It's two thousand six and Emily, a twenty one year old American, is that a retreat center in India, immersed in a week long silent meditation. She climbs up to the roof of the retreat center. It's at four in the morning or so, and wraps a scarf under her face and jumps off the building to her death. I was shocked and confused when I heard this story. How can a spiritual practice like meditation make you do that? Some would argue that through this meditation, Emily reached some sort of enlightenment. But if that's the case, then what's the cost of enlightenment death. I'm Caroline Slaughter, the host of a new podcast called Astray, and I'm also a seeker. It's just about living in the light, meaning the truth of who you are. A lot of people that will hear this podcast will be seekers. But don't go to India because this is a venus fly trap for your vulnerability. After Emily's tragic death, the media linked her to a phenomenon called India syndrome, a psychosis that befalls Westerners in India on a spiritual quest. She's not alone in this diagnosis. In the podcast, I investigate the disappearances and deaths of other Westerners who have gone astray and what's been called the spiritual Bermuda triangle. You don't know whether it's a permanent loss or part time loss, or whether you've lost them forever or you haven't, or you know it's just or what is the loss? There's no evidence of the loss. If we got a call today, he's not gonna be the same person that left, So like, what does that journey even look like? And to be honest, maybe maybe it's better off you get the cool In my own quest to investigate their disappearances has led me to some unexpected places, identifying drowned bodies in the Holy River Ganges, befriending a cannibal hunter, and re examining my own relationship to this idea of enlightenment. Were you offended by it at all? I am a little annoyed by it by the term in death syndrome. To believe that that is a general definition of a place I feel is reckless and irresponsible. Astray examines the cost of a spiritual awakening and asks how far would you go for enlightenment. Astray is a production of school of Humans and I heart Radio Listen to Astray launching a Marks three on the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

It's two thousand six and Emily, a twenty one year old American, is that a retreat center in India, immersed in a week long silent meditation. She climbs up to the roof of the retreat center. It's at four in the morning or so, and wraps a scarf under her face and jumps off the building to her death. I was shocked and confused when I heard this story. How can a spiritual practice like meditation make you do that? Some would argue that through this meditation, Emily reached some sort of enlightenment. But if that's the case, then what's the cost of enlightenment death. I'm Caroline Slaughter, the host of a new podcast called Astray, and I'm also a seeker. It's just about living in the light, meaning the truth of who you are. A lot of people that will hear this podcast will be seekers. But don't go to India because this is a venus fly trap for your vulnerability. After Emily's tragic death, the media linked her to a phenomenon called India syndrome, a psychosis that befalls Westerners in India on a spiritual quest. She's not alone in this diagnosis. In the podcast, I investigate the disappearances and deaths of other Westerners who have gone astray and what's been called the spiritual Bermuda triangle. You don't know whether it's a permanent loss or part time loss, or whether you've lost them forever or you haven't, or you know it's just or what is the loss? There's no evidence of the loss. If we got a call today, he's not gonna be the same person that left, So like, what does that journey even look like? And to be honest, maybe maybe it's better off you get the cool In my own quest to investigate their disappearances has led me to some unexpected places, identifying drowned bodies in the Holy River Ganges, befriending a cannibal hunter, and re examining my own relationship to this idea of enlightenment. Were you offended by it at all? I am a little annoyed by it by the term in death syndrome. To believe that that is a general definition of a place I feel is reckless and irresponsible. Astray examines the cost of a spiritual awakening and asks how far would you go for enlightenment. Astray is a production of school of Humans and I heart Radio Listen to Astray launching a Marks three on the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.