The captivating story of the West-s love affair with Indian spirituality-from the orientalism of the British Empire to modern counterculture.
In 1897, an Indian yogi exhibited himself at London-s Westminster Aquarium, demonstrating yoga positions to a bemused audience. Four years earlier, Hindu philosopher Swami Vivekananda spoke at the first World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, where Annie Besant extolled the -exquisite beauty- of his spiritual message. The Victorians were fascinated by, yet suspicious of, Indian religious beliefs and practices. But within two generations, legions of young Westerners were following the -hippie trail- to the subcontinent, the Beatles meditating at the feet of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Journalist Mick Brown-s vivid account charts this eccentric history of Western obsessions with Indian faith, through a curious cast of scholars, seekers, charlatans and saints.
From bestselling epic poems on the Buddha to murder plots, magic and the occul
