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One of the victims of westernization in the 19th century was the Puranic lore of India. Condemned as 'puerile Puranic stuff' by a section of English-educated Indians, the vast literature seemed to be heading for oblivion. Fortunately, the common man remained true to his heritage and did not reject it. Writing during the First World War years, Sri Aurobindo gave high praise to Puranic literature in his Foundations of Indian Culture: "The Puranas have been much discredited and depreciated in recent times, since the coming in of modern ideas coloured by western rationalism and the turning of the intelligence under new impulses back towards the earlier fundamental ideas of the ancient culture. Much however of this depreciation is due to an entire misunderstanding of the purpose, method and sense of the medieval religious writings. It is only in an understanding of the turn of the Indian religious imagination and of the place of these writings in the evolution of the culture that we can seize their sense." Srimad Bhagavatam: At Each Step a Luminous World tries 'to connect' the legends with contemporary experiences and their continued relevance. While references are drawn from a wide spectrum of writings on Indian culture, Sri Aurobindo's voice and vision give the book a rare sprightliness and authenticity. It also reveals how much we are indebted to the Mahayogi for 'compelling' us to get back to the Puranic world which enriches us in every way.