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The Guru and the Dictator : Religion and Politics in the Darjeeling Hills
In this riveting true story, Thomas K. Shor, an American writer with an ear for unusual stories, wanders into a Sikkimese mountain village and into the life of an enigmatic spiritual master known as Gurudev.
It turns out Gurudev has close ties with the local dictator and his henchmen, and Shor finds himself being hosted at their houses as he accompanies the master. Gurudev’s ‘engaged Buddhism’ not only stretches common notions of morality, but also spins Shor’s moral compass. How is he to reconcile the religion of love with the violence of politics? Ultimately, the author flees Darjeeling under physical threat and abandons the writing of this book—until now.
While the warnings are many against mixing religion and politics, they combine in this entertaining tale set in the politically tumultuous foothills of India’s eastern Himalayas to reveal profound insights into the nature of both the human and the divine.
It turns out Gurudev has close ties with the local dictator and his henchmen, and Shor finds himself being hosted at their houses as he accompanies the master. Gurudev’s ‘engaged Buddhism’ not only stretches common notions of morality, but also spins Shor’s moral compass. How is he to reconcile the religion of love with the violence of politics? Ultimately, the author flees Darjeeling under physical threat and abandons the writing of this book—until now.
While the warnings are many against mixing religion and politics, they combine in this entertaining tale set in the politically tumultuous foothills of India’s eastern Himalayas to reveal profound insights into the nature of both the human and the divine.
22 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 4, 2015
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About the author
Thomas K. Shor
10 books20 followersWriter and photographer Thomas K. Shor was born in Boston, USA, and studied comparative religion and literature in Vermont.
With an ear for unusual stories, the fortune to attract them, and an eye for detail, he has traveled the planet's mountainous realms--from the Mayan Highlands of southern Mexico in the midst of insurrection to the mountains of Greece, and more recently, to the Indian Himalayas--to collect, illustrate, and write stories with a uniquely personal character, often having the flavor of fable.
Shor has lectured widely on his writings and has had solo exhibits of his photographs in Europe and India. He can often be found in the most obscure locales, immersed in a compelling story touching upon fundamental human themes.
Thomas K. Shor is the author of:
JUST RELEASED (September, 2022):
THE BABA DOWNSTAIRS: The Life Story of a Misfit Indian Saint
The bestselling A STEP AWAY FROM PARADISE: The True Story of a Tibetan Lama's Journey to a Land of Immortality
INTO THE HANDS OF THE UNKNOWN: an Indian Sojourn with a Harvard Renunciant
THE MASTER DIRECTOR: A Journey through Politics, Doubt and Devotion with a Himalayan Master
THE MONK AND THE SLY CHICKPEA: Travels on Corfu
LEOPARD IN THE CITY: An Urban Fable.
He is also the author of two books of black and white photography:
SCULPTURE GARDEN OF THE GODS: Animated Landscape Photography from the Greek Island of Ikaria (also available in a bilingual English/Greek edition)
GANGES LAMENT: Black & White Photographic Portraits from the Sacred Indian City of Varanasi.
You may visit him at www.ThomasShor.com
With an ear for unusual stories, the fortune to attract them, and an eye for detail, he has traveled the planet's mountainous realms--from the Mayan Highlands of southern Mexico in the midst of insurrection to the mountains of Greece, and more recently, to the Indian Himalayas--to collect, illustrate, and write stories with a uniquely personal character, often having the flavor of fable.
Shor has lectured widely on his writings and has had solo exhibits of his photographs in Europe and India. He can often be found in the most obscure locales, immersed in a compelling story touching upon fundamental human themes.
Thomas K. Shor is the author of:
JUST RELEASED (September, 2022):
THE BABA DOWNSTAIRS: The Life Story of a Misfit Indian Saint
The bestselling A STEP AWAY FROM PARADISE: The True Story of a Tibetan Lama's Journey to a Land of Immortality
INTO THE HANDS OF THE UNKNOWN: an Indian Sojourn with a Harvard Renunciant
THE MASTER DIRECTOR: A Journey through Politics, Doubt and Devotion with a Himalayan Master
THE MONK AND THE SLY CHICKPEA: Travels on Corfu
LEOPARD IN THE CITY: An Urban Fable.
He is also the author of two books of black and white photography:
SCULPTURE GARDEN OF THE GODS: Animated Landscape Photography from the Greek Island of Ikaria (also available in a bilingual English/Greek edition)
GANGES LAMENT: Black & White Photographic Portraits from the Sacred Indian City of Varanasi.
You may visit him at www.ThomasShor.com
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