Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure

I've made many trips to India. In that context, I quickly came to see that most books on India tend to be superficial: see this, see that, perhaps some history. In general there is little depth, and if anything spiritual is involved, little objectivity. It's the check your mind at the door thing that Westerners seem to do so well.I have found two books very useful for introducing visitors to the real India. One is "Holy Cow" and the other is "The Spiritual Tourist". Not surprisingly, both books are by seasoned journalists, so there is both a spirit of investigation and a professionalism that seeks to set aside biases and to genuinely be objective.Having extensively visited India, I know for certain the Holy Cow author, Sarah MacDonald, is one courageous lady. In her two years living in India, most of it with her husband absent, she somehow manages to boldly put in a lifetime's worth of spiritual experience across the country.As with both of the books I mention here, Sarah's conclusion, if there can be such a thing, revolves around love. India made her relationship with her Creator and with her fellow human beings come to life, and she realizes this across many of the religions and spiritual paths India offers. The book is an objective account of a spiritual journey. It just happens to occur as she travels across the Indian subcontinent.The unexpected plus with Holy Cow is that Sarah is a great writer, entertaining, humorous, and starkly honest. You get to know her personally as you get to know India, and that kind of writing is rare. Few authors expose their hearts in their work and stay objective at the same time.To go to India with no understanding of the spiritual dynamics there is like coming to the US and visiting Orlando or Las Vegas and returning home thinking one now understands America. India is vastly more than the sum of its parts and this is one of the few books where that is lucidly shown. I continue to give these two books to friends who visit India for the first time. I can think of no better way to help visitors truly understand the real India. Enjoy.

I traveled through India in the late eighties alone as a woman. Not backpacking, but unfortunately with a suitcase, I could not lock away anywhere. I was fascinated by the country and always wanted to go back. When I was in India I regretted the most that I was not prepared and in many ways helpless how to deal with street vendors who would attach themselves to me for hours , especially in Rajasthan. I never had one single problem with Indian men or with beggars being a big nuisance. And I was surprised to read Macdonald's tales in that respect. Maybe it made a difference, that I dressed in the traditional Salwar Kameej and mostly covered my blonde hair with a shawl.As I am planning to go back one day I am always looking for books, which would help me to confront India the next time with more understanding and preparedness. I want to end up in the hotels, I have chosen instead in the hotels the taxi driver chooses. And I want to learn a little bit more about the religions, and the festivals of India, as I have been practicing Yoga now for over 20 Years I am planning to visit at least one of the ashrams.So when I happened to read about the "Holy Cow" I bought the book and read it within one day. There is no question that pollution and noise was a major problem for me too. But I have to admit that I found it even worse on my subsequent visit to Bangkok. I was not as lucky as Ms. Macdonald to actually live in India, I nevertheless have met mostly friendly, helpful and welcoming people. Of course I realized that I had to pay much more money than the locals and it frustrated me first. But complete strangers opened their house to me when all the hotels were booked in Bangalore and saved me from virtually sleeping in the street.As everybody always told me to expect huge amount of poor people, I was prepared for the worst. I have to say I have seen similar or worse in Nairobi, Haiti and for me personally more shocking in the United States, as I was not prepared to see beggars in rags sleep in the entrances of 5th Avenue apartment houses in New York.In enjoyed the colors, the temples, the palaces, the overwhelming tidal wave of humanity of India. I loved the food,- got only sick once a little bit -and the different landscapes.I enjoyed the book and the humor and the honesty and it gave me a lot of interesting insights in the different ashrams, I could relate to much of it but my personal experience was more love at first sight despite of all the difficulties.Oh, and I thought the cover was very funny. After all I suffered through enough Bollywood movies on the luxury buses :>))).