By Parveen Chopra
New York: ‘Seeking the Infinite: Maha Kumbh 2025’, Yakub Mathew’s spiritual chronicle, was unveiled by Sadhguru, one of the foremost spiritual teachers in the world, amid an elite audience of over 600 at the IAAC Literary Festival here on November 16.
Drawing seekers, scholars, as well as movers and shakers from the US, India, and other countries, the event at the prestigious International House in Manhattan offered a profound exploration of faith, transcendence, and the enduring spiritual energy that characterized India’s Maha Kumbh Mela earlier this year, which attracted 660 million people from all walks of life. New York banker Yakub Mathew, a Syrian Christian, had pilgrimaged there after a life-threatening episode.
Inspired by the lavishly mounted coffee table book’s unusual treatment of the Maha Kumbh 2025, which is studded with reflections from 55 spiritual and thought leaders from around the world, the book launch was followed by a panel discussion on the intersection of faith, religion, and spirituality.
Breezily moderated by the Indian marketing guru Suhel Seth, the esteemed panel comprised, besides Yakub Mathew, Harvard scholar Diana Eck, the Very Rev. Winnie Varghese - Dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Rabbi Scott Matous - Executive Director at the MAKOR Center for Judaism in New York, and Gurudev Sri Anish based in Dharamsala, India.
(From left) Author of the Maha Kumbh book and banker Yakub Mathew, Suhel Seth (moderator), panelists Diana Eck, Very Rev. Winnie Varghese, Rabbi Scott. (Photo Courtesy Yakub Mathew)
The take-off point for the panel was Yakub’s aptly titled book, ‘Seeking the Infinite’, which takes readers from the riverside rituals of the Maha Kumbh to intimate rooftop conversations, encouraging a shift in perspective—from viewing the sea of humanity as mere spectacle to seeing it as a “crucible of human yearning—for meaning, belonging, and transcendence.”
The thought-provoking discussion was conducted in the spirit of honest inquiry and resonant interfaith dialogue. Rev. Winnie Varghese, while agreeing that religion gets misused as a tool of social control and generates violence, yet “it comes from a very pure place.” Sri Anish sought to resolve the religion-vs-spirituality question, “If your version of religion or truth makes you transformational… it is working.”
Reflecting on his personal pilgrimage, Yakub shared, “In January 2025, I fulfilled a lifelong dream by embarking on a pilgrimage to Prayagraj for the once-in-144-years Maha Kumbh, where the sacred rivers Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati meet. Joined by my wife, Shilpa, and 17 dear friends from across the globe, the experience became a profound celebration of the completion of my 60th year and a spiritual journey that inspired deep reflection on life’s eternal questions.”
What began as a way for Yakub and the group to capture memories evolved into ‘Seeking the Infinite’. Since the search for the divine is a universal experience, Yakub enriched his personal narrative with insights from renowned people across various religious and spiritual traditions. Through its essays, dialogues, and interfaith encounters, the contemplative anthology offers a meditative lens on India’s spiritual heartbeat and the global soul it awakens.
The book has received the blessings from the Dalai Lama, Maharaj Avadheshanand Giri Ji, Cardinal Oswald Gracias - Archbishop Emeritus of Bombay, and Maharaj Radhanath Swami Ji. The anthology’s Foreword, contributed by Shashi Tharoor, Muzaffar Ali, and Anupam Kher, adds depth and cultural context.
Yakub Mathew, known globally for his financial leadership at institutions such as HSBC, Citi Private Banking, and currently as Managing Director at Wells Fargo Advisors, New York, shared that he will be introducing the Maha Kumbh book in the coming months at Jaipur Literature Festival, the Vatican, in Dubai and London, and finally at the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC.
What Yakub wants to humbly convey through his debut book is that “The Infinite is not a place to reach. But a truth to remember—that within you lies a horizon without end.”
