John unveils Braille book on karma
Braille is more than just a language for the blind; it is the currency of their thoughts. Books in Braille allow the visually challenged to expand their horizons, discover new worlds and enrich their life,” said John Abraham, Brand Ambassador of National Association for the Blind. The quaint evening of January 4 at Hotel Le Sutra, saw the unveiling of the Hindi Braille Edition of the book, Karma Sutra — Cracking the Karmic Code. Celebrated as United Nations Braille Day, the event was organised by NAB, Hingori Sutra Publishers and Hotel Le Sutra in Mumbai. While Shravan Kumar’s soulful singing in both male and female voice made the evening enjoyable, John Abraham’s words made all reflect on social responsibility. Having always maintained a low profile on his goodwill and charity work, John emphasised the importance of giving back to society without making a spectacle of it.
“Social causes need faces, but not in the manner that you do it one day before a film promotion. You require to be consistent and do it over a number of years. It is important that you constantly get reminded that you need to do good for society,” said John.
On being asked if India’s public spaces and transport are inclusive and accommodative to the needs of the visually impaired, John minced no words, “Infrastructure-wise we are a disaster for the visually impaired and differently-abled people. In all forms of disability, we are completely not prepared. We must move towards a direction where we make things easier for them...This is not my way of criticising the government but we are a progressive nation and we must move in a certain direction. I hope at least in the coming times, we get to see a differently-abled person comfortable in a public space,” he added.
Authored by Hingori, Karma Sutra the first in a series of four books from Hingori Sutras publishers, explains the Indian doctrine of Karma and serves as a DIY (do-it-yourself) manual for those who want to harness the invaluable wisdom of spiritual masters. The author, who wishes to remain anonymous, has, within a span of few years, transcended the journey from student to teacher of spiritualism. For him, the desire to serve others by sharing the knowledge he has on spirituality, was the inspiration behind writing this book.
According to the author, Karma Sutra actually provides a completely different take on suffering of any kind. Sharing his view on the Braille edition of his book, the author informed, “For people who are disadvantaged in any way, maybe it might turn out to be a strange justification for them not to feel lesser than others. It also motivates human beings about the profits of being good to others and that might be a small inspiration too.”
Since approximately 2.2 billion of the world’s population are either blind or visually impaired, it is imperative that they have the opportunity to read the Karma Sutra that has much to offer to humanity. Thus, Hingori Sutras with the help of NAB directed its efforts towards transcribing the book in Braille.