Baksheesh and Brahman

After ten years of intensive study of Indian art and philosophy, Joseph Campbell, at 50, finally embarked on a journey to India. Searching for the transcendent (Brahman), he found instead stark realities: growing nationalism, religious rivalry, poverty, and a prevalent culture of what he called "baksheesh," or alms. This journal chronicles the disillusionment and revelation that would change the course of Campbell's life and study, and his transition from professor to counterculture icon. Balancing Campbell's astute explorations of mythology and history are his often amusing observations of a sometimes frustrating alien culture and his fellow Western travelers. This account also includes personal photographs, specially commissioned maps, and illustrations redrawn from Campbell's own hand.