Global banker Yakub Mathew’s debut book Seeking the Infinite: Maha Kumbh 2025 launched last year in New York continues to be hailed at multiple forums. After prominently featuring at the Jaipur Literature Festival in January, the spiritual odyssey was unveiled at the high-power India launch on March 1 in New Delhi.
Former Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar launched the book at the India International Centre followed by a panel discussion. The event over high tea in a packed hall of the Kamaladevi Complex was attended by over 300 people – a cross-section of intellectual and spiritual community, including jurists, mystics, policymakers, and seekers.
Yakub Mathew shared that Seeking the Infinite emerged from his January 2025 journey from New York to Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh for the Maha Kumbh Mela with his wife Shilpa and a close group of friends as he marked his 60th year. What began as an effort to preserve personal memories of the rare congregation held once every 144 years evolved into a wider spiritual inquiry, enriched by insights from 50 global thought leaders. The coffee table book is studded with stunning visuals but transcends the conventional boundaries of travel writing; it focuses on the terrain of philosophical reflection and spiritual dialogue.
Bridge between India’s ancient soul and the modern seeker
In his address as Chief Guest, Shri Dhankhar lauded Yakub’s book as a “bridge between Bharat’s ancient soul and the modern seeker.” He remarked that the book captures the “Universal Ganga,” suggesting that the wisdom of the Kumbh belongs not to one religion, but to the global human consciousness, noting that Yakub captures the “eternal Ganga of the human spirit.”
Alluding to Yakub’s banking background, the former Vice President further described the book as a bridge between worldly accomplishment and inner discovery — a work that moves beyond the scope of a conventional travel narrative and invites readers to engage with life’s enduring questions.
A confluence of diverse voices invoking interfaith harmony
The composition of the panelists mirrored the multifaith ethos of the book.
A Syrian Christian, Yakub said that his book is not a distant destination but an inner truth—an ever-expanding horizon within each individual. Through Seeking the Infinite, he has examined the transformative power and cultural depth of the ancient pilgrimage tradition.
Haji Syed Salman Chishti, a 26th-generation Sufi custodian of Dargah Ajmer Sharif, spoke of the universal thread that binds traditions beyond doctrine. He described the Kumbh as a mirror to Sufism, pointing to a shared sense of oneness—where the waters of the Ganga and the Sufi heart both reflect a message of unconditional love, echoed in the sacred dips of pilgrims.
Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, international director of Parmarth Niketan ashram in Rishikesh and author of Hollywood to the Himalayas, offered reflections grounded in devotion and service. She spoke about Yakub book’s potential to awaken “Divine Shakti.” She referred to River Ganga as a bridge linking souls from West to East and said that unity of mankind and faiths is among the most urgent needs of our time.
Neelima Dalmia Adhar, author of Father Dearest: The Life and Times of R.K. Dalmia, The Merchants of Death, and The Secret Diary of Kasturba and daughter of a renowned Marwari industrialist, related her experiences as one of the 19 individuals Yakub took along to the Maha Kumbh last year.
Professor Dr. Dinesh Singh, Chancellor of K.R. Mangalam University and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Delhi, provided a unique intellectual perspective on the intersection of mathematical logic and spiritual infinity.
Communications strategist Dilip Cherian moderated the panel discussion. Author and columnist Lady Kishwar Desai was the Master of Ceremonies who noted the book’s profound potential to “mend cultural fractures” by documenting the confluence of faiths.
Thus, the launch event unfolded less as a ceremony and more as dialogue—a reminder that spiritual legacy endures not through proclamation, but through shared questioning.
Among the audience were tens of alumni of Delhi’s St Xavier School, Yakub’s alma mater.
The diverse mix of the audience underscored a deeper message: that inquiry into the infinite belongs neither to one discipline nor one faith.
A book that moves beyond the page
The coffee-table book takes readers through the 45-day Maha Kumbh Mela in 2025 at the sacred Sangam in Prayagraj (earlier named Allahabad), where the Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati meet, capturing the scale and spirit of one of the world’s largest religious gatherings and the shared quest for transcendence that draws millions.
Through vivid photography and contemplative essays, the book positions the Kumbh not as a mass gathering but as a symbol of unity—a space where multiplicity dissolves into shared experience.
If the Kumbh Mela represents the convergence of rivers, the evening at India International Center, a hub of intellectual thought, represented a convergence of perspectives. Seeking the Infinite emerges from that spirit—inviting readers to regard life itself as an inward pilgrimage toward peace, truth, and transcendence.
In an era often marked by fragmentation, the gathering stood as a quiet affirmation: the search for the infinite continues—not in isolation, but in community.
“In the waters of the Ganga, our labels—Christian, Muslim, Hindu—remained on the shore,” said Yakub Mathew during the panel discussion. “What entered the river was simply the human souls seeking the infinite.”
During the QA session, replying to a question I posed, Yakub Mathew, a veteran of the global banking elite (HSBC, Citi, Wells Fargo), said that the message not profit is the motive of his book presentations. He is looking for an independent institution to take up the publication of the book on a nonprofit basis. Meanwhile, digital copies of Seeking the Infinite will be made available free to schools and libraries.
To find out more about the book and how to purchase your copy, go to www.seekingtheinfinite.org
Also see our earlier article on Yakub Mathew’s Maha Kumbh book:
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