JAY MA GANGA

i spent 3 days in rishikesh and really loved every second. between enjoying some chai in a river front restaurant, to investigating the wares for sale in the many shops that line the streets of lakshman jhula, to watching the crowds of indian holidaymakers move across the suspension bridge (very colorful!), to sitting and just trying to absorb it all...

i spent a lot of time in contemplation that gently dipped into deep meditation while seated along the banks of the ganges. i managed to mentally prepare myself for my home return, because i am back and there is no culture shock - i really feel like i've just stepped back into what i left 31/2 months ago. i did go see the famous ganga arati preformed at the Parmath Niketan ashram, with the Guru : Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji. I arrived early, or so i thought, but all the good seats were already taken. i squeezed in next to this lovely older indian woman who saw me looking a little disapointed at the lack of seating, and pushed over saying, "why not?" the opening bhajans were lovely, all accompanied by young boys dressed in yellow. harmonium, tablas, and vocals - all properly amplified (i really enjoyed watching the boy in charge of the mixer, he was very self-important, constantly adjusting the sound on each by very tiny increments) - completed the setting of the mood. sunset over the ganges, the young priests also in yellow preforming homa (the fire sacrifice) at the river's edge, and then Swamiji walked in, his magnificent mane flowing behind him. but i was so unsettled by looking at his eyes! i was expecting this enlightened master (i had watched a tv special about him when i was ill in tiruvannamalai, and had all these expectations...) and while his presence was powerful, i think maybe it was because of the collective attention focused upon him. in any case, i was not impressed and slightly disturbed by the quality of his eyes.

on my last morning in rishikesh, i arose with the sun to go take my ganga bath. before then i had been afraid to do so, due to the power and energy of the river. also, i did not know where the best place would be for me to go - a western female, alone. i was wandering up the river bank towards where i had heard there were some beaches, but when i arrived i found signs proclaiming great danger and also i noticed that an indian man had followed me there, so no bathing at this spot. it was beautiful, however, and i took some photos and collected the sliver sand that covered the beach. as i was walking along it, i noticed this cute little hut up on the hill, and as i was imagining who lived inside and how neat it would be if i was sitting up next to the house, drinking chai with its inhabitant, out popped this old man with long white hair and a long white beard dressed all in yellow. he waved me on up to his house, and i went. babaji, as he told me his name was, showed me his lovely garden and offered me chai. i quickly learned that he has been a yoga teacher for 40 years, and he still does teach. he showed me some incredible moves - just looking at him you would never suspect that he was that flexible or that strong. "babaji take no money, only material". he showed me a book of photos taken by foreigners and gifted to him - people from all over the world have stumbled upon his little abode on the banks of the ganges and studied yoga asanas and philosophy with him in exchange only for food. it was very neat talking with him, and i couldn'y believe that on my last morning i had encountered such a character. but that is how it is in india - always characters to encounter. babaji advised me on where to take my ganga bath - across the river from his house, in fact - and i was on my way to bath in the holy waters.

the moment of total immersion was all that i had hoped for. the river had changed color over the course of the few days i had been there - first milky aquamarine, then dark brown (it rained) and then less dark brown and milky, and on my last morning the water was returning to the color i had seen on my first morning. it still was nowhere near clear - and being a big river i was sure that there were big fish, and id rather see them than just feel them nibbling on my toes - but clean and fresh. the water was cold, and quickly moving and i recited mantras as i dipped under... i stayed along the banks for at least 2 hours, just looking and sitting with an empty mind.