Ganshpuri

i arrived in the mumbai airport a little before 4am on saturday the 16th. i missed my flight out of delhi (i was convinced that it left at 7pm, not 5pm!) and the next flight i booked was delayed and delayed. i was sleep deprived and anxious, so after some consulting with the very nice information desk man, suri, i hired a car from the airport to take me directly to ganeshpuri. as i watched first the city, then the countryside slide by from the comfort of a new, air conditioned car, i kept thinking, now just what exactly have i done? where am i going and how long am i staying there? will i be able to get out? the ride took about 2 hrs, and since most of the roads do not pass though the, um, nicer parts of town, i found myself getting more and more anxious. however, once we turned off the main road onto the smaller country road (barely enough room for two cars to pass eachother, let alone the huge trucks vividly painted with 'horn please' carrying sand and dirt and people) i started to feel slightly better. the countryside was beautiful, albeit a bit dry looking, but still tropical with palm trees and blossoms. i noticed that there was an awful lot of brick making going on - lots and lots of people mixing sand and clay (i presume most all of the top soil) with water in rectangular holes dug in the ground. next to that were rows upon rows of bricks stacked up to dry. at each area of brick making there were pyramidal shaped mounds of bricks, with smoke wafting off the top. the color change in the bricks told me that this was where the bricks were baked. i passed many of these areas.

suddenly, i noticed a tall fence topped with barbed wire, protecting, so it seemed, the lush green grass and tall trees and flowering bushes that were inside. we made a left hand turn to continue to follow this fence, onto a side road. i realized that this must be the ashram. i was certainly impressed with the magnificence of the grounds, but taken aback by the fence which strongly said "KEEP OUT". also, all that green must mean that they are watering the lawns and trees - i knew that ganeshpuri was situated on a river, but all that watering couldn't be completely good. the main impression i got was $$$.

i arrived at hotel samadhan around 9am, and checked into my room. this hotel is right across (literally) from the Nityananda temple at the center/end of town. i should mention that most people think of Nityananda as a god - you could argue that he was/is Lord - and worship him as such. his photograph appears in many shrines to other gods or incarnations of gods, and in ganeshpuri, at every arati - to Ganesh, Ram+Sita, Bhadra Kali, etc there is a little arati for Nityananda included at the end: Jaya jaya arati Nityananda, Jaya jaya arati Nityananda, Sagunarupi Govinda, Jaya jaya arati Nityananda, Manika Prahbu Tu hosi, Akkalkota Swami hosi, Shiradi Sainatha hosi, Kaliyuga Nityananda banasi, Jaya jaya arati Nityananda, Jaya jaya arati Nityananda".

after i had paid for the few days i was planning on staying, i ran into vijay in the hall upstairs. he is from trinidad, and is a devotee of a devotee (who is now a guru- Sri Vasudeva) of Baba Muktananda. the 'official' siddha yoga lineage goes like this: Nityananda --> Muktananda --> Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, however many received shaktipat from Muktananda and have since gone on to teach and spread his message (and also give shaktipat). shaktipat is a very complicated thing to discuss, so i will not go into it here, but it is a central part of the siddha yoga path - the awakening of kundalini shakti. please go to their site for the accurate info: www.siddhayoga.org. vijay told me that if i hurried i could make darshan at Baba's (Muktananda) mahasamadhi. i did.

i was overcome by the beauty and precision of the ashram (Gurudev Siddha Peeth) when i first set foot inside. in the first area - the temple - is a golden statue of Baba. there are also the most loveliest of photographs of Baba on the walls. from there i made my way into the maha samadhi, where i circled the white marble sepulcher and bowed to the padukas (sandals) which were adorned with fragrant blossoms. i then joined the rest and sat for meditation for the remainder of the hour. Baba's mahasamadhi is only open for a total of 4 hours on the weekends - one hour each in the morning and afternoon, saturday and sunday. many feel that this is outrageous, because all should have access to the mahasamadhi of great beings.

when i returned to my room, i slept for the rest of the day, through into the night. the cold that i found myself with upon departure from agra was worse, and i knew that rest was important. i arose early the next morning for the guru gita (5:30 sharp!) at the ashram. how beautiful and wonderful! there were a lot of people there (mostly westerners) due to the fact that a retreat put on by siddha yoga was nearing its completion. after hearing stories of the guru gita chanting in the ashram from siddha yogis, i was so ecstatic to finally be there, participating. so quickly, the hour of immersion in divine syllables was up, and i was out the door. vijay was waiting outside, with his traveling partner, jeety (another devotee of Vasudeva). together we made our way back to the village of ganeshpuri, roughly a 30 min walk - 20 if you walk fast. we stopped for chai at a delightfuly pink and blue painted chai stall, and had a lovely conversation about life in general. i ended up spending much of my time with them that weekend as they were leaving on monday morning early. both of them are wonderful and have great senses of humor. jeety and i explored the hot springs - 25 rupees for a bath with incredibly hot mineral water - and came out changed! Nityananda used to bathe in those hot springs every morning, and i felt refreshed, recharged, and purified for having done the same. later that afternoon we went on a little adventure to the island in the middle of the river where Nityandanda used to meditate. there were enshrined banyan trees there, as well as many sadhus and several families picknicking. jeety and i discovered a natural source of the hot springs - a circular opening in the black volcanic rock, with incredibly hot, clear water bubbling up. the minerals in the water keep bacteria - aka green slime - from covering the surface. we sat for a while in the shade of one of the banyan's and chatted. i was told later, that in ganeshpuri, there is no gossip - only satsang.

earlier that morning, a local man, ganesh, approached me and offered his services as a guide of ganeshpuri. i accepted, and he took me for a ride on his motorcyle to vajeshwari, the next town over, where there was a hut that muktananda stayed in for several years during his sadhana. keeping watch is a devotee/sadhu who has been doing seva there for 20 years. after meditating for a short while, we preformed arati for nityananda (yes, a little shrine to him inside) and then off to a Shiva temple where Nityananda first stayed, or so i was told, when he came to ganeshpuri. the sunset over the river valley was spectacular.

i was planning on only staying in ganeshpuri until tuesday - i had planned outgoing south to Hampi, an apparently amazing site with lots of temples and ruins and also the opportunity to do some rock climbing (i do have my rock shoes with me!). however, monday afternoon i took a walk up to see the ganesh temple on top of the hill. there are 8 little huts along the path going up, amidst black boulders and brown sand and dry dry grass. it reminded me of photographs that i have seen of tibet and the himalayas. at each little temple i peeked inside - a ghee lamp was burning and insence as well. each little ganesh was slightly different, and carved from black stone (i couldn't figure out if it was the same stone that the mountain was made of). the views of ganeshpuri and the river valley were spectacular - the white domed top of the temple peeking out between palm trees and green foliage. the hill top was deserted, and when i reached the largest ganesh temple just before the top of the hill, i paused. delightful music was coming from speakers hidden somewhere - om ganapatie, namo namah - the mantra of ganesh. as i was peering inside, suddenly i noticed a man coming towards me, waving his arms. i realized that i hadn't taken my shoes off - oops! - and that was what he was gesturing about. he was dressed in an orange cloth, wrapped around his waste, sadhu style, with the white strips on his forehead, arms and legs and various other dots of yellow and red. he wasn't saying anything - but preformed arati at the ganesh temple and gave me prasad and then lead me to a sign on a building that said 'office' - it said that Swami was in silence except for 9:30 to 11:30 am for several years, so could only see visitors between those hours. i did not know that the man leading me around and preforming arati at all the little temples around the hill top was the swami. he took me into his little abode, attached to the main temple on the top of the hill - dedicated to rama and sita as well as a whole slew of other gods and goddesses - and took out a little notbook where he wrote questions down that i answered. conversation was very slow, he was eyeing me up most of the time - and after several pages of his notebook, i said i was going to go. he told me to call him tomorrow, because i said i was leaving for mumbai to get to hampi. he was very emphatic that i call him, so i promised that i would.

in the morning when i went to check out (5am) the hotel owner told me that it would be much better if i waited until between 10 and 3 to take the suburban train into mumbai - it would not be as crowded (go to youtube and type in 'mumbai local train' and you'll see what i mean). so instead of waiting to call swami, i decided to just go visit him in person, and then leave afterwards.

to be continued...

fyi-
i am now in pondicherry, home of the sri aurobindo ashram and auroville. there are lots of internet cafe's here, so i will be playing a bit of catch up over the coming days/weeks. the town is swelling with devotees, as the 29th, friday, is a huge holiday - the supramental manifestation day. tomorrow is auroville's 40th birthday, and i will be attending the festivities there, starting at 5am. i am staying at the mother's house- a guest house of the ashram, and it is very nice - ocean views with my morning asana practice and lovely people staying there (mostly all westerners). its only my first real day in pondy, so ill let you know what all the fuss is about once i figure it out!

please miss, enjoyment of camel?

i arrived in delhi accompanied by a newly acquired short term traveling partner - Annouk. we sat next to each other on the flight from heathrow, and we were both overjoyed at having someone with which to share the entry experience. we managed to get a taxi and make it to her hostel - hare rama guest house in a sketchy part of delhi. the pre-pay taxi men gave us a discount of 10 rupees because of where we were going. that was one harrowing ride in the cold dark to an interesting guest house. at least shiva was there to greet us at the door. i had only one hour before i had to leave to catch my train to agra, so we had our very first indian chai up on the rooftop, surrounded by blue tarps and scrawny cats.

the train to agra was nice - cold and uncomfortable. but for only 72 rupees, one can not complain. i sat next to two dorky middle aged indian men, who listened to hit indian songs on their phones and sang along. the whole way. but really, a lovely soundtrack to accompany my first train ride in india.

i was very excited to see that my hotel - the tourists rest house - was there waiting for me at the station. Jairam, this sweet old indian man explained to me that he would take me around agra, show me the sights and the culture of agra. i couldn't argue, as it was exactly what i wanted, especially once i saw what the city was like. a guide seemed like a perfect idea. it wasn't until halfway through the second day that i realized that i didn't know how much he was going to charge me. i think that the 1500 i paid was worth the peace of mind i had though (even though im sure that if i did the sight seeing on my own that it would have been much cheaper). now that i have had the experience of being ripped off, i can and will be more wary.

in any case, jairam took me to see the baby taj, built 35 years before the taj mahal. it was beautiful, but certainly not as impressive as the taj itself. after viewing the baby taj, he took me to a spot where you can get a rear view of the taj, on the river jamuna. i walked down this path which he pointed out, and at the end was a security area, where soilders were standing guard over the taj. the main man in charge (he showed me his security badge) tried to convince me to ride the camel, take a picture, walk down to the water, etc. unrelenting. i decided to simply leave instead of giving him or his son who was trying to sell me postcards, any opportunity to ask for money. next i went on the typical tourist run - to the hand knotted carpet factory, jewelry store, and inlay marble shop. it was very fascinating talking to the salesmen - who are very good at what they do - and learning more about agra's culture and heritage. apparently the government is trying to decrease the ammount of pollution in agra, so that the taj mahal stays white. to this end, they have eliminated heavy industry in agra, so that all the crafts sold in the city are handicrafts (or at least that is what i was told). i saw the process for the carpet making as well as the marble inlay - which would only be possible because of the cheap cost of labor. it is really quite crazy - the carpet knotters, for example, get paid around 150 rupees a day for their labor, which is finger cramping and eye straining.

i saw the taj mahal by sunrise this morning, and it was VERY cold. once the sun rose it did warm up. i am amazed by the work done on the taj - it is really quite something! and to feel so intensely about another person, and have the means to construct such a monument... i sat in silence while i watched the delicate shift of color and the crowds of tourists snapping photo after photo, bemused. agra fort i saw next. three generations of mughal rulers built and improved upon this mighty display of power, beginning with Akbar. walking around the grounds really transported me to another time, i was awed and amazed by the massive construction and delicate detail. seeing the taj across the river, shrouded in haze, lent an additional mysterious air to the entire experience.

i do not think that i have expressed the crazyness of india - the barely contained chaos, the multitude of people and animals, the cacophany of noise and smell - having the right perspective and approach is crucial. there is a true element of surrender required for traveling on the roads, (unless you're in one of those huge tourist busses) and for travel in general (especially in india). tut tuts are efficient but when it comes down to accidents, mass matters. thankfully, mantra smoothed out my frazzled nerves (or really, it prevented them from getting frazzled).

tomorrow morning early, i am on the intercity express to delhi. i plan on visiting the national museum and perhaps gandhi smriti before catching a taxi to the airport for my evening flight to mumbai. from there, the next morning i will make my way to ganeshpuri. yay!

last day in vermont

as i drove to bhava yoga center in brattleboro this morning, the incredibly white snow clung to every branch of every tree, making them appear larger and more three-dimensional than the normal grey of this time of year would allow. i realized how amazing it truly is that i am able to experience the beauty and stillness of white winter in vermont one day, and practically the next, experience the heat and chaos of india. a giddy euphoria wells up within me as i ponder just how i will be spending the next several months of my life: hot, sun-filled days, spicy foods, challenging experiences, exotic language and land, profound teachings, and enlightening realizations (i hope). 

today saw the final preparatory steps taken: photocopies of ids, traveler's checks obtained, malaria and antibiotic prescriptions filled (emergency only), and my bags packed. there is not much else left to do, other than cuddle darjeeling (the kitten at my house) and gaze at the northeastern stars.

itinerary update:

agra through the 15th, then back to delhi for an evening flight to mumbai. from there i have yet to decide whether or not to continue onto ganeshpuri (late into the night) for saturday morning guru gita recitation, or wait until saturday morning to leave mumbai. ganeshpuri will see me only thruough monday (maybe tuesday) then off to the caves at ellora, and back to mumbai for elephanta island and down south across the tip hopefully stopping at hampi to do some bouldering and temple gazing before establishing myself at the mother's house.