We are thrilled to announce that H.D. Goswami’s book, Quest for Justice: Select Tales with Modern Illuminations from the Mahabharata, is now available for purchase.
Quest for Justice is based upon a collection of lectures on various themes and episodes from the Mahabharata, one of the world’s most significant historical epics.
At a staggering one hundred thousand stanzas, the Mahabharata reveals a highly complex ancient civilization—one that not only excelled in the arts, sciences, and philosophy, but that also embodied the highest ideals of justice, morality and spiritual understanding. Romance, tyranny, war and supreme enlightenment, all are described in this riveting, divinely inspired narrative, which has profoundly influenced South Asian culture and spirituality for thousands of years.
Paralleling the magnetic oral style of the Mahabharata, Quest for Justice transmits these ancient narratives in an appealing, highly accessible, and engaging contemporary voice. Delivered with frequent good humor, the talks are easy and entertaining, even as they clearly confront the deepest meanings of the text.
Indeed, H.D. Goswami skillfully depicts the psychological depth of the characters and the existential dilemmas they face in a strikingly vivid and immediate way. With his trademark wit, erudition and insightful analysis, Goswami breathes new life into the most compelling episodes of this ancient literary masterpiece.
Currently under review by several mainline publications, Quest for Justice has already received praise from ISKCON leaders as well as prominent scholars of Sanskrit and Hindu Studies—a sample of which is included below.
“Based on a series of Mahabharata lectures, Quest for Justice is a one‐of‐a‐kind book. The speaker, H.D. Goswami, is obviously learned, and also possesses an uncanny knack for turning the story into a very entertaining presentation, captivating the reader by its “page‐turner” quality. All in all, it is definitely the best “popular” version of the Mahabharata I’ve ever read. It is very well told and the language of the text is exquisite. For those interested in India, Indian literature, and/or Indian religion, this is definitely a 5‐star introduction. It is beautifully written, like a thrilling adventure story, with a cliff‐hanger at the end of every chapter. Once you start reading you just can’t stop—and that goes even for someone like me, who is basically familiar with the text.”
-Åke Sander, Professor of Psychology & Sociology of Religion, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
“Quest for Justice is based on a collection of lectures on various themes and episodes from the enormous Mahabharata Epic. Paralleling the rhetorical style and delivery of the Epic itself, the book’s tone is one of oral transmission, as it reworks ancient narratives into an appealing, comprehensible contemporary idiom. Delivered with frequent good humor, the talks are easy and entertaining, even as they clearly confront the deepest meanings of the text. In this, the speaker benefits from his devoted, decades‐long engagement with the text in the original Sanskrit. Indeed, H.D. Goswami skillfully and profoundly depicts the psychological depth of the characters and the existential dilemmas they face in a very vivid and immediate way. Put differently, Quest for Justice is something of a continuation of the Epic tradition—the perpetuation, contextualization and re-articulation of ancient narratives and dharma teachings for a contemporary audience. H.D. Goswami combines his trademark wit, erudition and insightful analysis, breathing new life into the most compelling episodes of this ancient literary masterpiece.”
-Edwin Bryant, Professor of Religion and Philosophy, Rutgers University, USA
“Anyone familiar with the Mahabharata knows that following, much less explaining, this complex tale of fraternal enmity and fratricidal war is a daunting task. Yet, in H. D. Goswami’s Quest for Justice, we are treated to a deft and captivating retelling that practically places us inside the drama as it ravels and unravels. At the risk of sounding cliché, the millennia that separate us from these ancient events do seem to fall away as we are invited to recognize the very real human emotions that motivate the heroes and the villains of this celebrated Indian epic. Reading Quest for Justice, it is easy to understand that we are dealing with one of the great, enduring works of world literature, not a period piece from some forgotten age.“
-Kenneth Valpey Ph.D., Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, UK
