The life of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa enables us to see God face to face , Gandhiji wrote. Similarly, when someone in his circle was distraught, the Mahatma sent him to spend time at the Ashram of Ramana Maharshi. Such was their stature and influence. The Paramahamsa and the Maharshi have been among the greatest spiritual figures of our country. They have transformed the lives of and have been a solace to millions. Their peak, mystic experience is what we yearn to have, even just once. But what if several of the experiences they had the near-death experience ; the ecstasy; the visions occur in other circumstances also? What if they can be recreated in a laboratory non-invasively? When they occur to ordinary persons placed in extraordinary circumstances? Did the experiences occur from some ailment? From some madness , as was alleged in the case of Sri Ramakrishna? From the fits that Sri Ramana said he used to have? What of the experiences of devotees? Seeing the Master where he wasn t? Seeing the Master, feeling his presence, after he had passed away? Are these hallucinations? Or do they testify to the Master s divinity? With the diligence and painstaking research that mark all his work, Arun Shourie probes these questions in the light of the recent breath-taking advances in neuroscience, as well as psychology and sociology. The result is a book of remarkable rigour: an examination and ultimately reconciliation of science and faith as also of seemingly antagonistic, irreconcilable worldviews.