SEEKING DIVINITY

Puerto Rican author Sharon M Koenig on her new book, meeting Dada JP Vaswani, and finding God

- Manvi Pant

Puerto Rico-born and Mi-ami-based spiritual writer and author of three bestselling books, Sharon M Koenig’s English translation of the book Los Ciclos del Alma (2011), titled Seasons of the Soul (Pan Macmillan, ₹399) has recently hit Indian shelves. Especially relevant to current times, as Sharon mentions in the prologue, the book is more of an “instruction manual” and presents a guide on how to attain “spiritual divinity”. “In my book, I go through a simple process to help us live in the present, connect with divinity, and see everything anew,” reveals the author.

For the longest time, a certain curiosity has revolved around spirituality. Many people have tried to establish and discuss a connection between spirituality and religion in a subjective framework. And, a lot of people have questioned it too. In a lucid tone, Sharon presents clarifications to many such confusions in her book. According to her, “Spirituality is the universal need and search to transcend yourself. Religion is the individual language and physical means to attain it – practices, metaphors, and rituals that help calm the mind to connect. Everything is spiritual when you believe a divine force sustains the material world. You can be spiritual without practising a religion. Having said that, I am not against religion because different cultures have different ways to connect with what lies beyond our senses.”