Book review: The Inner Light by Sumaa Tekur
THE INNER LIGHT by Sumaa Tekur. Hay House Books.
This book is a neat hand-holder for those who wish to get in touch with their latent spirituality, those who wish to find their place of calm, those who are curious about the topic and wish to know more. As also for those who are seekers but want more details on what to seek and where to seek it. As for those of a cynical bent of mind, The Inner Light is an interesting read, of the most non-sermonising kind.
The reader is taken gently by the hand and led through the compact chapters, shown how to find their personal brand of spirituality, tap into it, explore it, start meditating, pick a spiritual mentor or avoid picking one, navigate what is virtually an intimidating ocean of spirituality out there, sift the material from the spiritual in their lives, handle religion as viewed through the spiritual lens, master the art of seeking spirituality alone or in a crowd, balance spirituality with sexuality, go on pilgrimages internal as well as external, and learn how to integrate spirituality into their everyday lives.
The text contains frequent sprinkles of vibrant case histories, examples of people who run the whole gamut: people who have become evolved souls, people struggling to get to that point, people who tried, then gave up. There is also the well- known and still fascinating account of New Jersey`s Sri Kumare (Vikram Gandhi) who in 2012 made a big reveal, that he was no guru, that he had been conducting a social experiment which involved creating a spiritual organisation and earning a (huge) follower base.
If light is in your heart, you will find your way home, quoth Rumi. The light is something inherent to all of us, avers the author, it`s just a matter of recognising and acknowledging it for what it is. Tekur attempts to do just that, help the reader find the light or recognise the light already in them.
Popular myths are deconstructed, but gently. Spirituality does not help you fix yourself, the author states succinctly, it helps improve or refine ourselves. Tekur tells us to build a structure to our seeking, to zero in on the essentials, to practice regularly, to drop anchor, to focus.
Sound common sense
What stood out for this reader was the sound common sense in the advice the author had for readers. While walking the path with a guru, she states, it is wise to keep our wits about us and use our better judgment as we navigate the large grey areas of the mind, consciousness and other spiritual dimensions. Walk with your eyes wide open, in other words.
Elsewhere, Tekur acknowledges that where spirituality is concerned, it is not, cannot, be a case of one- size- fits- all. To that end, we read of different kinds of seekers walking along different paths, all heading in the same direction.
Tekur employs a writing style that is akin to gazing into another`s eyes: sharp but not lancing, direct but never judgmental, deliberately kept free of flourishes given that the topic under discussion, while not a dense one, is not really an easy one to immediately grasp, either. Except, Tekur does make it sound like a walk in the park, a most enjoyable one at that.
The Inner Light is an easy read; so easy, it takes time to register that the reader is learning something on the way.
The Inner Light By Sumaa Tekur. Hay House Books. Rs 399. 252 pages.
This review appeared in the The New Sunday Express magazine of 25 September 2022.
Sheila Kumar • August 24, 2022