Points of Balance - Mansukh Patel & Chris Barrington

24 building blocks for a successful life

In this thought-provoking book there are twenty-four building blocks for living a successful life.

Chris Barrington and Mansukh Patel have created this template of key essential qualities which address the greatest of human needs: To know who you are, why you are here, and what direction your life is heading in.

Hardback - ISBN 1873606222 - 220 pages

Background articles

The Origin of Points of Balance - Chris Barrington and Mansukh Patel

Points of Balance is written by Chris Barrington and Mansukh Patel, two distinguished authors of heart-based spirituality. In the book, Mansukh Patel describes arriving in New York during a heat wave and arriving in Brooklyn. The streets were alive day and night with the constant sounds of police sirens, tourist hoards, people playing baseball in the parks and the famous New York cabbies skilfully weaving their way through the ever flowing river of traffic. Mansukh noticed a great contrast to the mountains of North Wales where they live.

Mansukh had come to New York to visit Ground Zero. Two of his friends had lived in New York all their lives and they had worked for weeks both day and night, giving help and assistance to the many firemen and construction workers whose task it was to clear the debris of the Twin Towers. As they shared their experiences Mansukh found the reality of what happened on September 11th coming alive for him.

Watching the events on the television from thousands of miles away, it is hard to feel the magnitude of their impact upon people’s lives. But now, as Mansukh approached the site through streets lined with faces of men and women, old and young, gazing out from wreaths of flowers, surrounded by poems, prayers, teddy bears and messages of hope and love, it began to hit home. Mansukh found their stories and experiences both heart-rending and inspirational, and a tribute to the magnanimous power of the human spirit.

Following a sea of tourists Mansukh walked past shop fronts that were still boarded up, gazing in disbelief at the huge space in the sky where the towers once stood. In the middle of the site, in mute testimony to all those who lost their lives, a huge metal cross stood silhouetted against the sky, a steel girder broken and melted into the shape of a cross – the only debris left standing.

Mansukh felt deeply moved by his experience in New York and found himself reflecting on the direction in which humanity is moving. Questions, by their very nature, demand answers. Where are the answers to these poignant cries from the hearts of people who really want to find meaning in their existence?

Mansukh’s indigenous parents taught him an ancient set of values for successful living. These are the twenty four qualities outlined in the pages of his book, Points of Balance. In his book Mansukh believes that he and Chris Barrington are responding to the greatest human need of all – to know who you are and why you are here. And to know what you are going to leave behind you.

Yamas and Niyamas

Mansukh and Chris talk about how, in India, there is a very ancient treatise known as the Srimad Bhagavatam. In a unique dialogue between a warrior prince and his elite student, this text outlines the qualities that are needed in order to live a peaceful and fulfilling life. They are known as the yamas and niyamas.

Yamas, say Chris and Mansukh, are like the brakes on a car. They help us gain control over our lives and restore homeostasis to body and mind.

Niyamas are like the accelerator, giving us direction and energy.

As Chris and Mansukh point out, a car without fully functional brakes and accelerator, will not get you to your destination and will be dangerous to drive. Similarly, if we have checks and balances in our lives it becomes easier to maintain our equilibrium and to reach our destination.

Mansukh Patel talks about how the yamas and niyamas described by Patanjali only included ten whereas the Bhagavatam describes twenty four.

Chris and Mansukh’s emphasis lies in the fact that the world has changed and we are no longer living in isolated communities that do not affect one another. We live in a global village where everything in every part of the world affects the whole. Every one is interdependent one upon the other. This means that we can no longer live as separate entities – and survive.

As Chris and Mansukh say, this leads us to the recognition that at this time in our history we need to help the world and each other first in order to find the fulfilment we seek. This is where the controls and directives described in Points of Balance come into play, for Chris and Mansukh believe they are exactly what is needed for our present time.