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You've captured an awful lot of spirit and soul here. Mostly that's because of your soft treatment of a very expressive man in very expressive garb and demeanor. Your perspective/shooting angle is evocative and adds to the moving nature of this photo. The way the texture of the background mirrors the texture of his beard really makes for a harmonious image. It creates a very appropriate oneness. I am drawn right into this photo. It feels intimate and genuine.

On the technical side, I'm a bit torn (no pun intended) about the blank white pages of the book. It would be a tricky balance (but definitely doable) to maintain the wonderful character of his black coat and hat which you have captured while underexposing the whites a little more. I can't quite decide (time will tell) whether I like the pages being so white, somehow universalizing the book and possibly adding to the sense of spirituality with pure white color and nonspecific readings or prayers, or whether I would prefer that some of those visual details (amorphous as they would be) got filled in.