The Nirvana Express
How the Search for Enlightenment Went West
-
- £18.99
-
- £18.99
Publisher Description
In 1897, an Indian yogi named Bava Lachman Dass exhibited himself at the Westminster Aquarium in London, demonstrating forty-eight yoga positions to a bemused audience. Four years earlier, Hindu philosopher Swami Vivekananda had spoken at the first World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, where theosophist Annie Besant rhapsodised about 'his inborn sense of worth' and the 'exquisite beauty' of his spiritual message.
The Victorians had conflicted views on the religious beliefs and practices of the Indian sub-continent, blending fascination and suspicion. But within two generations, legions of young Westerners would be following the 'hippie trail' to India, and the Beatles would be meditating at the feet of the guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Journalist Mick Brown's vivid account charts the eccentric history of the West's evolving love affair with Indian religion through a curious cast of scholars, seekers, charlatans and saints.
From Edwin Arnold, whose epic poem about the life of the Buddha became a best-seller in Victorian Britain, to the occultist and magician Aleister Crowley; and from spiritual teachers Jiddu Krishnamurti, Meher Baba and Ramana Maharshi to the controversial guru Rajneesh, 'The Nirvana Express' is an exhilarating, sometimes troubling journey through the West's search for enlightenment.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist Brown (Tearing Down the Wall) offers a comprehensive account of Western fascination and engagement with Hinduism, Buddhism, and other Eastern spiritual practices and philosophies. Beginning his chronicle with the East India Company's first forays on the subcontinent in the 18th century, Brown finds that popular interest in Eastern spirituality wasn't piqued until the Victorian era. The turning point came in the 1890s, spurred by an 1893 Chicago lecture on Vedantic thought given by Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda and an 1897 London exhibition of yoga poses performed by yogi Bava Lachman Dass. From there, Brown follows dozens of Eastern gurus and teachers and their Western boosters (including Paul Bruton, author of the influential 1934 memoir A Search in Secret India) through the 20th century, while also tracing Western backlash to the idea of the guru—which increasingly came to be perceived as a type of con man or cult leader. Brown concludes by profiling Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, a controversial 1980s "sex guru" whose followers poisoned the inhabitants of The Dalles, Ore., to sway a local election. Extraordinarily detailed, Brown's narrative has a cast of hundreds and touches on scores of famous figures—from William James and Madame Blavatsky to Brian Wilson and Timothy Leary. It's a valuable work of cultural and religious history that stitches together many disparate threads.
