In this venture into the esoteric depths, Sethu Iyer generates a vital vision of the Christian experience in the midst of a disenchanted world. Starting from a focus on the direct intuition of the Holy Ghost, the author explores a range of perennial topics, including: the conflict between the physical and spiritual realms, the need for the divine feminine, the promises and pitfalls of the creative life, and the nexus of politics and faith. The book is a call to find the living root of soul and to participate in the project of inspired religious renewal.
Praise
“This is a strange and wonderful book. It is religious through and through, but (as befits its title) the Christianity it espouses bears little resemblance to what usually passes for such. A page from Novalis or Blake will bring you closer to the vision of this speaker of soul than any commandment or creed. Nor does Iyer mince his words when negotiating the fraught terrain of contemporary culture. While not abandoning courtesy or compassion, his criticism of mainstream mores—progressive and conservative alike—is uncompromising. The book’s sweetest surprise, though, consists of the language-play that animates the text. Like rows and rows of little Lazaruses, Iyer’s words won’t lie flat on the page, but continually rise up to call upon the reader to greet the new day illumined by the soular light of the Holy Ghost.”—DANIEL POLIKOFF, translator of Sonnets to Orpheus
“Humanity is at a crossroads. Before us lies the path of the soulless machine, of pseudo-life; or the path of soul, of the transcendent spirit incarnate in the immanence of human experience. In Ghostian Manifesto, Sethu Iyer argues vigorously for the path of soul. With unconventional wit and beguiling rhetoric, he persuasively argues that we must break the spell of materialism and rediscover the presence of the Holy Ghost, at once beyond, and yet present within, all things. This delightful book is just the medicine we need at this moment in history.”—SAM GUZMAN, author of The Catholic Gentleman
“Whether you’re Christian or ‘spiritual but not religious,’ this book will knock hard on a lot of doors you might rather keep closed. The knocks come in an edgy, poetic style unique to Iyer. He brings a compelling new manifesto for the perennialist Christian vision, and whether you agree with him on most or only some of what he says, it is sure to leave you with a few doors ajar. To let more light in.”—ERIC MADER, author of A Taipei Mutt
“Sethu Iyer's Ghostian Manifesto is a unique book. Part meditation, part radical proposal to reimagine and reinvigorate a Christian culture in the throes of atrophy, Ghostian Manifesto offers a refreshing encounter with the eternal Christian mystery made even more mysterious by being made ever new.”—MICHAEL MARTIN, author of The Submerged Reality
About the Author
SETHU IYER graduated in 2011 from the University of Texas, acquiring degrees in sociology and the humanities. He was baptized into the Maronite Catholic Church on Easter 2021. He lives in the city of Austin, where he makes his living as an independent writer. This is his first published work.
