Willa Cather once wrote: "One cannot divine nor forecast the conditions that will make happiness; one only stumbles upon them by chance, in a lucky hour, at the world's end somewhere, and holds fast to the days." Claire Krulikowski went to India for the dedication of an ashram and wound up having her soul enraptured by the Ganges and the town of Rishikesh ("City of the Divine"). This devotionally rich paperback is a collection of spiritual essays about her experiences. Above all, Moonlight on the Ganga is a transformative journey to the sacred center where the author sees with the eyes of the heart — as the Sufis would put it.

Krulikowski's wonder is awakened by the Ganges: "The river flows unceasingly, taking what is given and giving what is needed. Sit and be with it. Let yourself flow with it. Watch it. You'll notice that it never disappears from sight. It will merely round a bend and go beyond that which you, as yet, can see. . . . Watch those people who come to its banks; watch those who come in the blackness preceding every morning's dawn and in the fading light preceding the setting of the evening."

The pilgrim within the author is drawn out in encounters with a sacred cow, a boy with elephantiasis, a curious young man, and a wounded monkey. Krulikowski honestly deals with all the emotions that India evokes including fear, paranoia, awe, fascination, and feelings of bliss. She allows the river to flow within and to take her into the welcoming arms of surprise.

In one of his songs, Van Morrison chants: "I'm a soul in wonder . . . I'm a soul in wonder." It's a fine description of this sacred journey by Claire Krulikowski.