A crash course in Nirvana
The Shoonyam Quotient: The Light of Life by Dr Mickey Mehta. Published in 2017 by Penguin Random House India Private Limited, 7th floor, Infinity Tower C, DLF Cyber City, Gurgaon 122002. Pp: ix + 218. Price: Rs 299.
Dr Mickey Mehta (pictured), the author of this fast read book, is associated with running popular gyms. No longer. He has gone beyond the body, and even gone beyond the mind. He is now a New Age guru, whose message is : "Get optimized, get Mickeymised.” Trust he has registered this trade name. As also his catchy theme, "Shoonyam Quotient.”
The self styled "Global Holistic Health Guru” has a double honorary doctorate in holistic health and life sciences from The Open International University for Complementary Medicines based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In his preface, he states: "I am not the author, I am just a medium.” Deepak Chopra the US based, original New Age guru of alternative medicine (accused in America of doling out "hocus pocus” in "quantum based jargon”) is the author’s principal inspiration (the book has been dedicated to Chopra, "above all”). The other dedicatees are: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (of transcendental meditation and Beatles fame), B. K. S. Iyengar, Osho Rajneesh, Baba Ramdev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Art of Living guru), Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Avdhoot Baba Shivanand and, of course, Lao Tzu (circa, 533 B.C., Chinese philosopher, who invented Taoism). Add to this cocktail, the author’s "soul learnings.” The resulting drink is called Shoonyam Quotient. Drink it, to be permanently happy and at peace.
Shoonyam, in Sanskrit, means zero. The power of zero is infinite. If you wish to tap this infinite power and attune into the cosmic consciousness, you must first dissolve yourself. Ramana Maharishi (along with Aurobindo and Vivekananda, perhaps the greatest Indian thinker sage) insisted that a self-enquiry must begin with the question: "Who am I?” Mehta echoes this by saying that we all, ("paranoid humanoids” — as he terms us) are beings of light — beyond body and mind — drops in the ocean of cosmic consciousness.
We are all aimlessly running in circles, chasing a mirage; and we are missing the center ("Shoonyam”). The closer we come to the center, and remain there longer and longer, our misery will disappear. Be opinion-less, desire-less, view-less, says the author. 
Focus only on what you are doing. If you are enjoying a burger, think of how tasty and succulent it is, not simultaneously check WhatsApp messages. If you are exercising in one of the author’s gyms, focus on the part being exercised; no need to think what benefits the exercise will bring. Same applies to making love. Or any other human activity.
Sri Sri speaks on the same lines. Be centered, live in the present moment, he preaches. Fret not about the past (you cannot change it), worry not about the future (that too, cannot be changed, as your past karma has predetermined it). Be empty and hollow, prescribes Sri Sri. So does the author, when he advises to be thought-less, an observer, a witness to all your actions — don’t feel like a doer, just watch yourself. Watch your breath. Watch your thoughts. You are not your name. Not your body. Not even your mind. Only a soul, connected with all other souls, and the OverSoul (Ralph Waldo Emerson/Hegel). There is no duality in the universe. Mehta and this reviewer are one and the same. Some food for thought, this.
Talking of food, the author would like us to partake 70-80% fruits, juices, salads and nuts. "Sleep related disorders are the first to crop up when the Shoonyam Quotient is lost,” writes Mehta. Shower, gargle, brush before you sleep, and perform a simple exercise (which is akin to the "Yognindra” exercise of Iyengar). There are several simple auto suggestions and breathing exercises which will help you to come into the Shoonyam state. Toss that Restil 10 mg (tranquilizer) in the dustbin. Enough of being the type A individual who is frantically aggressive. Just BE. How to do that? Buy this book. It has several nuggets.
Lucidly written and in a conversational style, this book is an easy read. It may be a mish mash of Tao, Tantra, Gita, Zen and Mickey; it nevertheless holds your attention. Instead of reading tomes, savor this nescafe of nirvana. In a sequel, Mehta (being a Parsi Zoroastrian) is advised to study Ilm-e-Khshnoom (the occult knowledge of Zoroastrianism), and simplify it for the readers. He and they will be enlightened as never before.
So, you little droplet of cosmic energy, if you were not centered while reading this review, or were judgmental about Mehta or this reviewer (both being same), then it is time you took a Shoonyam dip.
BERJIS DESAI
Desai is a lawyer in private practice and a part-time writer.