7 Secrets of Goddess is the fourth title by Devdutt Pattanaik, of the "7 Secrets" series. In this book, the author unravels some secrets locked within stories, rituals and symbols by our ancestors. 
An Overview
To begin with, this is a fact-book. Facts from our past. Facts of our present. No inferences, no biases. No over-adorning language. Simple, clear and interesting. In 7 Secrets of Goddess, the author dwells on topics that are highly misinterpreted today, on questions that are extremely wrongly answered today. I remember approaching a literature professor at my college, who has done immense study in the field of feminism and gender inequality. I asked her if she has any idea why and when exactly did the first humans on the planet began differentiating men and women. What germinated the idea that is so strongly conditioned in us today.This book has an answer.
The book brings forth some facts that are just more than astonishing. For example, in the ancient time, a virgin was a whore. It is startling that whore is such a derogatory word today. Before the idea of a woman as a property became a conditioned phenomena in human nature, the word simply mean "a woman who was free to go to any man. She was like the earth that accepts seed from all plants freely; she was no field where the farmer controls the sowing and claims the harvest. The shift in the meaning reflects a shift from an older time when women were free to a later time when women were bound."The author sees the idol of a kali more than we do. He answers the symbolism representation of every organ, every jewel and every accessory, every single observation and interpretation based on facts. For instance, We've often come across image of Lord Vishnu, resting on a coil of a serpent. The author tells us how this representation indicates the impermanent nature of all the reality and struggle of the human mind to create at least notional stability. The author answers the swarup of Gauri as culture, swarup of Durga who is a mix of Kali and Gauri- unbound hair revealing that she is as wild as Kali, but a nose-pin indicating she is as domesticated as Gauri. Her restrained weapons exhibit that her affection cannot be taken for granted. She shall not be exploited. Very much a symbolism of nature. With many such interesting interpretations, the author turns the Goddess we worship into nothing but symbols. Symbols that our ancestors left to us, to understand and value, with a little bit of personification to keep it easy to relate to and interesting. Ifs and ButsLike any other book, 7 Secrets of Goddess to comes with some shortcomings that depend on the individual studying the book. After some interval, the book becomes very "bookish". For someone looking for a piece of literature to 'savor', this book will not be my suggestion. The books is a store house of knowledge for someone intrigued by gender studies. The Final Verdict7 Secrets of Goddess by Devdutt Pattanaik is a very interesting books of the times. Every page reflects the deep research and study by the author to unlock the 'secrets' and 'symbols' left by our ancestors for us to understand. If only we understood what every swarup of Goddess meant and worshiped it, the world would surely be a cleaner and a better place. However, like I have mentioned before, this book will not be my suggestion for someone who wishes to 'enjoy' or 'savor' some literature on weekend, for the book at some point gets heavy. Do I recommend 7 Secrets of Goddess? YES! About the AuthorDr. Devdutt Pattanaik is a renowned author, mythologist, and leadership consultant, whose work focuses on deriving management insights from mythology to reveal a very Indian approach to modern business. He has authored over 30 books, many of them best-sellers like Myth = Mithya, Business Sutra, The Pregnant King, and Jaya: An illustrated retelling of the Mahabharata. Trained in medicine, Dr. Pattanaik spent 15 years in the healthcare industry, with companies such as Apollo Health Street and Sanofi Aventis, before joining Ernst & Young as Business Advisor. All this while, he continued to study and write on mythological stories and symbols, drawing rich insights about business, leadership, and modern life. His columns on management and culture appear regularly in The Economic Times and Mid-Day. He was also featured in a special series called “Business Sutra” on CNBC TV and CNBC Awaaz, where his ideas on the intersection between business and mythology were discussed extensively.
Dr. Pattanaik was the Chief Belief Officer of Future Group and is now a sought-afterpublic speaker and culture consultant for corporations and business leaders.Source: http://devdutt.com/aboutCredentials:- ISIN: 978-93-84030-58-2
- Genre: Mythology
- Publishers: westland books
- Price: Rs. 395/-
- First published by westland Limited in 2014
- You can buy the book online from: Amazon, Flipkart and Landmark
