The Light Within: A Travel Log of India

by Joseph L. Anderson

Book Overview

In December 2004, Joseph Anderson left his North Carolina home and law practice for an extended trip to India to study yoga with Yogiraj Bikram Choudhury. He promised his recently widowed mother he... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0977228398
• ISBN13: 9780977228393
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Press 53
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A true look into India

After returning from a tour of India, I decided I needed to learn more about this country. Mr. Anderson's book is a true look into this country. This book digs deep into the sights, smells, sounds and feel of India. A very easy read and a great travel log. I hope Mr Anderson continues to write.

What a compelling narrative!

Joseph Anderson has the unique ability to bring the reader through a vivid and heart-wrenching experience of life in India. He takes the reader to places few tourists would venture, and he describes the challenges he encounters --from extreme poverty to personal discovery -- with a deep understanding of human emotion and a personal connection to our sense of sight, sound and smell. If you want to experience what life is truly like in India, through the eyes of someone who connects deeply with humanity, read this book!

A must read

Pick up Mr. Anderson's book and find a compelling travelogue through India and all-too-human emotional terrain. The writing is fluid and graceful and you will find yourself immersed in the journey of this soul. You will find a wide variety of experience on display, from the haunts of modern London to the very heart of Calcutta and beyond. Well worth a read!

A Wonderful Read and a Great Cause

This is a ferociously honest book. I devoured it in a few extended sittings, and am now rereading it more slowly. With clarity and verve, Joseph L. Anderson parses the assault on the senses that is India. A red thread running through the book is the idea that opposites converge at the n-th degree. Most prominently, Calcutta emerges as a place of abject poverty and inspiring scenes of humanity. Anderson's experiences in Calcutta led him to form a foundation that provides financial assistance to Calcutta's poorest children. All proceeds from this book go to the fund, so buy the book and you'll get a great read *and* the satisfaction of helping Calcutta's most needy children.

An inspiring narrative, with depth, compassion and spirit...

Mr. Anderson's travel log takes us on a truly spiritual, yoga inspired journey through India. The reader is "transported" through crowded, chaotic city streets, dark slums and opulent, fancy hotels - in Delhi, Agra, Calcutta, Rajasthan and Bangalore...meeting along the way many beggars, homeless children and severely disabled people. He quietly describes the homeless children he encounters, who survive in the midst of dire poverty; their forlorn images will pull at your heart strings.... His writing is descriptive and colorful, blended with humor and pain - but containing a touching and profound message. He prompts us to question our own surroundings, how is it that so many live in utter squalor with nothing to call their own, while we have every comfort...? The moral of this narrative is clear; we must be content to live with less and focus more on helping those less fortunate, especially children. Our time on this earth is transient, but we can all make a difference by serving others. This is our collective duty and Mr. Anderson's book reminds us of this duty. Aptly named, the "Light Within" awakes the dormant conscience in ones soul and is truly a delightful read - it will leave you wanting more...