Ramakrishna and His Disciples

Excerpt: This is the story of a phenomenon. I will begin by calling him simply that, rather than 'holy man', 'mystic', or 'saint', all emotive words with mixed associations which may attract some readers, repel others. A phenomenon is always a fact, an object of experience. That is how I shall try to approach Ramakrishna... I only ask you to approach Ramakrishna with the same open-minded curiosity you might feel for any highly unusual human being. Christopher Isherwood unfolds a fantastic story with a calm finesse...