Writing a review on a comic book done by friends about a friend is not an easy task. I don’t pretend to be unbiased and also fail to see how reading Kaisa Leka’s new comic book would leave anyone unbiased. Her new comic book is called Audarya Lila: The death of Tuomas Mäkinen and is co-authored by her husband Christoffer Leka. One is said not to judge a book by its cover, but you would do no harm if you made an exception to that for this book. As usual, Kaisa and Christoffer’s eye for design speaks out even if one just holds the book. It’s bound in an old Japanse style. Its contents are tied by a string and covered by two beautiful matte-printed panels. When untying the book, it reveals three separated parts, which are very nicely bound as well. Each of the parts tells a separate story, but with a common theme, the death of Tuomas.

The death of Tuomas is not to be taken literal, rather it is the symbolic death of the Finnish Tuomas into the Hindu monastic Gurunistha. In this book as in real life, he crosses the ocean from Finland to California, from singing in a hardcore band to constructing a Hindu temple. His life story is told from three perspectives, his mom’s, his ex-girlfriend’s and his own. Hence, the three separately bound parts of the book. All three of them recount how they saw Gurunistha evolve and enter monastic life. It is in some ways a biography of his religious life thus far. Though, his mother and ex-girlfriend do not just speak about Gurunistha, but they also display the affection they have for him and the effect his choice had on their lives. The story is told in such a way that one is compelled to sympathize with all perspectives. It’s heartfelt, but comical at the same time.

I would put this on the required reading list for anyone ever considering becoming a monastic and specifically a Hindu monastic. The book communicates that crossing the ocean to pursue one’s ideals can be most difficult for oneself, family and loves ones. However, when approached in a balanced matter, this sacrifice for all is very much feasible.

Leka, Kaisa and Christoffer. Audarya Lila: The death of Tuomas Mäkinen. 1st ed., ATP, 2008.

PS
Gurunistha, Kaisa and Christoffer and I share the same Hindu teacher. Most interestingly for me, Gurunistha’s first encounter with his teacher happened when we first met as well. I remember the talks we had in the car and walking on our way to Swami Tripurari’s lectures. We both felt refreshed seeing how Hinduism had a realistic answer to modernity.  In 2007, I spent four month in his company when I stayed at the monastery, Audary, where he lives. It was great to see how he still carried this sense of enthusiasm and energy that he had when he first met Swami. (Gurunistha blogs overhere)