The Paradise Project: A Personal Guide to Creating Inner and Global Peace (1) - Softcover

Dr. V.M. Parikh’s earlier book The New Spirituality highlights the struggle of today’s youth to rescue spirituality from religious dogma and ground it on social justice. He believes passionately that movements like those growing out of the Tiananmen Square uprising, Black Lives Matter, and environmental and animal rights causes (among many others) are deeply spiritually motivated. Any action that motivates sacrifice is, in his view, intensely spiritual. Parikh followed that exploration with Walk With Me, where he tells the story of a sixth-century B.C. philosopher, Mahavir, who challenged India’s oppressive caste and patriarchal systems and created a liturgy based on peace, dignity, and the sanctity of all living beings. His teachings have been at the foundation of non-violent movements around the world, including those of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. Now, Dr. Parikh’s latest and possibly most important work is revealed in his new book The Paradise Project. He writes:"I truly believe paradise is attainable right here on earth. More and more every day, news of death, destruction, environmental disasters, mass displacements of people, and the extinction of species at a pace never seen before numbs and overwhelms us, making us feel powerless. But we can stop it. And we can create paradise both within and around us. I wrote this book to show how you, the reader – indeed the many, many of us who care so deeply for each other and our planet – can be a catalyst to bring happiness and lasting peace to everyone and everything you care about."A proud father and grandfather, Parikh lives with his wife, Nalini, in beautiful Victoria, Canada.

5 STARS
 
I like Aaron's vision of a world society. Count me in! 
  
With all the human suffering and environmental devastation that we see in the world, it's easy to feel hopeless about things ever getting better, let alone that we could realize a dream of paradise on earth. With a methodical and logical approach which has a spiritual basis, The Paradise Project: A Personal Guide to Creating Inner and Global Peace by Dr. V.M. Parikh tells us how it's possible.Using the dialog between four fictional friends to discuss what it would take to make a dream of world peace come true, Parikh addresses the history of major destructive forces affecting our planet, techniques for reaching inner peacefulness, and practical ways we can collaborate to bring about a better life with prosperity for all. He summarizes each chapter's main point with a quick review at the end. I enjoyed reading The Paradise Project. Dr. Parikh writes in a flowing and easy to understand manner, summarizing his points along the way. His use of dialog between friends, rather than straight narrative to discuss a variety of complex and timely topics, is not only engaging and entertaining, but educational. 
Some readers may be turned away by statements made relating to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, which is still a very emotional and divisive issue in our country. That being said, I like Aaron's vision of a world society. Count me in! As Dr. Parikh says, "Together we could generate the impetus and resolve to create a better tomorrow: a peaceful, prosperous world filled with radiating smiles." 
 Reviewed By Kimberlee J Benart for Readers' Favorite

5 STARS
 ...presented as an informal dialogue and a conversation between a few friends with different points of view and backgrounds.....this is an engaging and thought-provoking book.
  

The Paradise Project: A Personal Guide to Creating Inner and Global Peace by Dr. V.M. Parikh is a non-fiction commentary on the existing state of the world and what we--humanity as a whole--can do to improve it. 
 
The Paradise Project starts off with a brief background about the author and the idea behind the book itself. The book is then divided into three broad sections. The first section is devoted to describing and presenting the current state of the world which includes all of its political, religious, social aspects, etc. The second section is devoted to personal and individual growth of every human being to live up to their highest potential and development. The third section then presents ways, ideas, and means to achieve a better and improved state of society in all of its aspects using the importance of communities and voluntary organizations. The entire book is presented as an informal dialogue and a conversation between a few friends with different points of view and backgrounds.

The Paradise Project by Dr. V.M. Parikh is an interesting book written in quite a unique format. Due to the book being essentially a conversation between people, it lends itself to being informal and relatable with the common man or average person. 
I thought the points raised seemed quite valid, especially the importance of a sense of justice and responsibility towards society. I did think at times that perhaps the book is a bit too idealistic and dreams of a utopia, but the practical style of writing along with equally practical and reasonable solutions does keep it grounded and makes it a real possibility. 
 
Overall, this is an engaging and thought-provoking book which I enjoyed reading.
 
Reviewed By Gisela Dixon for Readers' Favorite