Marcus Allsop is a longtime devotee of Indian spirituality who is currently studying Eastern iconographic painting. In this fascinating work, he has gathered interviews with 12 Westerners who have chosen to live in India as traditional holy men and women. To do this, they had to leave behind their families, friends, and old lives in order to immerse themselves in India's tradition. Allsop calls these unusual folk "pioneers of the soul."
They all respond to such questions as: How did you come to be in India? What attracted you? Who is your guru? What teaching do you follow? What kind of sadhana do you practice? What is your attitude toward the West? Allsop was attracted to Swami Satyananda' Saraswati's intense gaze. Swami Devananda Saraswati is an ascetic who sees his mission as trying "to live in the presence of God." Satyananda Amritham sees herself as "one cell in the heart of God." Swami Vijayananda, a former doctor in France, believes that the hardest thing of all for Western seekers of the path is surrender. Penny Ma has stayed in India for the Ganges: "There is a peculiar depth of overpowering strength and peacefulness on the banks of the Ganges, more so than in any other place in the world I have traveled." The aim of these mystics is to become a God-realized soul. Through meditation, discipline, and the performance of great austerities, they find fulfillment.