Wisdom of the Sadhu Book Review

Teachings of Sundar Singh

SUMMARY:  Known in his lifetime as India's most famous convert to Christianity, Sundar Singh (1889-1929) would not approve of that characterization.  He loved Jesus and devoted his life to knowing and following him, but he never accepted Christianity's cultural conventions, even as he embraced its stark original teachings.

     A modern Saint Francis, Sundar Singh left the wealth of his home at sixteen to live as a sadhu, or wandering holy man.  His beggar-like existence, his intense devotion, his mystical encounters with Jesus, and his simple yet profound parables became the stuff of legends.  No one who met him - including the thousands who flocked to hear him during his visits to Europe, the Far East, and the United States - remained unaffected.  

     Wisdom of the Sadhu, a collection of anecdotes, sayings, parables, and meditations, brings together the best of Sundar Singh's teachings.  Couched as they are in a distinctly Indian idiom, they probe the essence of the Gospels with unusual freshness and offer insights of great depth and value to every serious seeker.

REVIEW:  This book is a series of stories, parables, questions and teachings that is simply the gospel taught by Jesus, weaving in information about Sundar Singh's life. Growing up as a Sikh, Sundar became a Christian at age sixteen and decided to live his life as a wandering holy man, a sadhu.  He lived his life like the apostles, going into towns preaching the gospel of Jesus and trusting God to meet his needs.  He faced persecution, hunger, hardships but found joy in teaching others about Jesus. Sundar's look at life and the gospel is a simple one, but very profound.  

     To be totally honest, with so many false teachers of the Christian faith who mix other religions in with biblical Christianity, I wasn't sure what to expect with this book.  I am happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised.  I found this book very interesting and very above board.  It will challenge the reader to examine their lives, how they view others and how they look at the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I totally recommend this book who wants to stretch their lives and their understanding of the Gospel.

This book was provided by Handlebar for review without compensation.

Sundar Singh grew up in Rampur, India in a prominent Sikh family and was educated at a nearby Presbyterian missionary school.  After his conversion at age 16, he took on the ascetic lifestyle of a sahdu.  His real significance comes from the devotion and selflessness with which he spread the Gospel and in the sincerity with which he lived what he preached.  His wanderings led him through at least twenty countries on four continents, where he profoundly influenced tens of thousands of people.  In the first half of the Twentieth Century, no spiritual teacher from the East was better known.  When he disappeared in the Himalayas in 1929, the world mourned this wandering, penniless pilgrim who kept his focus on Christ.