The idea of going on a spiritual journey is really part of the DNA of India itself.

Some of my best friends are Hindu or Buddhist or Sikh, my students as well. This is the sea in which I swim.

We tend to gravitate towards our tribes; the challenge is to understand the people of other tribes.

India is a culture in which religious life and spirituality is very much on the surface of things. That doesn't mean it doesn't have depth, but it is very visible. There are lots of temples, lots of Islamic centers, lots of gurdwaras, and lots of teachers.

India is simply dotted with pilgrimage places, and with teachers and very powerful spiritual guides.

I will say that the power of being a stranger in someone else's religious community has its own lessons, really. It is something like the power of visiting another very happy extended family and being at their table.

I do think that the U.S. has an opportunity as a democracy to really exemplify what a religiously diverse society can be when it embraces the pluralism.