The Way of Hermits

Description

A significant book exploring the spiritual practices that remain at the heart of much needed confluence of faiths to establish harmony and peace in our conflicting times. –BETTINA BÄUMER The Way of Hermits explores the life of Prasanna Devi (1934-2023) who was a unique hermit in India. Born in a traditional Christian family of Kerala, she settled in the jungle of Girnar in Gujarat where she was highly revered by Hindus. To all, Prasanna Devi was giving the darshan, the very manifestation of the divine, an indescribable light that we could contemplate on her radiant face. Such a singular spiritual journey was made possible by the constant encouragement and advice of the Benedictine monk Dominique Van Rolleghem (1904-1995), her spiritual father and guru. It is this fascinating link between two seekers of the Absolute that is revealed for the first time in the letters of Father Dominic which have guided Prasanna Devi on her “pilgrimage to the Unknown.” Known as The Christian Sadhvi and Mataji, the mother, Prasanna Devi had tremendous impact on distinguished author and catholic priest Yann Vagneux. “She implemented her eremitic vocation in Atmeshwar in a very radical way, he discerns in the Preface, “as evidenced by the frugality in which she spent her four decades of solitude.” He adds, “At the same time, she had a very particular understanding of her mission, which was to give Christian witness to prayer and friendship, offered without reservation to all the Hindu believers with whom she lived daily.” A significant treatise exploring the spiritual practices that remain at the heart of much needed confluence of faiths to establish harmony much needed in our conflicting times.