When people consider the great religious traditions of India, particularly those involving the contemplative life, pilgrimage to holy sites, or the life of simplicity they may be inclined to think of the great Hindu mystics or the Sufi pirs of India. Far less often do Christian monastic traditions come to mind. Indian monastic traditions can be traced back to the Vedic period if not earlier. They provide a set of institutions and practices that have laid foundations for the movement described in this book. In Kurisumala (which means ‘The mountain of the cross’), the author describes a monastic tradition established in the state of Kerala by Henri Le Saux and Jules Monchanin, two Christian monastics who adopted the ways of renunciation espoused by India's sannyasi's. Their founding of the ashram at Shantivanam was followed by the founding of Kurisumala, located in the southern Indian state, Kerala. The book concerns the life of the author's uncle, Francis Mahieu Acharya, who hailed from a Cistercian-Trappist tradition in France, but reformulated his ideas in dialogue with India's religious traditions. The book traces the development of his life and his dialogical encounters with mystical traditions of India, centred around the ashram at Kurisumala. Crafted as a running travel narrative, the book presents a unique window into issues of inculturation, theological encounter and spirituality that crosses boundaries of rigid orthodoxies of institutionalised religion. Drawing from rich archival materials, the author reconstructs a journey that places the reader in the steps of a great saint whose life crosses these boundaries with subtlety and insight.