The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown

Its few hours since I have completed reading the book and am still reeling under the after-effects of it. Its not about being overwhelmed by the book but every book I read usually lingers in the mind for some time, like how the taste of coffee (good or bad) remains. So I will try and be as objective as possible about it.

With Dan Brown for an author, the book is more or less expected to be a racy, entertaining best seller. 'The Lost Symbol' is definitely a nail-biting thriller and am sure is already topping the best-seller charts yet somehow it fails to impress the way the Da Vinci Code (DVC) did. One reason could be that Dan Brown seems to try too hard to meet up to it.

The novel seems to follow the same plotline as DVC: Robert Langdon travels within the first few pages to a prominent location, faces a grotesque situation, is forced to run , gets lectured and lectures a lot on symbology & solve clues to save lives of many involved. While DVC was all about the Priory of Sions and Knights of Templar, this one is all about Freemasons and the Ancient Mysteries. But the similarities seem to end here. While Da Vinci Code broke new ground with its startling revealations and theories, The Lost Symbol thrives more on numerous twists in the plot.

Mr Brown weaves an interesting tale of science & religion. But this is nothing new for us Hindus who have long seen science in our faith. While he condescendingly talks about Kubera Kolam, the Upanishads & Vedas he hurries to add that the Bible talks more about science than that meets the eye.

If his Da Vinci Code had the churches fuming in anger, The Lost Symbol seems to be his feeble attempt in building bridges. Consider this : Our brains, if used correctly, can call forth powers that are quite literally superhuman. The Bible, like many ancient texts, is a detailed exposition of the most sophisticated machine ever created . . . the human mind

"The mind sits like a golden capstone atop the physical body. The Philosopher’s Stone. Through the staircase of the spine, energy ascends and descends, circulating, connecting the heavenly mind to the physical body"
This we Hindus have known since long as the Yogic Kundalini awakening. Our scriptures even detail the different kundalini chakras, the signs & symptoms accompanied with the rise of each chakra.

There is also mention of Noetic Science and the supposedly made advances in this field but nothing worthwhile is described. The experiment that proves that soul has mass and hence can be weighed has long been circulated in the internet. Brown might probably impress his western audiences with his lecture on the positive effects of meditation, mass prayers and Focussed Thought etc but offers nothing we didn't already know. But yes, we are not talking of "Autobiography of A Yogi"

A well-known trait of Brown's books has been to showcase latest technology. This he does amply in The Lost Symbol and does a fantastic job of it. He talks from EMP guns that can effectively fry the electronics of any device it targets - used to stop car chases from a safe distance to Silly Strings (a nonlethal "incapacitant" that when shot sends a thread of gooey polyurethane that turns rock hard on contact, creating a rigid web of plastic across the back of the fugitive’s knees). Heat Signatures: Thermal-imaging equipment which are so sensitive to heat differentials that it can detect not only a person’s location but also their previous locations. But what takes the cake is his description of the extreme experience labs and specifically the "Total Liquid Ventilation tanks or Meditation machines".

In conclusion, The Lost Symbol is an extremely entertaining 'Bisibele bath' containing a mix of spiritual new-age mantra's, cliffhanger twists and references to the most famous of secret societies - the Freemasons. Enjoy Maadi