“The DOGtrine of Peace is a powerful book of love and compassion for those who seek a unique spiritual path.”
NO MAJOR SPOILERS
This is a new kind of book for Manjiri Prabhu, though those who are aware of her love for dogs would not be surprised. She pieces together the canine trends that have been surfacing over time – dog therapy, the fact that dogs can sniff out sickness and planted bombs – taking the relationship between dogs and people beyond the fact that the dog is man’s best friend. The book covers the growth of the relationship between man and dog – from loyal friend to spiritual catalyst which are the two sections of the DOGtrine of Peace.
Stories of Dr Prabhu’s experiences with her own dogs are interspersed with those of anecdotes from others, each of which highlights a different kind of experience. She also bounces her theories off experts like Dr Jane Goodall, Maneka Gandhi, Davidji and Swami Atmapriyananda of the Ramakrishna Mission, to name a few.
Whether it is dogs and chimpanzees, dogs and yoga Dr Prabhu brings a different take on her subject and her mission, which is an evangelical one as the name ‘DOGtrine’ suggests – every home should have a dog or two to bring more humanity to mankind. The crux of the book is the philosophy behind it, the nine sutras that reveal new and alternative ways in which dogs can enrich our lives with peace, compassion and wellbeing, something that has become more vital in the wake of the pandemic and in an overstressed world.
There is a bronze relief of the base of the statue of a saint which shows a knight patting his dog in Prague – the loyal dog has been polished by the touch of passersby down the centuries imitating the knight’s action, proving that patting or rewarding a loyal dog comes naturally to many people. Even the Mahabharata ends with Yudhishtira’s determination not to be separated from his faithful companion, even at the cost of losing a chariot ride to Heaven. For dog lovers this book will confirm what they always knew backed by Dr Prabhu’s painstaking research that fleshes out her theories and adds depth to her message.
Reviewed by:
Anjana Basu
Added 17th November 2021