The Razor's Edge

The opening statement of the book say’s it all.

 

 “The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard.”   --Katha Upanishad.

 

 

This book has all the characters one can identify them with. Of all, the character Larry is the one the author, Somerset Maugham showed as the person who passed over the razor’s edge. This story according to the author looks like a real story but I don’t know whether the real people have been identified.

        Some believe social status is the most important thing and they work hard for it in life, for some it is security in life, wealth, adventurous, risk taking life style. Everybody has their own way to live the life they have to live with. Maugham is also one of the characters in the book, representing an intellectual life style unaffected with most the happenings around him yet empathic with them. He presents all aspects of life through his eyes and we travel along with him in the journey of his observation of different types of people. So many unexpected things happen to everybody but yet as time passes everything is the normal way. Larry, a typical American boy leaves everything in life in search of something for which he doesn’t know the answer. He travels a lot, reads a lot and yet there are questions unanswered for him. He unlike others doesn’t stop that search .He continues to its logical end. He reaches India for the answer. He studies, practices, meditates and does everything that people always wish they have done at some point of time in life. He achieves that peace which he was searching for and in the end he is too happy to do any meager job. The author questions him , that after being so happy and now what will you do. Larry replies “Live” and the author asks him how and the reply is

“with calmness, forbearance, compassion and selflessness”.

                   The author’s knowledge about the position of India is to be greatly commended. He exactly points out how India has so much to offer to the rest of the world about the knowledge of life and yet is not useful to it because of the severe mutilations it had to undergo with various wars and conquests. How the Indian has become degenerate in his thinking after living a slavish life for thousand years. He doesn’t see any obstacles like this for Americans (in following the spiritual path of India) who have been victorious and never experienced what an Indian did and is still experiencing.

             In the usage of India, the author exclusively means only Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma rather then Buddhism or anything other then Hinduism. The movie which was based on this novel in search for good locations changed or made the crass error which most westerners do , is to identify the good in Hinduism with Buddhism which is plainly wrong. When the real happiness for Larry happens in down south Madurai, the movie changed it to some Tibet and when in the book a RamaKrishna Mission monk advices Larry on the path to be taken, the movie makes it to be some Buddhist monk. The movie is what is most widely watched since people don’t have that time to read a long book and all they get is such meekly understood India. They probably cannot comprehend without a founder of religion, whatever the book sole emphasis was on Sanatana Dharma.

           This book is also just not about one person, Larry as most people would like us to believe. Yes, Larry is the main character but everybody else are no less. If they were not there one cannot identify how Larry has struggled.

       The author, I liked him for his observations. The way he analyzed people and the way he had words for small things like the twinkle in the eyes and the color of wine. A good book to read.