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As a large, red sun rises from the Punjabi plains, the solitary figure of a sadhu – an Indian holy man – comes into view, trudging along a dusty road. In another frame the figure appears again, this time toiling to reach a remote Tibetan village along a narrow, icy track better suited for goats than for humans. In yet another, the man appears at the edge of an ancient marketplace at dusk, mingling with the crowd as he seeks a place to sit and rest. Wherever this sadhu appears, those who look into his eyes immediately sense his extraordinary humility and peace. They discover a mystic…

Just as Sundar Singh appeared in such scenes again and again – without prior announcement, without introduction, without credentials – so he appears in this book. “Scenes,” the first section, contains impressions from key events in his life. It is based both on accounts by Sundar Singh himself, and by writers who knew him. “Conversations,” the second, contains dialogues that draw freely on material from all six of Sundar Singh’s books, as well as interviews and articles. Both sections are interspersed with parables that punctuate the themes. Though structurally unusual, the resulting collage allows us to encounter the sadhu in the way his contemporaries did: not as a systematic thinker, but as a personal teacher.

In his teachings as in his life, Sundar Singh offers little by way of rational orientation. He defies categorization and critical analysis. The impact of his message, however, is always direct and immediate. His voice rings with a clarity that rises from the deepest, clearest sources of life itself.

k. c.