To show that Advaita can do all this is definitely Rao’s ambition. His project is to show the viability of a worldview that has been more or less eclipsed even from contemporary India. The only way that Rao can make this philosophy viable is via a sort of modified existentialism. Advaita penetrates to the core of the flux that is the daily life of his characters, Ramaswamy of The Serpent and the Rope and Sivarama Sastri of Chessmaster. These characters negotiate life in an Advaitic fashion, thus demonstrating its efficacy in the contemporary world. This is somewhat like negating life even while one is living it, denying the ultimate reality of oneself even as one lives and suffers. Though this may seem paradoxical or unsatisfactory, it is perfectly logical. Raja Rao’s, or for that matter anyone else’s, Advaita, does not preclude any action in the world. In fact, Rao’s characters do not withdraw from such engaging in the world’s problems, even as they find themselves engaged in their inner quests. The ultimate reality of the world can be negated even as we participate in it at the daily, practical level. Withdrawing from the world is therefore not Rao’s project. Rather, it is far more audacious. It is the metaphysical annulment of the world even as we involve ourselves in the daily business of living.

Ultimately, however, Rao is an artist, not a philosopher. It is as an artist that he has to be appreciated and understood. As such, he has been true to his calling. In terms of language, style and theme, he has been perfectly consistent, fulfilling the promise he made in his foreword to Kanthapura. It is this consistency, this integrity of purpose, this concern with the Ultimate Reality, coupled with stylistic innovation and an inspired use of language, that makes him one of the most significant and interesting writers of the world.