These essays are culled from the files of the late Dr Paul Brunton. They are as fresh today as when he wrote them, and they come to us glistening with inspiration from that divine source which so often moved his pen. Paul Brunton died on 27 July 1981 in Vevey, Switzerland. Born in London in 1898, he wrote thirteen books from A Search in Secret India, published in 1935, to The Spiritual Crisis of Man in 1952. He is generally recognized as having introduced yoga and meditation to the West and for presenting their philosophical background in non-technical language.
His mode of writing was to jot down paragraphs as inspiration occurred. Often these were penned on the backs of envelopes or along margins of newspapers as he strolled amid the flower gardens bordering Lake Geneva. Later they were typed and classified by subject, then he would edit and weld them into a coherent narrative. Paul Brunton had lived in Switzerland for twenty years; he liked the mild climate and majestic mountain scenery. Visitors and correspondence arrived from all over the world and he played an important role in the lives of many people.