Paul Hourihan was born, raised and educated in Boston, where he earned a degree at Harvard and a doctorate in American literature from Boston University. For 15 years he taught dozens of courses in Ontario, Canada, on the subjects of mysticism and great mystics such as Jesus Christ, Buddha, and Ramakrishna. He was a serious student of the world's mystical traditions, particularly the Vedanta teachings of ancient India and Eastern philosophy in general. An American Vedantist, Dr. Hourihan was committed to the spiritual path and its lifestyle for most of his adult life and passed away peacefully in 2001, in Redding, California where he lived with his wife, Anna, who carries on his work.

As a young man he had turned from his traditional religious upbringing to embrace literature and pursue his desire to write the Great American Novel. In his early thirties, while living in New York City, he was in crisis―atheistic, troubled, his dream unrealized. He started searching for answers to life’s questions and explored all the different religions, including new thought movements. Finally, after meeting his teacher, a Ramakrishna monk, at the East-side Vedanta Center, a deep transforming experience completely changed the course of his life. Spiritual development became his goal, eclipsing all previous aspirations.

In his middle age he began to bring together the two dominant threads in his life―literature and mysticism. In the early 1980s he finally started writing books in various genres―nonfiction, novels and fact-based fiction―on different subjects, but always with underlying spiritual themes. The special areas he concentrated on were: literary mystics; the Vedanta philosophy, including meditation; comparative mysticism; and the psychology of Tantra.

His last twenty years were spent writing and polishing works that provide understanding, insights, and guidance for spiritual seekers. He delayed publication until each was burnished by the flame of mystical insight, becoming a polished mirror in which the Truth might shine forth. He is an award-winning author: Four of the five books published thus far have earned awards as Best Spiritual Book.

In the spirit of Swami Vivekananda, he boldly presents truths we may intuit, but which are seldom articulated.

Vedantic Shores Press is proud to provide the fruits of this synthesis of the spiritual and literary to the world.