One question which I keep finding myself answering over and over is: Why India? The simple answer is “adventure”. The long answer will involve some rambling, but here it is:

One of my best friends when I was young was Vinod Kumaroo. I knew almost nothing about India at the time, but I guess I’ll credit him with first introducing thoughts of India into my sub conscience.
Two books also influenced my interest in India. The first was Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha. I read this my freshaman year of college, just as I was discovering philosophy, and struggling to figure out what my quest in life was. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I think there is a tendency in the West to romanticize the philosophy and religion of the East, and of India in particular. It was Siddhartha’s quest which interested me.
The other book and the real spark which inspired me to travel to India, was The Razor’s Edge by Somerset Maugham. Again it was the quest, this time the character Larry’s, which spoke to something inside me. It was his journey to India which was the trigger. By the time I turned the last page, I knew I had to go to India.
The only question was: when?