Shanti

Here are just some of Ms. Macdonald's fascinating insights into the beautiful and colorful country of India...

Cows, though revered as sacred, roam freely and are allowed to die slow and painful deaths by grazing on the thousands of plastic bags that line the streets. The bags collect in their stomachs, strangulating the innards.

Swimming in the Ganges is thought to cleanse you of sin. What they don't tell you is that babies are not cremated in India, but their bodies are left to float down the river, insuring that their souls will pass to heaven.

MacDonald talks about the peace, love and joy shared by Hindus, but how about this practice...When a greedy family wants more dowry money from the bride's parents, they set her alight and leave her in the streets, if she dies from her wounds the husband is set free to move on to a new bride, if she survives the family is "allowed" to abandon her as damaged, or worthless goods.

To this day, girls are not counted as children. Even farm stock is given pride of place above a daughter.

Hindu Sadhus, or holy men, perform atrocities to their bodies to show that pain means nothing; their minds and bodies are given over to worshiping God. One such Sadhu has held his hand in the air for three decades, his limb becoming withered and useless. I think he proved his point.

Parsi, an ancient religion, almost extinct in its pure form, is turning to modern science to aid the passing of its departing spirits. Parsi are known for their love and respect of nature, they will do nothing to pollute or harm the earth or its creatures, even down to their burial rituals: The Parsi leave their dead out in the open for the vultures to feed on; believing that the flesh is returning to nature when being eaten by the bird. Problems recently began when the particular species of vulture who habitat the area of Bombay which is home to the Parsi, began to die out. The rotting corpses lying out in the open began to cause major problems, so solar panels were installed to "speed things up".

While Hindus make up over 80% of the population, India is home to many other religious practitioners including Muslims, Jews, Christians, Catholics, Buddhists, Sufis, Sikhs, Parsis and Jains.