Baksheesh and Brahman: Asian Journals - India (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell) - Hardcover

Joseph Campbell

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1577312376 ISBN 13: 9781577312376

Publisher: New World Library, 2002

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review:

Years before he became a mythology expert and household name, Joseph Campbell journeyed to India. He was nearly 50, at a career crossroads, and after 10 years studying Indian art and philosophy he was finally going to India seeking the transcendent (Brahman), the mysteries of India. Instead he found the stark realities of baksheesh culture. His journal of those six months is the closest Campbell ever came to an autobiography. It's a diary of his adventures, insights, and ponderings; it's a window into the India of 1954 and the Joseph Campbell of 1954--both are intriguing places to visit.

From the Publisher:

The personal journal of the renowned mythologist Joseph Campbell during his year of travel in Asia in the fifties, enhanced by more than 60 previously unpublished photographs, specially commissioned maps, and illustrations redrawn from Campbell's own hand.

About this edition

• Publisher: New World Library
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1577312376
• ISBN 13: 9781577312376
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 416
• Editor: Robin Larsen, Stephen Larsen, Antony Van Couvering