MOKSHA

"MOKSHA" charts the spiritual journey of an American woman, set within the context of a troubled society and a threatened planet. Her journey takes her from a refugee camp in South India to the Himalayas and back. Throughout, the tools of non-dual Advaita Vedanta point her toward the path to immortality and freedom from suffering. This novel of adventure conveys the truth of Vedanta in an entertaining way, making these difficult but crucial teachings relevant and accessible to today's readers.

At a New Year's Eve party in Manhattan, an American woman listens closely to the story of the young boy Nachiketa and his conversation with Yama, the Lord of Death. That same night, she is involved in a tragic accident where she carelessly leaves a woman to die. In an act of contrition, she volunteers to work in refugee camps, the worst hellholes imaginable. Five years later, she meets Sidh, the man who told her the story of Nachiketa, on that fateful New Year's Eve. She insists that Sidh reveal the secret that the Lord of Death imparts to the boy. Mystics and visionaries throughout history, from Thomas Merton to Rumi to Emerson, have had intimations of that Absolute Reality that resides within us and all around us. But it is only Advaita Vedanta that provides a practical, logical, and eminently doable roadmap for the committed seeker to discover her true nature and attain moksha, freedom from suffering and rebirth, within this life.

Tara Dharan Lamont was born in Kannur, Malabar, on the west coast of India. She received her degree in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. As a practicing architect in San Francisco, she was responsible for several award-winning projects, including the restoration of the San Francisco Opera House. Ms. Lamont has been a serious student of Vedanta for many years. Her primary influence and inspiration for MOKSHA came from the teachings of Swami Tadatmananda at the Arsha Bodha Center and Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York. She is currently completing her second novel, "SAMSARA," to be published in 2023.