Paul Brunton was a writer, mystic and philosopher. Prior to Paul, Frank Humphreys was the first well-known western disciple of an Indian Guru (1911). Paul visited the Maharshi in 1931 and published this book in 1934 (which I discovered only in 2006!) He was born in 1898, and lived until 1981. He was born as Rapheal Hurst, and changed his name into Brunton Paul which was reversed later. He left a journalistic career to live among Yogis, mystics and holy men, and studies a wide variety of Eastern and Western philosophies. He had dedicated his entire life to an inward and spiritual quest.

‘Bring again and again into remembrance the fact that you are a pilgrim, that this world is but a camp, and that the situations in which you find yourself, or create for yourself, should be regarded not from a worldly point of view only, but still more from that of this quest of the Overself’, Paul writes.
Paul had a keen eye on detail, coupled with his opinionated viewpoints makes it a great classic in spiritual travel writing. He traveled around India seeking a guru who would give him peace, tranquility and self-knowledge.

His search began in England, where he was dreaming about a trip to India since his childhood. He was convinced about the great traditions of India and the East through his conversations with an Indian living in London. ‘The progressive West had to receive its philosophy from the laggard East? The Indian said, ‘Why not? Read the Apuleius again, my friend, and learn how Phythagoras came to India, where he was instructed by the Brahmins. Then notice how he began to teach the doctrine of metempsychosis after his return to Europe.....Thousands of years ago our sages were pondering over the deepest problems while our own countrymen were not even aware that such problems existed...”

His journey begins in Bombay. He meets an Egyptian magician who can read the other persons mind, and magically write the answer to a question on a piece of paper tightly held by the other person! Then, he meets Meher Baba who was to become a messiah after a war, born in a Parsee family, set to the spiritual world by the kiss of an old woman of Islamic faith, Hazrat Babajan, and initiated by Upasani Maharaj. He goes to Madras next where he meets a Yogi who practices the system of body-control, who claims to be a disciple of Yerumbu Swami, supposed to be over 400 years old! He meets a sage who never speaks. Another Yogi guides him to the Maharishee who lives in the hills of North Arcot. However, in the meantime he is introduced to His Holiness Shri Shankara Acharya of Kumbakonam, the spiritual head of South India. His Holiness advises him, ‘Go on with your travels. When you have finished them, think of the various Yogis and holy men you have met, and then pick out the one who makes most appeal to you. Return to him and he will surely bestow his initiation upon you.’

His search finally ended with Sri Ramana Maharshi. “The indigo sky is strewn with stars, which cluster in countless thousands close to our heads. The rising moon is a thin crescent disc of silver light. On our left the evening fireflies are making the compound grove radiant, and above them the plumed heads of tall palms stand out in black silhouette against the sky. My adventure in self-metamorphosis is over...”

This is brilliant travelogue of a seeker, who meets scores of holy men throughout his journey in India. The East West Journal aptly wrote, ‘this is a simple straightforward guide to how philosophical insights of the East and West can help to create beauty, joy and meaning in our lives....His keynote is balance, and his uplifting message encompasses all phases of human experience. This book is a great source of inspiration for me, and I strongly recommend the readers to read it too.

Paul Brunton’s ‘A Search In Secret India’
Published by Rider Books