In a world defined by its relentless pursuit of success and an unceasing cacophony of voices, Y.P.R. offers a refreshing and profoundly insightful perspective in his two-book series, Happiness and Heroism. The author’s exploration of the concepts of happiness and heroism, intertwined with the deeply personal touch of letters to his children, is a masterful guide to living a noble and fulfilling life.
Here in the first volume, The School of Being, Y.P.R. delves into philosophy on everything from the fundamental goodness of existence to humanity’s innate tendencies to feel emotions like stress, fear, anger and depression — and what is the antidote to such feelings. We talked to the author about how he was first introduced to the world of spiritual philosophy, as well as the deeply personal reason behind penning this book. Check out what he has to say below!
Q: What inspired you to write this book?
A: I began writing Happiness and Heroism when my wife was pregnant with our first child, and my mind was absolutely on fire with the idea that I was soon to be a father. What were the most important lessons I wanted to teach my children? What did I wish for them above all else? This inspired me to consider my most important goals as a father, and ultimately write Happiness and Heroism.
Q: What made you decide to split your message between two books?
A: When considering what I most wanted for my children, like many parents my initial answer was “happiness.” But as I experienced adult life, I found that there were many seemingly happy people that, for some reason, I did not admire. For example, people who enjoyed their monetary wealth or material possessions, yet they were unkind to others, or displayed questionable ethics; or people who had lots of fun and seemed to be happy in a spiritual sense, yet they were lazy, uninspired and unproductive.
I knew that in addition to happiness, there was a second half to what I wanted to teach my children, and that is where the second book came in. My goal for my children is that they not only be happy in attitude (The School of Being), but also heroic in their actions (The School of Doing), so the two books together comprise Happiness & Heroism: The School of Being, The School of Doing.
Q: Has your diverse upbringing and unique background inspired your writing?
A: My father came to Ellis Island as a young boy, the son of Eastern European peasants. He served in the Navy in WWII, became a physics professor and then an astrophysicist who helped design some of our country’s earliest scientific satellites. He bestowed upon me a deep respect for logic, reason, hard work, individual liberty and ethical behavior. My mother also came here as a young immigrant, and also eventually studied and taught advanced physics. But perhaps more defining for her, as a Jewish child surviving the Holocaust, she overcame immense challenges. Different people allow trauma to affect them in different ways, and she somehow harnessed hers to become a joyous, life-loving, spiritual adventurer.
When I was a teenager, my mother introduced me to the practice of meditation, and the world of spiritual philosophy. With these two powerful parental influences in my life, I learned that there is no conflict between spirituality and rationality; on the contrary, the relationship between the two are of key importance, for together they enable us not only appreciate the beauty of life, but also to understand why we feel it, how to feel it more often, and what actions are philosophically congruous with this love of life.
Q: Has the work of any other authors influenced your own?
A: The first book in the Happiness and Heroism series, The School of Being, was influenced by the likes of Indian philosophers Jiddu Krishnamurti and Ramana Maharshi, and Western thinkers like Jeru Kabbal and Alan Watts.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from Happiness and Heroism?
A: As religion has receded in Western World, it also seems that people have become increasingly lost, in a spiritual sense. Religion feeds a deep need of the human psyche, and without it many people are left yearning for answers to basic questions like why are we here, what’s the point of it all, why be happy, and why be good.
My hope is that Happiness and Heroism Part 1, The School of Being, will explain in clear and simple terms why, regardless of religious beliefs, we should all be immensely grateful for the wondrous lives we have. In the upcoming second book, The School of Doing, I hope to provide practical reasons for acting in a noble manner during our time here, and offer some guidance in those actions.
Q: What is your next project?
A: I am working on completing the second book in the Happiness and Heroism series, The School of Doing. It is a great accomplishment as a parent to raise children who are not angry, depressed, listless, or who do not feel like a victim. Yet even if you achieve this great feat, your children still need to do something. Oftentimes while raising my own children, they came to me with the question, “Dad, what should I do?” Sometimes they were referring to what course of study they should pursue in school, sometimes they were asking about their career path, sometimes it was an ethical question, and sometimes they were just bored.
In each case, they were yearning for a very basic form guidance that I hope to address in The School of Doing. In it, I explain why I consider it to be downright heroic to be productive, to be creative, to be kind and to positively contribute to society even in seemingly small ways. In The School of Doing, I hope to convey that there is true nobility in simple acts such as helping a stranger, working hard to support a family, and taking care of ones own mind and body. But as I explain in my writing, there is always an attitude -a state of mind- that precedes each action, which is why I have released The School of Being first.
About Y.P.R.:
