In the varied concatenation of life’s experiences lies its essence–a journey full of joy and pain. Man comes with pristine qualities of truthfulness, simplicity, and the wonder of nature. In his birth lies his religion. It is his passage through the world that is often full of struggle; in response, he looks for a God to help him. A Beautiful Pain presents a collection of poems ruminating on joy, beauty, and the wonder of life. Meditating on life’s meaning, it explores the range of human emotions, from the pain of first heartbreak to a study of the quintessence of inner luminosity. Poet Maharaj Kaul searches for the truth of life in this collection, which like life itself is multi-faceted and has a few grand themes running through it. There is a road in front of us smoother than any highway we have seen, There is music beckoning us more rapturous than we have ever heard, There is faith in us stronger than a million facts we have known, There is a light within us more luminous than the thousand exploding suns, We were born with a spirit thirsting for the infinite. —from “Quintessence of Inner Luminosity”