Theos Bernard, the White Lama: Tibet, Yoga, and American Religious Life

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Synopsis
The life and adventures of an American explorer and iconic figure in the 20th century religious counterculture movement.In 1937, Theos Casimir Bernard, the self-proclaimed &“White Lama,&” became the third American in history to reach Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet. During his stay, he amassed the largest collection of Tibetan texts, art, and artifacts in the Western hemisphere at that time. He also documented, in both still photography and 16mm film, the age-old civilization of Tibet on the eve of its destruction by Chinese Communists. Based on thousands of primary sources and rare archival materials, this is the real story behind the purported adventures of Bernard and his role in the growth of America's religious counterculture. Over the course of his brief life, Bernard met, associated, and corresponded with the major social, political, and cultural leaders of his day, from the Regent and high politicians of Tibet to saints, scholars, and diplomats of British India, from Charles Lindbergh and Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Gandhi and Nehru. Although hailed as a brilliant pioneer by the media, Bernard also had his flaws. He was an entrepreneur propelled by grandiose schemes, a handsome man who shamelessly used his looks to bounce from rich wife to rich wife in support of his activities, and a master manipulator who concocted his own interpretation of Eastern wisdom to suit his ends. Bernard had a bright future before him but disappeared in India during the communal violence of the 1947 Partition, never to be seen again.&“Well-written…A readable intellectual account of the life of an ambitious Tibetological pioneer.&”—Asian Ethnology
Copyright:
2012

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
Book Size:
520 Pages
ISBN-13:
9780231530378
Related ISBNs:
9780231158862
Publisher:
Columbia University Press
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Columbia Unverisy press
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
History, Nonfiction, Travel, Biographies and Memoirs, Health, Mind and Body, Religion and Spirituality
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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