A test of a good book

A test of a good book

          Numberless books have been published and are still being published every day. But hardly a few of them survive. A book is great not because it is useful for a particular purpose. The greatness of a book lies in what it contains universally true. Today we read Aristotle, Kautalya, Shakespeare, the Vedas because they contain such truths as never die. The subject matter of a great book is immortal and is applicable to humanity at large. They do not serve a particular community or region. A reader will like to read a great book again and again because at every reading he will find new interpretations. A great book is not great because it just preaches. A great book preaches what is perpetually and universally true. The ideas are sublime that elevate the personality of a man and encourage him towards the noble goal of life. A really great book provides us with an insight into human nature. We come to understand the working of instincts in human life. It guides us in suppressing all that is evil in man and brings out the best in him. Instincts can not be wiped out. A great book guides a man how to regulate the instincts for the better and humane purposes. Therefore sublimity of ideas make a book good for the times to come. The ideas contained in them do not perish. They are likely to survive even the doomsday. Such is a test one can apply to a good book.