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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
Interesting ‘survey’ of her religious exploration thru India. Great reading it during travels, and knowing what she was talking about. Cheesy ending
P57 pundit (priest)?!
P67 I miss silence, space and solitude, the luxuries of my country with its empty lands and calm cities. I realize indian Jim’s suggestion of “doing my duty” is not enough to sustain me anymore. Being healthy and wealthy won’t get me peace of mind, body and soul.
P144 “I like your Jesus and such, and there’s no doubt he was a great sadhu, most likely trained in India, but you know, he was wrong about God, God is not a judge mental giant sitting up in heaven, it’s a force within us all – we are lightbulbs in the electrical system of the universe.”
P253 Here in Velangani, Christianity is at its best - sharing, ritualistic, democratic, forgiving and female. Seeing half a million people visit a large porcelain doll in a sari is strangely uplifting. Perhaps Christianity has got something to give the world apart from Easter eggs, the Osmonds and guilt.
P 270 This war has shattered my Great Australian Dream - the fantasy that I could be part of the world community with all its benefits but isolated enough to be safe and separate from its violence and brutality.
P57 pundit (priest)?!
P67 I miss silence, space and solitude, the luxuries of my country with its empty lands and calm cities. I realize indian Jim’s suggestion of “doing my duty” is not enough to sustain me anymore. Being healthy and wealthy won’t get me peace of mind, body and soul.
P144 “I like your Jesus and such, and there’s no doubt he was a great sadhu, most likely trained in India, but you know, he was wrong about God, God is not a judge mental giant sitting up in heaven, it’s a force within us all – we are lightbulbs in the electrical system of the universe.”
P253 Here in Velangani, Christianity is at its best - sharing, ritualistic, democratic, forgiving and female. Seeing half a million people visit a large porcelain doll in a sari is strangely uplifting. Perhaps Christianity has got something to give the world apart from Easter eggs, the Osmonds and guilt.
P 270 This war has shattered my Great Australian Dream - the fantasy that I could be part of the world community with all its benefits but isolated enough to be safe and separate from its violence and brutality.
The author is a bit brash at the beginning of the book, but through her experiences living and traveling in India, she softens and becomes more accepting of the various cultural differences that she encounters. In the end, it's interesting to see how India really affected her.
Personally, I can't cope with a "crowd" of 200 people, so I know for sure I'd never be able to visit India. But I read this book on the recommendation of an Australian friend, and the author has written an account that made it very real.
Here are 3 quotes (the first and last very similar):
Here are 3 quotes (the first and last very similar):
page 161 - I've made a start in India along my path to personal transformation and inner peace. The Sikhs have shown me how to be strong, the Vipassana course taught me how to calm my mind, India's Muslims have shown me the meaning of surrender and sacrifice, and the Hindus have illustrated an infinite number of ways to the divine. But right now the Buddhist way of living attracts me most. it complements my society's psychological approach to individual growth and development, my desire to take control and take responsibility for my own happiness, and it advocates a way of living that encourages compassion and care.I sincerely hope that she has kept all her learnings in the 20 years since.
page 175 - a phrase from the Dalai Lama's teachings comes back to me: "Some will be drawn to Buddhism but I really think it's best that you try and find truth in the religion of your forebears and ancestors. it is very hard to change religion. I think it's safer not to."
page 291 (the very last page of the book) - I've learned much from the land of many gods and many ways to worship. From Buddhism the power to begin to manage my mind, from Jainism the desire to make peace in all aspects of life, while Islam has taught me to desire goodness and to let go of that which cannot be controlled. I thank Judaism for teaching me the power of transcendence in rituals and the Sufis for affirming my ability to find answers within and reconnecting me to the power of music. Here's to the Parsis for teaching me that nature must be touched lightly, and the Sikhs for the importance of spiritual strength. I thank the gurus for trying to pierce my ego armour and my girlfriends for making me laugh. And most of all, I thank Hinduism for showing me that there are millions of paths to the divine.
good book, the author paints a great picture of life in India. It hasn't inspired me to want to visit India though.
I enjoyed this vivid account by an Australian woman who lived in India for a few years. She’s a journalist with a snappy writing style and an eye for detail. She’s cheeky, irreverent, honest about both India’s dreadful bits and its wonderful bits. She’s intellectually curious, but she’s also on a sincere quest for a little spiritual sustenance. So she covers a lot of ground, sampling the wide variety of religions India has to offer. From the gurus to the Parsis, she finds something to admire and respect in each one.
Did not finish.
This book is terri-ble! She went to India 11 years prior to the events in the book and she starts off by ranting about how much she hates India and will never go back. She ends up going back to live there as her boyfriend is working as a journalist. She just complains about everything, is so negative and has a holier than thou attitude. I read some of the reviews to see if her attitude gets better but apparently it doesn’t so I stopped reading it.
This book is terri-ble! She went to India 11 years prior to the events in the book and she starts off by ranting about how much she hates India and will never go back. She ends up going back to live there as her boyfriend is working as a journalist. She just complains about everything, is so negative and has a holier than thou attitude. I read some of the reviews to see if her attitude gets better but apparently it doesn’t so I stopped reading it.
I enjoyed it and felt a little ashamed for enjoying it so much. The best chapter is the one about the Vipassana ten-day meditation boot-camp. I've done that, and she nailed it. The tone of the book bothers me, though. It's written from a position of comfortable privilege: an American middle-class woman survives the hardships of travel in India. I think the author genuinely responds viscerally and spiritually to India, but I'd rather read a less-mediated version of India from, say, Arundhati Roy, or Bapsi Sidhwa.
I enjoyed this look at India through an Australian's eyes. In some ways it gave insight into two cultures, for even though Australia is very similar to the US, there were still subtle differences. Mostly her account was really fun to read, and I liked how she explored all the different religions practiced in India. A lot of the reviewers said they found her to be superior or condescending but I never really felt that way. She seemed way more accepting of the squalor and differences in cultures than I think I would have been; she was way more go with the flow and really seemed to relish in learning more about the Indian ways of life. I found it fascinating and would definitely like to read more about this country (though I don't think I'm brave enough to visit myself).
This was funny at times. But I just got bored during a lot of it.