Guilt Has Many Faces

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The book discusses several aspects of human guilt and other feelings associated with it: anger, envy, greed, etc. The author uses many sources such as history, mythology and contemporary society to explore the human mind which displays the feelings of guilt.

His illustrations present a wide spectrum of social milieus which appear to differ in time and space, but display similar patterns of human behaviour which the authors call guilt chains.

JAYANT BURDE holds academic and professional qualifications in physics, mathematics, law and banking. His published articles include many fields such as mathematics, theoretical physics and finance.

His published books are:

Philosophy of Numbers (2007), Rituals, Mantras and Science (MLBD, 2004), Shunya and Nothingness (MLBD, 2009), Buddhist Logic and Quantum Dilemma (MLBD, 2012), The Mystique of Om (New Age Books, 2007), The World of Rhythm called Rituals (New Age Books, 2007), Jaina Relativism and Relativity Physics (MLBD, 2014), The Riddle of the Infinite (MLBD, 2020), Mathematics of Tantra (MLBD 2021), Pathological Rituals Anxiety and OCD (MLBD 2022) and Special Theory of Relativity-A Pedagogical Critique (MLBD 2023)

Indian sages have identified six major enemies (shadripus) of human mind. They are passion, anger, temptation, excessive love and attachment, hubris and envy. Fortunately humans are endowed with a cultural product we call guilt feelings. Guilt is a barometer of the mental enemies as well as their controller. We believe that we do not share this characteristic with animals. It is possible that some higher animals and pets behave in a manner that suggests that they too have a feelings of wrong doing. But it is safe to assume that even if they have such feelings they are of rudimentary type possibly connected with instinct.

While we are fortunate having a built-in safety mechanism we have to take care that the intensity of guilt is not excessive. Guilt when excessive can become oppressive.

In this book the reader will find different stories or anecdotes from mythology and history in which guilt takes different forms with its association with other human feelings: anger, envy, greed and so on.