‘Advaita: ‘Tools’ for Unity’ is a work of non-fiction. The author writes that the book is a result of her ‘close study of Advaita for over forty-eight years’. The reason she has written the book is because she’s seeking a wider audience for this topic.

The theory and philosophy or ‘Advaita’ has never been an easy topic to write about. Indeed, many people, over many centuries, have tried to write about it and failed miserably: more often than not, they start from one point and slowly, in over-explaining their ideas, they’ve managed to utterly confuse their readers. In this book, Merlyn Swan has done something quite extraordinary: she presents a difficult topic in a simple and concise manner. A beginner to ‘Advaita’ may, perhaps, find this book a little daunting. That said, someone who has some interest and a cursory knowledge in Hindu philosophy will find this gem of a book refreshing and easy to read.

Divided into 13 parts, what makes the book anything but dull is the fact that she peppers the book with personal stories and glimpses of her own struggle to understand ‘Advaita’ and her experiences of living according to the tenets of the philosophy. Such confidence to know when to include a particular story comes, perhaps, from the fact that this is not Merlyn Swan’s first book. She is also the author of another three other books: ‘Today’s Believer – A Practical Path to Freedom,’ ‘God Made Visible – Diary of a Seeker’ and ‘‘I AM’ – The Source of All That Is’.

Of particular interest is the poem, ‘I Am’. It was composed by the author and published at the back of the book:

This self-published book is available for free from the author. Those interested in the topic and in obtaining a copy of the book, ‘Advaita: ‘Tools’ for Spiritual Unity’, are advised to contact Merlyn Swan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.