A Philosopher Looks Back

The term 'Philosopher' in the title of the book is used in its etymological sense: ' Lover of wisdom'. Wisdom is the direct knowledge of the Truth. And, the Truth is the Self. Mahatma Gandhi has said that he had started defining God as Truth and then after deep contemplation he had to reverse the statement and say' Truth is God'. The reason he gave was that while there might be deniers of God there could not be deniers of Truth. Acarya Sankara in la well-known context in his Brahama-sutra-bhasya observes that no one can deny the Self because it is of the very nature of him who denies. It is as a seeker of he Self that I have all along attempted to shape my life. In this attempt I have been receiving abundant grace and guidance from sages and saints. The only aim of writing this story is to share my experiences in this regard with fellow-pilgrims to the Land of the Self. I shall feel my effort worth-while if it will help at least some aspirants in their quest for Truth.

I am grateful to Sri S. Ramakrishnan, Secretary, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, who without any hesitation accepted to publish this autobiography in the Bhavan's series.