Spirituality is a dicey thing. And we must fear those who purport to be vessels of spiritual truths for more often than not we have to struggle alone and in great sorrow to see the face of God. God is infinite in Her/His splendour. And those of us who prefer to journey quietly and alone I give here the best alternative to ’satsang’, holy company — I say , read these books and see the face of God.

1.) For those of whom The Bhagavad-Gita is heavy reading, please read Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. Start you journey with this boy and see how he finds meaning in the love of a woman. God speaks to us through humans. Remember the Sanskrit chant: Yah Devi sarvabhuteshu...O Mother you are everywhere, in everything.

2.) Read and contemplate The Rule of St. Benedict. Though he wrote it for monks, yet it can be fruitfully applied to our humdrum lives. Who does not need to be reminded of the great value of silence? Indeed, as Benedict points out, it is sometimes good to be silent on even holy things!

3.) We wait for old age to think of God. But young Nachiketas rebuked his dad for neglecting God. The teenager really bugged Yama, the god of Death till the latter initiated Nachiketas to the mysteries of the universe. Read the Katha Upanishad. Learn how intense the quest has to be for getting answers.

4.) Well this book would hardly be considered by many as religious reading but I think to fend off despair we need to know the darkness inside. Read Joseph Conrad’s masterpiece Heart of Darkness for experiencing the HORROR of everything devoid of God. And be warned.

5.) To liberate the spirit from the worship of false gods and structures go for the heavy Michel Foucault. He is tough, very tough. But then who said that the quest for God was gonna be easy? We need to see a rope for a rope and not as a serpent. Maya engulfs us and Foucault shows us how to ’see’. Foucault was an atheist but God can use everything for our good — read his The Archaeology of Knowledge.