Pyramid-shaped, snowcapped Mount Kailas rises more than 22,000 feet above sea level in the Himalayas of western Tibet. No climber has tainted its slopes, for Kailas has been sacred for over 1000 years. To followers of Bonpo, the pre-Buddhist animist religion of Tibet, it is the "soul" of the region; to Hindus, the throne of Shiva; to these, to Jains and to Buddhists, Kailas is the divine taken physical form. Kailas is also key to a question that once puzzled geographers: the sources of India's four great sacred rivers, the Indus, the Brahmaputra, the Sutlej and the Karnali (a tributary of the Ganges) are all found in this region. In 1987, the authors joined more than 5000 other pilgrims in circumambulating Kailas. Johnson's first-rate color photographs are placed to enhance Moran's clear and informative commentary, which concludes with a brief, wise discussion of the mountain's "secret" and what one finds there: "A mountain. A lake. So high."
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Light of Consciousness, 1998
The authors document their own pilgrimage to Kailas in this splendid book. . . . Kelly Moran's text integrates well-researched religious import, history and geography into her personal odyssey; the awesome color photography of Russel Johnson complements every page, revealing a lofty realm where Earth and Spirit soar together. An unforgettable experience and a gift book for any season.

Light of Consciousness, 1998
An unforgettable experience and a gift book for any season.

About the Author
Kerry Moran is an American writer who worked in Kathmandu for 14 years. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Book Description
* The record of a spiritual journey through an extraordinary land, and of the devoted pilgrims who seek to climb Mount Kailas. * Two Americans recount their experiences during the sacred pilgrimage to one of the most remote places on Earth. * With more than 100 color photographs that capture the awe-inspiring landscape and the tireless determination of the pilgrims.

In a remote corner of western Tibet, in one of the highest, most pristine places on Earth, rises a sublime snow-clad pyramid of rock and snow--Mount Kailas. To Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims this 22,028-foot mountain is the throne of the gods, the "Navel of the Earth," the place where the divine takes earthly form. For more than a thousand years these pilgrims have journeyed here to pay homage to the mountain's mystery, circumambulating it in an ancient ritual of devotion that continues to the present day. Spinning prayer wheels, chanting mantras, and prostrating themselves at shrines, the pilgrims make the arduous climb toward the physical and emotional high point of the journey, the lofty pass known as the Dolma La.

With spectacular color photography and vivid travel writing, The Sacred Mountain of Tibet provides a stunning account of this awe-inspiring landscape, and of the variety, vitality, and sheer determination of the pilgrims who venture there. Both photographer Russell Johnson and writer Kerry Moran have made the difficult pilgrimage around the mountain several times. The Sacred Mountain of Tibet is the record of their inspiring journey that opens a window on a magical land of pure light and dazzling color where the temporal and the eternal unite and where every feature of the landscape holds its own divinity.