Mourned by millions at his death, Sundar Singh (1889-1929) awaits rediscovery at the dawn of the 21st century. Though known in his lifetime as India's most famous convert to Christianity, that reputation is misguided, for Sundar Singh never accepted the religion as such but emphasized instead the life-changing starkness of Christ's original teachings. If anything, he was the ultimate heretic - an uncompromising critic of convention, and a scandal to the comfortable.

Leaving the wealth of his home at sixteen to live as a sadhu, or wandering holy man, Sundar Singh's beggar-like existence, his intense bhakti (devotion), his mystical encounters with Jesus, and his simple yet profound parables became the stuff of legends. No one who met him - including the thousands who flocked to hear him during two visits to Europe - was unaffected by this modern St. Francis.

Though hugely popular in India and Europe during his lifetime, Sundar Singh's writings have not been readily available to readers in the English-speaking world for decades. Now, with Wisdom of the Sadhu, a collection of anecdotes, sayings, parables, and meditations, his spirit has been brought alive for a new generation. Couched as they are in a distinctly Indian idiom, his teachings probe the essence of the Gospels with unusual freshness and offer insights of great depth and value to every serious reader.

207 pages, 572 kb