Turning East: The Promise and Peril of the New Orientalism

by Harvey Cox

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671244051
• ISBN13: 9780671244057
• Release Date: January 1977
• Publisher: Holiday House
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Back Cover Copy

"The idea for this book began on the day Harry, Denise and Michael knocked on my front door. It was a quiet Sunday afternoon, and when I opened the door, two young men and a young woman asked if they could come and talk to me about Krishna. Both the men had shaved heads, except for a small ponytail at the back. They wore bright saffron robes, simple bead necklaces and sandals. One wore a loose-fitting white shirt-blouse lined with intricate brown-and-blue patterning. Both carried tubular drums encased in woven baskets and ribbons and slung around their necks with broad sashes. The men had two white lines painted on their faces, beginning at the bridge on the nose and running up into their scalps. They told me that this was a sign of tilaka, a symbol of the dedication of their bodies to Krishna. All in all they might have looked downright menacing if they had not been smiling. The woman had blue eyes and wore a pale sari, a light shawl and sandals. Her hair was long. She carried finger symbols and a shoulder pouch stuffed with books and pamphlets. Only later on did I learn that their names were Harry, Denise and Michael. They introduced themselves as Bhargava dasa, Krishna Kumari, and Caityaguru dasa. They were all members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, better known as the Hare Krishna movement, and I asked them to come in." -Harvey Cox