The Light of Asia or the Great Renunciation

It is a collection of poems dedicated to the most prolific and influential person in Asia, Siddhartha Gautama. This work is narrated in the form of a poetic style containing his journey from an ordinary prince to the stage of Enlightenment when he became the ‘Buddha’. The first few chapters contain the Buddha’s nativity, his encounters with the moments when he encounters ‘sufferings’, which was his turning point, and his journey to the path of meditation. The rest of the chapters of this book contain his sermons and his philosophy, including the famous eight-fold path and understanding of suffering and the ultimate solution. This book made Buddha and Buddhism famous in Western countries and became a source of inspiration for the Indian nationalist leader, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, and the founder of the Theosophical Society, Madame Blavatsky. About the Author Edwin Arnold (1832-1904) was an English poet and a journalist. He became the schoolmaster at Deccan College, Poona, and the Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Telegraph. He authored books such as The Essence of Buddhism; The Song Celestial; Bhagavad-Gîtâ (from the Mahâbhârata); Indian Poetry, etc.