Pleasures of Reading

Pleasures of Reading

Says the famous poet

“My days among the dead are past                                                                    

 Around me I behold                                                                                                     Wherever these casual eyes are cast                                                                                  The mighty minds of old                                                                                                        My never failing failing friends are they                                                                               With whom I converse day by day.”

Reading is perhaps the greatest source of pleasure to a person. Reading broadens the outlook, drives away the apprehension and lightens up the mind with truth and knowledge. An eminent essayist, Sir Richard Steele said, “Reading is to mind, what exercise is to body.” This axiom implies that reading is a way of life significant in buildout of mind.

Reading acts as a catalyst to the imagination and inspires creative thoughts. Reading develops cognitive and linguistic capacity, more vivid imagination, flexibility of thought and greater power of treasuring words and language.

“There is no other divine thing synonymous to knowledge” said Lord Sri Krishna in Srimadbhagavadgeetha. Such unparalleled knowledge with different facets can be fostered through reading. Indeed, the pleasures of reading hinge on the choice of books. The pleasures of reading may be lost when wrong choice is made of the reading material. A person should be vigilant in selecting the right type of books. Real pleasures of reading can be enjoyed through a wise categorization of material for reading. It is true what Bacon said “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested.” This means that some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read; and some few to be read wholly with diligence and attention.

 Books bestow to the well-being of our mental state and thus remain as our faithful friends. They never deceive or desert us in our hour of need like many of our human friends. “A good book is the precious life blood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up to a life beyond life.” It is a bountiful garden, an orchard and a storehouse of knowledge.

It gives an immense pleasure to read the books which encompass a person to instill master mind who can perk up his future. Through books we can reap the ethics from the experience of noble minds with the fortitude and elegance of their vision. Through it we come to have a keener and passionate insight into life. Life doesn’t have a dull and monotonous aspect any longer but in every page we come across fresh wonders and mysteries awaiting for us. Hence, “Reading is virtue and the best trait for a person to acquire to lay down a strong foundation today which assures a stellar future tomorrow to remain a beckon light in this competitive world.”