120 Days in the Valley of Gods

About the Book

What happens when a forty-nine year old woman from the suburbs of Montreal, Canada travels to India in a much-delayed search for Truth and the meaning of life? This is the story of such a woman.

Consumed as she is with an intense desire to discover ultimate answers, she seeks out an Indian sage. Under his guidance, she studies the ancient wisdom of Vedant Philosophy – but with a modern, or more accurately, a timeless approach. Free from the constraints or limitations of a particular system of philosophy or religion, Swami Shyam imparts his teachings with a brilliance of intellect, unfailing compassion and humour. The Truth itself, Bernice finds, is simple but its discovery requires a highly complex and often arduous process. Part of this process focuses on the mechanics of relationships of all kinds, from personal and interpersonal to one’s relationship with the universe. With complete candor, along with a sense of the absurd, the author chronicles her struggles and triumphs as she contends with relationships, primarily those of the parent-child variety. Exploring the philosophical generalities of the universal nature of human relationships leads the author to a surprising and momentous discovery about herself.

The setting for this autobiographical work is a hill station in Northern India, Dev Bhoomi, Valley of Gods, a largely rural community under the rule of the Raj and Raani, a monarchy that exists to the present time. Despite its earlier history as a bustling regional center with a large British population, in the 70’s, Kullu was a bucolic village. Nor had it as yet been impacted by the influences of Western movies and the soon-to-come ubiquitous television. Strongly rooted in traditional Indian values, mores and culture, the local people still regarded a foreigner as a curiosity. Living in such a community along with its primitive physical conditions, presented a highly interesting yet challenging face to our naïve visitor. 120 days (the duration of an airline excursion ticket to India) is a relatively short period of time, but this narration includes the past the writer brings to the present as well as the future, from which vantage point the story is told. With wit and reverence, the author chronicles the ecstasy and delight as well as the frustrations she encounters, in her attempt to comprehend the paradoxical disparities between her experiences of the sublime and the obvious reality of temporal existence.

This is a study of one individual’s exploration and discovery. The reader is presented with the opportunity to observe the sowing of seeds in the fertile soil of a human mind and to observe their growth into maturation. Witness the ultimate secret unfold in the perception that to know one’s own self is to know the universe.

About the Author

What happens when a 49-year-old suburban woman from Montreal travels to India in a much-delayed search for Truth and the meaning of life? This autobiographical account unfolds against the background of Dev Bhoomi, Valley of Gods, a rural hill station in the Himalayas, not as yet impacted by the influences of foreign movies and television. Her search leads the author to an Indian sage, the venerable Swami Shyam. With brilliance, unfailing compassion and humor, he guides his students in researching the philosophy of ancient Vedic wisdom—teachings that are hugely enhanced by his unique and timeless approach. As part of the process, Bernice is encouraged to analyze the functioning of the human mind as well as the mechanics of relationships, especially those of parent and child. 120 days is a relatively short period of time but this narration includes the past the writer brings to the present as well as the future, from which vantage point the story is told. This is an authentic tale of an adventure of exploration and discovery. With complete candor and a sense of the absurd, Bernice chronicles her struggles to adjust to primitive physical conditions and a foreign culture. She relates with wit and reverence, her trials and triumphs as well as the ecstasy and delight she experiences in the process of unfolding the magnificent spiritual potential of a human being.