Although this book is out of print, amzon could find me a copy.

Agehananda was an Austrian, who became a Hinud monk in India and a professor of philosophy after the second world war and who remained in India for ten or fifteen years. He's a very intellectual person who also spoke several indian languages, including Sanskrit. Contrary to the usual spiritual seeker, he tried to understand and criticaly analyze everything he encountered in in India or Hinduism. Naturally he made some enimies, but also friends.

The book is very valuable for giving one insider information from the monk's life, without any of the usual covering of not so good things. So one learns about the Ramakrishna order as well as about the sannyasi's life and about the Indian philosophical education. The information provided here is now forty to fifty years old, and some of it may be of rather historical value, but of value never the less.

This Austrian author's interest in Hinduism was ignited through some of his readings and that changed the course of his life..visiting India..learning Sanskrit..teaching Philosophy in a University and finally undertaking a 1500 mile journey by foot..seeking mantropadesa for conversion into Hinduism,getting rebuffed by several religious orders..and finally succeeding..it is a fascinating and authentic account of some unknown and important tenets of a way of life called Hinduism.