"Lord of Light was intentionally written so that it could be taken as a science fiction or a fantasy novel. On the one hand, I attempted to provide some justifications for what went on in the way of the bizarre; on the other, I employed a style I associate with fantasy in the telling of the story. I wrote it that way on purpose, leaving some intentional ambiguity, because I wanted it to lie somewhat between both camps and not entirely in either. I did this because I did not see much stuff being written at that time which fit that description; because I wanted to see whether I could do it; and because I was curious as to how such a book would be received."
Quanto a saber se o livro foi uma homenagem à religião oriental, a resposta é um retumbante "sim". A partir da sentença inicial, deve ser imediatamente aparente que a história é essencialmente uma recontagem sci-fi da história de Siddhartha por Hermann Hesse.
His followers called him Mahasamatman and said he was a god. He preferred to drop the Maha- and the -atman, however, and called himself Sam. He never claimed to be a god, but then he never claimed not to be a god.
A página da wikipedia para o Senhor da Luz contém uma descrição muito extensa das ligações entre o livro e a tradição budista. É suficiente dizer que praticamente todos os personagens e cenas são uma referência velada à mitologia hindu e budista.