?Who will cry when you die?? by Robin Sharma (Jaico Publishing House, Mumbai, India, 2006, in agreement with HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Canada) is one more life improvement book. Others may wish to call it an art of living or inspirational book. By whatever name we call it, it is the kind of book that is meant to shake the reader a bit, to bring him to reconsider his way of life, to make him aware of his weaknesses, to put some sense back into his head in order to lead a fulfilling life.

<B>Learning how to live</B>

Robin Sharma (?The Monk who sold his Ferrari?, ?Leadership Wisdom from the Monk who sold his Ferrari?, ?Mega Living?) quotes Seneca: ?So long as you live, keep learning how to live?. It is precisely because people basically need to keep learning the simplest of things in life in order to be happy, successful and at peace with themselves and with the world that such books as Robin Sharma?s keep appearing on the market.

Paradoxically, people are capable of dealing with complex issues and difficult concepts yet are incapable of making a successful journey within, of communicating effectively with those around them, of showing tact and adopting common sense ways of achieving satisfaction in life. Rarely do we have people who are able to sift the essential from the non-essential.

So, from time to time, we have someone who comes along to remind us: look, this is what you badly need to do to enjoy life and make other people happy. In short, to transform our lives. We?ve had Dale Carnegie. We?ve had Norman Vincent Peale. And a host of others.

<B>Irritatingly obvious</B>

The book contains brief lessons in the art of living. The titles are self-explanatory: ?See your troubles as blessings?, ?Learn to be silent?, ?Be unorthodox?, ?Learn to meditate? and so on. Such titles are not only catchy by their terseness but they also indicate what each chapter will be about. They prompt the reader to ask himself: what is there in this chapter that I don?t already know. It?s a fine way of arousing your curiosity and getting you to dip into the lesson.

You may not learn anything new from the 101 lessons he proposes though you end up being grateful anyway to be reminded of certain fundamental elements in improving your life. Sharma makes his point succinctly though you wish he had taken pains to expand an idea sufficiently enough. For instance, in ?Practice forgiveness?, he writes that ?Forgiveness is a great act of spirit and personal courage. It is also one of the ways to elevate the quality of your life.? This may be very good as a general idea but it is hardly illuminating concerning the nature of forgiveness. Many of us sincerely want to forgive but have no idea how to do so. Sharma sheds no light on it.

Sometimes he is obvious to the point of irritation, like in ?Take a Public Speaking Course? where he says that, to reduce the fear of speaking in public, what you need is preparation, practice and a public speaking course, and you will soon master it.

This is overly simplistic. It?s like you are being told that, if you want to enjoy better health, you must take regular exercise and avoid fatty foods.

In ?Master your time? he writes: ?Commit yourself to managing your time more effectively.? Once again, he doesn?t say anything more. I am sure many readers would have liked some elaboration on the point, especially when Sharma himself happens to be a leadership guru.

<B>Common sense advice</B>

Robin Sharma draws on his own experiences, remembers what his dad or mom said to him on earlier occasions, quotes from various sources ? classical writers, philosophers, proverbs, personal anecdotes, ancient Indian mythology, his favourite books ? and addresses the reader directly to establish communication.

The strategies work except that at times it is hard to determine whether a particular quotation is used to fit a topic in question or a topic is used to fit a particular quotation.

He does throw in a number of interesting ideas, however, like planting a tree at the birth of each of your children as ?it is a wonderful and creative act of love and one that your kids will remember for many years to come? or ?a walk should never have a specific purpose. Rather than having a destination, you should simply immerse yourself in the beauty of the walk itself. Second, you must never take your worries with you in the walk.?

This is plain, common sense advice. Many of us go to the seaside or weddings or anniversaries expecting to have a few moments of relaxation and amusement but end up dissatisfied and miserable inside. We blame it on others, on the weather, on the crowd and so on, failing to realise that the root cause of our misery is the terribly nasty habit we?ve developed over the years of dragging our worries and problems with us everywhere we go.

The title invites readers to take a practical and realistic view of life and to maintain full control of ourselves.

<B>Suresh RAMPHUL</B>