"The Problems of Spiritual Life", A Review of

It is not a book that one can pick up and read a while, or even for a few days, and profess that one has understood what has been discussed in the text. If the reader is himself a serious aspirant who has been practising Vedanta, then, this observation does not apply to him.

Knowing a theory is one thing; knowing it well enough to explain it to others, and to teach others the practical part of the theory is yet another altogether. Most important of all, to demonstrate what one has has imbibed through one's life's example is a rarity, indeed. Such a rarity is the author. Vedanta is synonymous with his life. He is a saint, a self-realised mahatma.

Unless one is keen on putting into practice the precepts, theories and principles explained in the book, one ought not to lavish one's precious time reading it. It is a fruitless enterprise.

I love the chapter entitled "December 16 1990" --- it has priceless information on "desires" and how we should handle them. It has also information on other serious obstacles in our spiritual life, and on the issue of why people who tread spiritual life for decades find themselves backsliding. The said chapter is a must-read for people who are always looking for opportunities to reform the world and to change others.

This is a book, in my opinion, that one ought to re-read many times.