An End to Suffering : Budha in the World

This is the title of the brilliant book by Pankaj Mishra.

( Thanks to Pradeep Sebastian, author of the column,
' End Paper ', in The Hindu Literary Review, for drawing
my attention to this book ).

It's not often that the blurb describes a book so accurately :
" A beautifully rendered mixture of history, philosophy,
travelogue and autobiography ".

It is an unsentimental exposition of the life and teachings
of the Budha. The author starts his journey impassioned by
the urge to understand his own, and India's, past. It starts
with his rather romantic ' pilgrimages ' to Budhist centres
in the Himalayas. This urge, however, has its origin in the present,
and consequently, his journey takes him through the unromantic
streets of the contemporary world: Allahabad, Benaras, Kashmir,
Pakistan, Afganistan, London, America.

Intertwined with the travels, the inner journey, through the life
and ideas of the Budha, is presented. The effect is that the reader
developes, along with the author, the vision of the Budha as a
contemporary; not an ancient relic.
The Budha is depicted in the historical context, hence clarifying
the fact that he was responding to a deeply felt spiritual and
intellectual crisis of his era.
Through skillfully woven portrayals of modern history
it is emphasised that this crisis is very much part of the present world,
making the Budha's diagnosis and cure still valid.

As the rare instance of the intellectual who was suspicious of
the spirit of European modernity, the author presents Nietzsche.
Though his affection for Nietzsche is evident ( after the Budha,
Nietzsche is the most quoted in the book ) , his view is
not clouded by idolatery.

The book has intellectual integrity.
It remains antiromantic through out.
It keeps awake its unillusioned vision of the world.

Pankaj Mishra is certainly an author to look forward to.