In this illuminating book the author traces the decent of the individual from his true divine status to his present condition and describes his ascent back to God. He explains how the various aspects of man's relative existence can be instrumental in the realization of his perfect being, which, in fact, he has never lost. The matter discussed herein is, in short, an explanation of the involution and evolution of the soul. One finds in these pages the Vedantic answers to many of the big questions that we have asked since we first started asking. It provides not only an intellectual understanding of the soul's journey, but also practical counsels on how to speed it along.
The whole universe is one in the Atman. That Atman when it appears behind the universe is called God. The same Atman when it appears behind this little universe, the body, is the soul. This very soul, therefore, is the Atman in us.
-Swami Vivekananda