. I could not stop myself still from looking through the pages of this book.

Ghalib is one of the very few poets who has successfully managed to blend more than one themes in his Ghazals. Himself a complete institution in philosophy, ethics, theology, classical literature, grammar and history, his works have been acknowledged in the past and reach out to the future as well. Endowed with unique transcendental vision and a rare intellect Ghalib not only encompassed the inner turmoils of his being within the verses but also recognized the agitations and difficulties of others of his time.



Ghalib’s personal perception of life is definitely influenced by the hardships and struggles faced by him in his earlier days. This is reflected in his ghazals where his grief at times is so intense that he becomes like a dispassionate observer to his sufferings. Not only will the readers relish the artistic and creative genius of the man in portraying the cries of his broken heart and his contempt for the world, embedded within the verses one will also find minute details from the life and times of Ghalib.

Although some of his poetry has been in Urdu, most of Ghalib’s earlier works have been penned in Persian. It is astonishing to comprehend that the poet after 30 years of absence reverted back to Urdu poetry with the greatest of ease, producing gems of Urdu literature that still sparkle to this day.

kisii ko deke dil koii navaa_sa.nj-e-fuGaa.N kyo.n ho
na ho jab dil hii siineme.n to phir muu.Nh me.n zubaa.N kyo.n ho
[navaa_sa.nj-e-fuGaa.N=to cry out]

vo apanii Khuu na chho.De.nge ham apanii vazaa kyo.n
badale.n subuk_saar banake kyaa puuchhe.n ki ham se sar_giraa.N kyo.n ho
[Khuu=habit; vazaa=behaviour; subuk_saar=embarassed; sar_giraa.N=arrogant/proud]

kiyaa Gam_Khvaar ne rusavaa lage aag is muhabbat ko
na laaye taab jo Gam kii vo meraa raazadaa.N kyo.n ho
[Gam_Khvaar=one sho consoles; taab=patience; raazadaaN=confidante]

dil-e-naadaa.N tujhe huaa kyaa hai
aaKhir is dard kii davaa kyaa hai

ham hai.n mushtaaq aur vo bezaar
yaa ilaahii ye maajaraa kyaa hai
[mushtaaq=interested; bezaar=displeased/sick of]
mai.n bhii muu.Nh me.n zabaan rakhataa huu.N
kaash puuchho ki muddaa kyaa hai

jab ki tujh bin nahii.n koii maujuud
phir ye ha.ngaamaa, ai Khudaa kyaa hai

This book, I love a lot.

Siddhartha : Hermann Hesse

Another book which I am in deep love with is Hermann hesse's Siddhartha.
Hermann Hesse (1877-1962), German poet and novelist, who has depicted in his works the duality of spirit and nature, body versus mind and the individual's spiritual search outside the restrictions of the society. Hesse was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946.

Siddhartha is the story of a brahmin boy who yearns for enlightenment. He leaves his home with the obvious permission of his father, accompanied by his friends.
After several years of wandering they come to meet Gautam The Buddha. But Siddhartha leaves the comapany of Buddha himself even after the persuasion by his friend not to do so.
Later on, Siddhartha wents to live a very material life inspite of his yearn for enlightenment.
But Siddhartha attains the enlightenment conclusively without the help of any master.

What Heramann Hesse did in this small story of his , simply shows his grasp of eastern spiritualism. Every dialogue between the Buddha & Siddhartha is noteable.

This book, I love a lot.

Being & Nothingness : Jean-Paul Sartre

Being & Nothingness. In that work, Jean-Paul Sartre attempts to straighten out a question that had eluded Descartes, Kant and Leibniz, and to a lesser extent Heidegger and Bergson: What is the relation of being to its nothingness? Bergson, for example' posited the act of duration, in which organization is melodic, involving a multiplicity of interpretations. Anyone who has been in a meetings, knows there are always competing perspectives and interpretations of events. Sartre, however, points out that if we talk of "temporality" then duration, as a multiplicity of interpretations, must presuppose "an organizing act".

Kant, in contrast to Bergson, did not see a synthesis in a multiplicity and the organizing act. At issue, for organization theory, is the terrain of "collective memory." For Bergson, the past interpretations cling to those of the present, penetrating the present in the form of memory, which is "ekstatically in the Past." What is ekstatic? For, Sartre's theory of temporality and organizing, ekstatic is not one, but three dimensions. And this is one of many contributions he makes in Being & Nothingness.

Sartre's contribution was to move from the philosophy of "I think, therefore I am" to "I think; therefore I was". The problem for organization studies is to answer the question of how is it that organizations change and are interpenetrated by permanence (what does not change In-Itself), and collective memory (that is being perpetually restoried), in time? Duration of organization presupposes an organizing act which is antenarrative, foreshadowing the nihilation of In-Itself and the becoming For-Itself. Organizing is the multiplicity and interpenetration of Being & Nothingness.

This book, I love a lot.

Rag Darbari : Shrilal Shukla

Rag Darbari is one of the most famous Hindi novels written by Shri Lal Shukla, an author known for his satire. The novel highlights the falling values present in the Indian society. It goes ahead to expose the helplessness of intellectuals against the strong nexus present between criminals, businessmen and politicians.

The novel is about Ranganath, a research student in history who visits his uncle in a village for a few months. He is surprised to learn how is uncle uses all the instruments of the society viz. the village school, the village panchayat (a local elected body), the local government offices etc for his selfishness. The moral values which he has learnt during his university education are considered completely useless and impractical.

This book, I love a lot.

Psychosynthesis : Roberto Assagioli

First book that I am mentioning this month is Psychosynthesis by Roberto Assagioli. This book is remarkable in the sense that it laid the foundation stone for bridge between psychology & mysticism.

Roberto Assagioli's ideas can be encapsulated in a nutshell (egg) with the Greek concept of Gnothi Seauton - Know Thyself. Psychosynthesis allows for an in-depth journey of discovery that will be different for every individual; yet the journey embodies similar experiences attained through similar techniques.

The text is in a slightly clinical style, which is not surprising considering that Assagioli had a background in Psychoanalysis and Psychiatry. This book was most likely written to showcase his Psychosynthesis concepts to his peers in Psychiatry who had a Freudian background.
However, don't let the prospect of a slightly clinical styled book put you off. If you are interested specifically in Psychosynthesis it is an essential read, and also highly recommended if you are in any way interested in Transpersonal Psychology or Self Development.

Assagioli's comments on the "Spirit of Synthesis" bring to mind the concept (doctrine) of the 4 Elements in Western Qabalistic thought, where Earth, Air, Fire and Water are brought together (synthesised) into harmony to give rise to Spirit (i.e. all 4 elements when in harmony are pure/refined spirit).

Assagioli comments that the most important results in Psychotherapy have come about from independent researchers rather than academic psychologists. This is perhaps due to the independent researchers (seemingly he refers mainly to medical and psychiatric doctors) have a great deal of experiential evidence and build their theories from observing a vast array of clients, rather than formulating theories based on laboratory experiments, other people's theories, or personal fancy.

A key diagram in Psychosynthesis is the 'Egg diagram' that provides a simple but effective map of consciousness and framework for understanding the psyche. Assagioli describes the outer 'shell' of the 'Egg diagram' using the words "delimiting not dividing", which to me really encompasses the ideas of boundaries. Although we are all part of the 'oneness' we have boundaries, which are very important to us as individuals. We are delimited by these boundaries, not divided (cut-off) from all else. The whole concept of an egg is great, as eggs are permeable even though seemingly hard shelled.
Two important concepts within Psychosynthesis are identification and dis-identification, the importance of which are briefly touched upon in the quote:
"We are dominated by everything with which our self becomes identified. We can dominate and control everything from which we dis-identify ourselves."
Assagioli outlines two approaches to Self-growth. Personally I favour the second approach, the intuitive method, of listening to "the Spirit within" - guidance by the Higher Self, and following feelings and intuitions.

Assagioli talks about childish dependence carrying on into later life either on the parents or other individuals. This is really the root of co-dependence. Although Assagioli probably hadn't developed anything specific (at least terminology-wise) on co-dependence it certainly indicates he had experience dealing with and understanding these issues.

It would seem Assagioli was very much a product of his training in Freudian thought, and Psychiatry (and also his Qabalistic thought, although this doesn't easily show through in his writing). Assagioli was really the seed or beginning point of Psychosynthesis, developing the system from his own theories and experiences, and from tools and techniques he had worked with in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy fields. His "version" carries with it an aura that is the product of his own Self. Modern teachers of Psychosynthesis impart an aura that is the product of their own Self, and living "sum total" of their experiences. Sometimes their teachings on Psychosynthesis draw on other things such Shamanism, co-dependency, Jungian concept, plus all of their own insights and wisdom.

This book I love a lot.