Prabuddha Bharata, an English monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order, has trodden a long and arduous path for the last hundred years. Throughout this past century it has gathered many treasures within its covers. On those pages some of the brightest minds of the century struggled with the problems of the world and placed before humanity their insights and solutions. For the readers who do not have ready access to all the volumes of Prabuddha Bharata, few of the priceless gems contained in those pages have been anthologised here.
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