The sacred subject of the eternal, living spiritual culture of the Upanishads and their journey to the West deserves attention of a wider public. This book is a comprehensive treatment of the broad achievements of India's civilization and spiritual culture as it is revealed through the works of Western scholars.
Those who have succeeded in attaching or detaching their minds at will have succeeded in Pratyahara, which means gathering towards, checking the outgoing powers of the mind, freeing it from the thralldom of the senses. When we can do this, we shall really possess character; then alone we shall have taken a long step towards freedom. Before that, we are mere machines.
-Swami Vivekananda