Although Rao lived abroad, he never ceased to be an Indian in temperament and sensibility. In fact, his awareness of Indian culture grew, even though he could not settle down permanently in India. He became a compulsive visitor, returning to India again and again for spiritual and cultural nourishment. In that sense, Rao never completely left India. In 1933, he visited Pandit Taranath’s ashram in his quest for self-realization. In 1938, his small masterpiece, Kanthapura, although written earlier, was published from London.

One year later, Rao’s marriage disintegrated; he found himself back in India, his spiritual search renewed. He even appeared to give up writing to seek the truth. In the next few years, Rao visited a number of ashrams and religious teachers, notably Ramana Maharshi of Tiruvannamalai and Narayana Maharaj of Kedgaon. He also called on Mahatma Gandhi at Sevagram, an account of which is in The Meaning of India. Around this time, Rao also became a public figure in India, active in several social and political causes.

In 1942, when most of India’s major leaders were imprisoned during the Quit India movement, he participated in the underground agitation, along with several Congress socialists such as Aruna Asaf Ali and Achyut Patwardhan. During this period, Rao also started a journal called Tomorrow, to be published from Bombay (now Mumbai), co-edited with his friend and fellow-writer Ahmed Ali. Rao was also associated with the cultural-spiritual organization Chetana, which still exists. Another of Rao’s dream projects during this period was to start Sri Vidya Samiti, with the help of his then friend and patron Raja J. Rameshwar Rao of Wanaparthy. However, his plans failed to take off and he also parted ways with Rameshwar Rao.

Around the same time, in 1943, Rao’s life, however, took a decisive turn from politics back to spirituality. He found his preceptor at last in Krishna Menon, better known as Sri Atmananda Guru. Menon had been a police officer before being shown his true vocation by a mysterious wandering spiritual master from north India. Rao’s life underwent a great change after meeting his master. He shifted to Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram), living there on and off for several years.

After India became independent, Rao returned to France in 1948, finding it difficult to settle down permanently in India. He visited the United States in 1953. The same year, his fable, ‘India—A Story’, appeared in Encounter (London) and was reprinted in The Meaning of India with a slightly altered title. He came back to India in 1958 with André Malraux, Charles de Gaulle’s emissary to Nehru. Rao’s account of that important visit is also included in The Meaning of India.