Geeta-Kavita Collection of Hindi poems & articles
Dear Friends, my next book, entitled “The Hilltop Temple,” is scheduled for release later this month. The book is a fiction novel, with an underlying purpose of introducing the readers to ancient Indian Darshanas (Philosophies). I am enclosing the cover pages of the book. The foreword to this book was written by a Brazilian Vedanta Acharya, Jonas Masetti, who was an engineer by profession. A quest for wisdom and spiritual restlessness led him to India. He spent many years in India and became a Vedanta scholar, earning the title of Acharya. This year, he was awarded “Padma Sri” by the Indian Government. He runs his ashram in Brazil and has a huge following. When I saw him getting the Padma award, I thought he would be the best person to write the Foreword to my book. I wrote to him and he readily agreed. In his foreword, he greatly praises my book. A few lines from his Forward are on the back cover of my book that you can zoom in and read. Once the book is in the market (soft and hard copies), I shall let you know. The book is illustrated and is about 240 pages. The cover illustration is one of the illustrations in the book.
Book Preface:
Many ancient human civilizations that flourished on this earth have vanished into history. The Indian civilization, however, has endured—uninterrupted and unbroken. This continuity is not merely historical; it is spiritual. Indian society carries within it a civilizational memory—a deep inner thread of identity and wisdom—that has ensured its survival through centuries of upheaval.
Yet, over the past thousand years, this memory has grown foggy. Centuries of foreign rule—first by Muslim dynasties and later by British colonizers—severely disrupted India’s traditional systems of education and spiritual transmission. The Gurukul system, which once nurtured generations with the teachings of our ancient scriptures, was gradually dismantled. In its place, a Western-style education system was imposed, often dismissive or ignorant of India’s intellectual and spiritual heritage.
As a result, today’s Indian youth—bright, capable, and full of potential—often remain unaware of the profound spiritual and philosophical traditions that once shaped this land. A void has been left in our collective psyche. This void cannot be filled by material progress alone. It can only be healed by reconnecting with the roots of our ancient wisdom—our Sanatana Chintan—the timeless contemplation that defines the Indian way of life.
The Hilltop Temple was born from this concern and a hope. It is an attempt to re-seed the modern Indian mind with the spirit of inquiry, self-reflection, and inner seeking that once formed the heart of our civilization.
The story follows a spiritually restless science professor, who, despite his success in the academic world, feels a growing sense of emptiness. Seeking clarity, he takes a sabbatical and retreats to the cool northern foothills of the Himalayas. One fog-laden morning, while walking deep into the forest, he loses his way and stumbles upon an abandoned temple perched on a lonely hilltop. There, in that enchanted silence, he meets the ancient masters—proponents of India’s great philosophical schools.
Through intimate conversations with these sages, he rediscovers truths long buried under layers of modernity. His inner fog begins to lift. The temple, the forest, the mist, and the masters—all become symbols of his journey from confusion to clarity, from knowledge to wisdom.
This book is not a historical account, nor a textbook on Indian philosophy. It is a spiritual allegory – an invitation to the reader to pause, reflect, and perhaps take their own walk through the inner forest.
While this book was going to press, I saw a young monk of Brazil who was being awarded “Padma Shree”, the top civilian honor, by the President of India. Jonas Masetti, renounced his career as a successful engineer, became a Vedanta Acharya and is actively engaged in spreading the message of Vedanta in the West. I requested him to write a foreword to “The Hilltop Temple”, that he very kindly agreed to write. I am very grateful to him for his contribution.
I would like to thank Ms Tannu Chauhan and Mr. Binod Bharti of Zorba Books, for all their help in bringing out this book.
Rajiv Krishna Saxena
July 27, 2025
