PLEASURES OF READING — READING KEEPS US ENGAGED AND INFORMS A LOT TO US

Pleasure Of Reading

According to Francis Bacon, “Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man, and writing an exact man”.  There is no doubt that reading has many advantages.  By reading only a person can become a complete man, because by reading he acquires knowledge and wisdom.  Books widen our outlook and place the treasure of knowledge before us.  By reading good books we can also acquire noble virtues.

Reading of books is also a great pleasure.  It gives us peace of mind and satisfaction.  It is also a great source of recreation.  Of course, a person who has developed the hobby of reading only can enjoy all the benefits of reading.  In reality, every person should develop the good habit of reading. When we feel tired and dull, the books of great writers give us peace of mind and make us optimists.  These books contain  many valuable ideas which guide our life.  Books also inspire us to work hard and achieve success in our life.

By reading books, even our natural talents are also developed, because we get inspiration from them.  Reading is an intellectual food for mind.  Just as we need the food for our body to work properly, similarly, we also require food for our mind and soul.  Thus, we are that there are many pleasures of reading.  But these pleasures also depend upon the type of books which we read.  Good and inspiring books can lead us to a noble and successful career in life.  On other  hand, bad books can adversely affect our tastes and lead us to ruination in life.

Bacon has rightly said that some books are to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.   Thus a good book has to be chewed and digested.  Such a book may have a lifelong influence on the life of the reader.  For example, reading of Gita, the sacred book of the Hindus, has a lifelong influence on the readers.  It teaches many good and moral principles to the reader.  It also teaches a person the theory of `Karma Yoga’, which means that we should do our duty sincerely and should not bother about the fruit (result).

There is doubt that different persons choose different books according to their tastes.  But it is necessary that the young boys and girls should choose the books for reading very carefully.  They should not waste their time in reading should not waste their time in reading very sensational type of novels, because it has been noticed that the students of today only enjoy reading cheap romantic novels.  They do not take any pleasure in reading serious type of books or their own text books.  In reality, they lose all the interest in their own studies and waste their in reading useless books.

The fact is that there is nobody to guide the students as to what they should study.  The students should study the newspapers and popular magazines.  These increase their general knowledge and acquaint them with current national and international events.  They should also read the biographies of great men like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, etc., By reading the life stories of great men they will be inspired to follow in their foot steps.

Of course, reading for pleasure is quite different from reading under compulsion.  When we are reading something under compulsion, definitely our joy is killed.  On the other hand, we enjoy a lot when we read just for the sake of pleasure.  But we must make an intelligent selection of books which we want to read.  We must separate the chaff from the grain if we want to enhance our pleasure of reading.

The habit of reading should be developed in the children from the very beginning.  Thus, when they grow up, they can learn a lot and increase their knowledge.  But the young boys and girls should not read bad books which only pollute their minds.  Of course, books are the best companions of the youth, these can save them from falling in bad company.