Thursday, March 20, 2008
monsoon!?!
i have retreated to the dry and entertaining space of an internet cafe while the rain comes pouring down. we're scheduled to get another week of rain, which means an alternation between a drizzle, a complete drenching, and hot humidity with the sun barely peaking through the clouds. we did have a few days of sun, which i took advantage of! i brushed some ponies at the pony farm, went for nice long bike rides through the lush jungle, lied on the sand in the sun and splashed in the waves, and went to pitchandikulam- a bioreserve center where they are focusing on propogating the medicinal herbs that are native to this bioregion as well as educating the locals of the natural knowledge which they are losing due to their interest in and the convience/ease of conventional medicine. parvati, the woman who instructs the weekly class, taught us about this herb, savatri (in sanskrit) - also known as asparagus somethingicus (i didn't write it down) in latin. it is a tuber which is very nutritious and helps boost the immune system and imparts energy. the locals chew on the tubers like chewing gum, extracting all the juices they can out of the plant. parvati also said that it was possible to only chew on these tubers while undergoing a long expedition- no need for water! a group of about 8 spent an hour peeling the dried flesh from the stiff inner root of the tubers, so we could make tea. originally the plan was to crush the dried roots in the huge mortar and pestle onsite, but all the rain and heavy humidity affected the tubers for the worse, and they were sticky and not cooperating with the plan of being ground into powder. we all sat around while the water boiled, and spoke of the forest and the ongoing projects happening (lots of women empowerment) and when the tea was ready and an ample supply of jaggery was added (natural sugar), we sipped our tea and picked parvati's brain. she ended up telling us her life story which was really incredible: from arguing with her parents to be allowed to finish her schooling to finding 10 rupees a week for bus fare, to deflecting the villagers mean comments regarding her rebellious nature (just think, a girl finishing high school and daring of thinking of continuing!), and taking care of her whole family...she really just blew me away. she learned a lot about the local herbs from her parents, and acted as a healer while all this was going on as well. now she works to educate women about their native medicine supply and and provides a space for them to come together to support one another in the often harsh marital climate (arranged marriages are the norm, excessive dowries are as well, and often the parents of the groom are not entirely honest about the caliber of their son regarding drinking habits - alcoholism is a big problem here, especially since it is legal to purchase alcohol in pondy (the only place in all of tamil nadu)). so if youre in need of a good and worthwhile place to donate some money to - i would highly reccomend pitchandikulam forest in auroville.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
posting photos
i have been sitting here at arka, an internet station in auroville, for about 2 hours, and have only managed to get one photo posted! this is starting to drive me crazy. the internet connection seems fast enough, so it must be the computer itself? maybe too much traffic? ive got about 70 photos that i want to put up, and when it takes 5 minutes to upload just one, im not so sure that this is a viable task...
it has been raining a lot here - monsoon style - for the past 3 days. it is supposed to continue for a few more, however we do get breaks of sunshine. last night i went up after a few card games to look at the stars and watched the thunderheads move past mitra (the guest house i am staying in) on either side, lit up by lightning. directly overhead, the sky was clear and i could gaze at the primordial light penetrating empty space. the mosquitoes certainly like the weather that we've been having, and it is impossible to wash anything because it will not dry! also, the lovely red earth has turned to lovely red mud, which turns everything it comes into contact with the same lovely shade. my toes look like they've been hennaed!
it has been raining a lot here - monsoon style - for the past 3 days. it is supposed to continue for a few more, however we do get breaks of sunshine. last night i went up after a few card games to look at the stars and watched the thunderheads move past mitra (the guest house i am staying in) on either side, lit up by lightning. directly overhead, the sky was clear and i could gaze at the primordial light penetrating empty space. the mosquitoes certainly like the weather that we've been having, and it is impossible to wash anything because it will not dry! also, the lovely red earth has turned to lovely red mud, which turns everything it comes into contact with the same lovely shade. my toes look like they've been hennaed!
Monday, March 10, 2008
lord of the dance
i went to chidambaram on saturday, by motorcycle. it was a two hour ride (80 km), and when we finally arrived my butt rejoiced! there is this amazing shiva temple complex in chidambaram, and since it was just recently shivaratri, i thought that it would be appropriate to visit. i convinced my friend, walter, who has a yellow bullet, to take me down there. coincidentally, a traditional indian dance festival was happening there that same evening - in honor of the lord of the dance - shiva. after a long lunch of thali in air-conditioned comfort, we wandered into the temple complex.
we entered by the west gate, a side enterance, through one of the four towering gopurams. these gopurams are vividly painted in many colors, and quite impressive (i suggest you google it to get an idea - i didn't take any pictures). after deflecting the donation pleas of a young brahmin, we walked over ancient stones inscribed with mysterious writing towards the main temple. that was actually a little difficult to figure out, because there are several temples inside this complex. we did finally make it, and the late afternoon sun slanted in through the musty air past beautifully carved pillars. there were many brahmins milling about, doing various things, and after wandering through a vishnu temple, we came to see the main shiva temple - which depicts shiva as nataraja, the lord of the dance. it was a little confusing at first, because the statue was so covered with offerings of flower garlands and silk cloth, but we paid the brahmin our 30 rupees to have darshan and it was really quite spectacular to go inside the sanctum, closer to the statue and the busy brahmins, preforming arati after arati for devotees (of which there were many). as soon as i stepped inside the wispered sounds of om namah shiva enraptured my ears, while the flickering ghee lights and smoke from the insence delighted my eyes and nose. the sign outside the gate says that only those free of camera, shoes, shirts (for men) and pure of being may enter. after darshan, i stood outside the main shrine, and continued to watch the activites and contemplate the representation of divinity that nataraja is - and fell into a very still state, which suprised me because there was a whole lot of activity going on all around me. when i came back to reality, i wandered over to another temple, this one to lakshmi, and had darshan. then walter and i found some seats in the quickly filling audience for the evening of dancing.
they certainly saved the best for last, and luckily, after all the young girls preformed, all their mothers and sisters left their central seats, so we moved in for incredible views. it is very important to be able to see the dancer's facial expressions, as they move their eyes alot, as well as keep their mouth in particular shapes. the dancing was SO BEAUTIFUL! i sat enraptured by these women's grace and elegance for 4 hours. the precision with which the accomplished dancers moved was nothing short of astonishing - their fingers were bent into complicated mudras which constantly changed, and they had very fancy footwork which rang the bells they had wrapped around their ankles. it was actually helpful to have watched the not so good dancers, because then i had so much more respect for the accomplished dancers. the musical accompainment was all live, and there were some excellent tablas players as well as singers. all the songs that were danced to were bajans to lord shiva, and there was a lot of moves in the dance that mimiced the nataraja pose, as well as a lot of references to ganga (one of shiva's wives, also the story is that shiva breaks the fall of the heavenly ganges onto the earth by letting her fall first onto his matted locks).
friday night i went to a kali festival in a neighboring village to auroville. it was a new moon, so this festival was a significant event. there were many many people there, and the men were divided from the women and children on opposite sides of this makeshift enclosure which surrounded two large figures made of sand and decorated with flowers and saris and colored sand - as well as the 'entertainer' - a man singing with a microphone and also making jokes(?) and his accompainment - three drummers. after the sun set, and the drumming and singing got a bit more intense, out of the corner of my eye i saw this woman get up and start swaying around dramatically and even a little violently - i thought that she was trying to fight someone at first, but i soon realized that she was possessed by the spirit of kali. once that happened, things started to get crazy. the whole crowed got up (everyone was seated) and surged the fence. the police came around and beat (not actually) back the crowd with long sticks, and made them all sit down again. then, loud fireworks went off behind me, and this huge cart came banging down the road from the kali temple (50 meters away) and everybody got up again and surged the fence. i think at this point they killed a chicken they had tied up (i couldn't see anything - too many people) and these hairy people started running around the enclosure - i think they came on the cart with the statue - and more people with long grasses on their heads. then, people stated throwing things into the enclosure - rupees, peppers, puffed rice, flowers, and i even saw some coconuts go in there. a little bit more shouting then the fence broke and eveybody ran into where the sand figures wer and were waving the smoke from the lights in the sand over their eyes and head, and looking for things in the sand. people were also collecting the sand that the figures were constructed out of and even filling bags with it! the understanding i gained from a drunk villager was that the two figures were an evil couple that fought alot and caused a lot of problems in india - then kali came and killed them and the world is a better place because of it. afterwards, i explored the carnival atmosphere of the temple grounds - people were selling all sorts of things- bangles, plastic toys, sweets, jewelry, and prasad items. there was also a band, for which interesting is the best descriptor. traditional tamil meets bajans meets synth pop. i listened to probably 5 songs, then left. the young female singer, whose voice was lovely, was really not into being there at all. she looked so glum and bored out of her skull.
ive been enjoying auroville very much, but i do miss a little the fishing village where i was staying in pondy. however, the people im meeting are great, and i am especially looking forward to getting my hands dirty doing some volunteer work (of which type exactly, i haven't yet decided).
we entered by the west gate, a side enterance, through one of the four towering gopurams. these gopurams are vividly painted in many colors, and quite impressive (i suggest you google it to get an idea - i didn't take any pictures). after deflecting the donation pleas of a young brahmin, we walked over ancient stones inscribed with mysterious writing towards the main temple. that was actually a little difficult to figure out, because there are several temples inside this complex. we did finally make it, and the late afternoon sun slanted in through the musty air past beautifully carved pillars. there were many brahmins milling about, doing various things, and after wandering through a vishnu temple, we came to see the main shiva temple - which depicts shiva as nataraja, the lord of the dance. it was a little confusing at first, because the statue was so covered with offerings of flower garlands and silk cloth, but we paid the brahmin our 30 rupees to have darshan and it was really quite spectacular to go inside the sanctum, closer to the statue and the busy brahmins, preforming arati after arati for devotees (of which there were many). as soon as i stepped inside the wispered sounds of om namah shiva enraptured my ears, while the flickering ghee lights and smoke from the insence delighted my eyes and nose. the sign outside the gate says that only those free of camera, shoes, shirts (for men) and pure of being may enter. after darshan, i stood outside the main shrine, and continued to watch the activites and contemplate the representation of divinity that nataraja is - and fell into a very still state, which suprised me because there was a whole lot of activity going on all around me. when i came back to reality, i wandered over to another temple, this one to lakshmi, and had darshan. then walter and i found some seats in the quickly filling audience for the evening of dancing.
they certainly saved the best for last, and luckily, after all the young girls preformed, all their mothers and sisters left their central seats, so we moved in for incredible views. it is very important to be able to see the dancer's facial expressions, as they move their eyes alot, as well as keep their mouth in particular shapes. the dancing was SO BEAUTIFUL! i sat enraptured by these women's grace and elegance for 4 hours. the precision with which the accomplished dancers moved was nothing short of astonishing - their fingers were bent into complicated mudras which constantly changed, and they had very fancy footwork which rang the bells they had wrapped around their ankles. it was actually helpful to have watched the not so good dancers, because then i had so much more respect for the accomplished dancers. the musical accompainment was all live, and there were some excellent tablas players as well as singers. all the songs that were danced to were bajans to lord shiva, and there was a lot of moves in the dance that mimiced the nataraja pose, as well as a lot of references to ganga (one of shiva's wives, also the story is that shiva breaks the fall of the heavenly ganges onto the earth by letting her fall first onto his matted locks).
friday night i went to a kali festival in a neighboring village to auroville. it was a new moon, so this festival was a significant event. there were many many people there, and the men were divided from the women and children on opposite sides of this makeshift enclosure which surrounded two large figures made of sand and decorated with flowers and saris and colored sand - as well as the 'entertainer' - a man singing with a microphone and also making jokes(?) and his accompainment - three drummers. after the sun set, and the drumming and singing got a bit more intense, out of the corner of my eye i saw this woman get up and start swaying around dramatically and even a little violently - i thought that she was trying to fight someone at first, but i soon realized that she was possessed by the spirit of kali. once that happened, things started to get crazy. the whole crowed got up (everyone was seated) and surged the fence. the police came around and beat (not actually) back the crowd with long sticks, and made them all sit down again. then, loud fireworks went off behind me, and this huge cart came banging down the road from the kali temple (50 meters away) and everybody got up again and surged the fence. i think at this point they killed a chicken they had tied up (i couldn't see anything - too many people) and these hairy people started running around the enclosure - i think they came on the cart with the statue - and more people with long grasses on their heads. then, people stated throwing things into the enclosure - rupees, peppers, puffed rice, flowers, and i even saw some coconuts go in there. a little bit more shouting then the fence broke and eveybody ran into where the sand figures wer and were waving the smoke from the lights in the sand over their eyes and head, and looking for things in the sand. people were also collecting the sand that the figures were constructed out of and even filling bags with it! the understanding i gained from a drunk villager was that the two figures were an evil couple that fought alot and caused a lot of problems in india - then kali came and killed them and the world is a better place because of it. afterwards, i explored the carnival atmosphere of the temple grounds - people were selling all sorts of things- bangles, plastic toys, sweets, jewelry, and prasad items. there was also a band, for which interesting is the best descriptor. traditional tamil meets bajans meets synth pop. i listened to probably 5 songs, then left. the young female singer, whose voice was lovely, was really not into being there at all. she looked so glum and bored out of her skull.
ive been enjoying auroville very much, but i do miss a little the fishing village where i was staying in pondy. however, the people im meeting are great, and i am especially looking forward to getting my hands dirty doing some volunteer work (of which type exactly, i haven't yet decided).
Thursday, March 6, 2008
pondy
everyone at the mother's house is quite delighful, and the first morning at breakfast (amazing fruit salad) i was invited along to the birthday celebrations at auroville the next morning. the bonfire and collective meditation in the ampitheatre began at 5, so we left the mother's house a little bit before then, and arrived just in time. i rode out there with gaia, thomas, and anastasia. gaia and thomas were both staying at the mother's house, and anastasia lives in pondy (short for pondicherry), but is quite friendly with the devotees staying at the mother's house, and eats lunch there twice a week. the bonfire was really quite spectacular, and there was a group of people with chimes that they played once the sun had risen. a procession of children in white made their way with little lights to the urn in the center of the ampitheatre (which contains soil from 120 countries around the world, put there 40 years ago by representatives), where they placed them, and then received more soil (im not sure where from) to place in a large golden bowl a little bit away from the lotus-urn. the matrimandir (this really incredible structure and meditation - or rather place devoted to the concentration of consciousness, more on it later) was lit up and glowing golden behind me, and on our way in we passed a huge banyan tree, with jasmine tendrils tied to its many branches and chrysanthamums scattered around the ground and little ghee lights lit at the base of each root - a really enchanted and breathtaking sight. what struck me was the number of people (the ampitheatre was almost filled) and the incredible silence. i had never been a part of such a large group that was so quiet and still. truly amazing. afterwards, i went with gaia around, socializing, and meeting people. we went under the banyan tree, and i went up to one of the roots/trunks and leaned against it. that tree is really something else - it is vibrating at such a high frequency. i felt as if i was in another world entirely.
the rest of the day was spent at the symposium for the ideal of human unity - the main purpose of auroville is to realize human unity. they had dignitaries speak in the morning, and then the afternoon was filled with aurovillians giving their personal perspective on just what human unity is and how it is realized. the consensus seems to be that it is not something that can be intellectualized or thought through, rather, it is something that needs to just happen, we need to just do it. a lovely image was given related to this topic, a parable from african culture - humanity is like a tree: all the branches are fighting while the roots are kissing. what we must realize is that we all come out of the same trunk and the same roots - even though we may be worlds apart in culture, language, and physical appearance. it was really touching to hear each aurovillian express their view on this matter, which is very central to each of them, as they have devoted their lives to realizing this ideal.
the rest of my time in pondy, i have been shopping (for bannanas mostly), and meditating in the samadhi shrine of sri aurobindo and the mother. i have taken many meals at the ashram, which is quite an experience. you can eat all three meals there for 20 rupees (incredibly cheap), and lunch consists of rice, dal and veggies, curd (a lightly cultured yogurt), 2 banannas and bread. it is quite delicious, and the curd is absolutely amazing (especially with a bit of sugar and a slice of lime!) and the perfect thing to cool your mouth down after eating the dal and rice.
i have also gone into auroville to check out some commuinities: the one that is the most amazing is sadhana forest. this couple from israel put all of their life savings into this chunk of land on the outskirts of auroville, and what they are doing is replanting the native dry tropical jungle that used to be here - everywhere in fact, before european (read brittish and french) 'invaders' clear cut it all. 40 years ago, auroville was literally a desert wasteland. there were no trees, just hard red soil that easily eroded when it rained - resulting in large ravines. when auroville started, they began by planting trees to date over 2 million have been planted. auroville itself is a jungle now (someplace i feel so much more at home wandering around, compared to the city streets of pondy). sadhana forest did not have that extensive tree planting project take place because it is outside of auroville. about 6 years ago, when aviram and his wife (bless her soul, i can't remmeber her name!) came, they begain by replanting the native forest. they also work with water conservation - they are terraforming the hills (very slight hills, mind you) to capture every last drop of water. to date, their work has raised the local water table 6 meters!!!!!!!!! that is truly incredible and significant. aviram reminds me so much of roel (of windy corner's farm in charlotte, vt) and he is jolly and led a group of ladies from the mother's house around the property and showed us the solar system, with bike powered back up, and the water tank (incredible water there - soo soo soft! and most excellent for drinking too! (yes, its been tested extensively) and the gardens and the various open-air houses - in short tropical paradise that is UBER sustainable. they want to leave as small an impact on the land as possible, while doing as much good to the land as they can by regrowing the native forest and conserving the oh so precious water.
the rest of the day was spent at the symposium for the ideal of human unity - the main purpose of auroville is to realize human unity. they had dignitaries speak in the morning, and then the afternoon was filled with aurovillians giving their personal perspective on just what human unity is and how it is realized. the consensus seems to be that it is not something that can be intellectualized or thought through, rather, it is something that needs to just happen, we need to just do it. a lovely image was given related to this topic, a parable from african culture - humanity is like a tree: all the branches are fighting while the roots are kissing. what we must realize is that we all come out of the same trunk and the same roots - even though we may be worlds apart in culture, language, and physical appearance. it was really touching to hear each aurovillian express their view on this matter, which is very central to each of them, as they have devoted their lives to realizing this ideal.
the rest of my time in pondy, i have been shopping (for bannanas mostly), and meditating in the samadhi shrine of sri aurobindo and the mother. i have taken many meals at the ashram, which is quite an experience. you can eat all three meals there for 20 rupees (incredibly cheap), and lunch consists of rice, dal and veggies, curd (a lightly cultured yogurt), 2 banannas and bread. it is quite delicious, and the curd is absolutely amazing (especially with a bit of sugar and a slice of lime!) and the perfect thing to cool your mouth down after eating the dal and rice.
i have also gone into auroville to check out some commuinities: the one that is the most amazing is sadhana forest. this couple from israel put all of their life savings into this chunk of land on the outskirts of auroville, and what they are doing is replanting the native dry tropical jungle that used to be here - everywhere in fact, before european (read brittish and french) 'invaders' clear cut it all. 40 years ago, auroville was literally a desert wasteland. there were no trees, just hard red soil that easily eroded when it rained - resulting in large ravines. when auroville started, they began by planting trees to date over 2 million have been planted. auroville itself is a jungle now (someplace i feel so much more at home wandering around, compared to the city streets of pondy). sadhana forest did not have that extensive tree planting project take place because it is outside of auroville. about 6 years ago, when aviram and his wife (bless her soul, i can't remmeber her name!) came, they begain by replanting the native forest. they also work with water conservation - they are terraforming the hills (very slight hills, mind you) to capture every last drop of water. to date, their work has raised the local water table 6 meters!!!!!!!!! that is truly incredible and significant. aviram reminds me so much of roel (of windy corner's farm in charlotte, vt) and he is jolly and led a group of ladies from the mother's house around the property and showed us the solar system, with bike powered back up, and the water tank (incredible water there - soo soo soft! and most excellent for drinking too! (yes, its been tested extensively) and the gardens and the various open-air houses - in short tropical paradise that is UBER sustainable. they want to leave as small an impact on the land as possible, while doing as much good to the land as they can by regrowing the native forest and conserving the oh so precious water.
the bliss of the lord of the universe
listen - too much happens here to actually detail what i have been up to, so bullet lists may soon appear. however, i will do my best to catch up to today - the 6th of march.
i ended last with a bit of suspense, so here is the resolution: ok, so i had a delightful cup of chai and a package of tiger milk biscuits for breakfast, and took a picture of it to remind myself of my last breakfast in ganeshpuri. the chaiwalla told me the best way to get to mumbai (less crowded) and soon thereafter i was off to visit the swami. i sang the whole way up the mountain: gam ganapatie, namo namah - the chant that is played continuously at the temple up there, and when i arrived swami was suprised to see me, but delighted. to me, it seemed like i was going to visit an old friend, there is something very familiar about him. i asked him if it was okay if i called him swamiji (i was having quite a hard time pronouncing his full name - vishveshwaranda) and we sat under the awning where he receives devotees. tuesday i soon learned, was ganesh's day - two female devotees came with fruits and flowers for ganesh. additionally, there was a western female there as well - sangeeve, a devotee of gurumayi. together we all had darshan with swamiji. he talked in english and marathi alternatively, and he spoke of the role of the guru and also of the water shortage. in his presence i felt electrified and his voice was very resonant, and his eyes were sparkling - sangeeve said that his shakti was so strong due to his practice of keeping silent for most of the day. i could only agree. at noon we preformed arati at the ganesh temple, and i accidentally gave all of my prasad to the cows (there were two cows and i got two bananas, so i thought that was what i was supposed to do) and we preformed arati at the other two temples on the hill top - then we all (sangeeve, myself, the two devotees, the ashramites (4 old men) and swamiji) took lunch together in the ashram's main building. this is a very basic structure - brick walls withholes for windows and a palm leaf roof. it was really sweet eating the absolutely delicious food with my fingers, right alongside the indian women (who i have come to absolutely adore!). afterwards, swami beckoned me aside, and told me to come tomorrow, as he would give me private instructions related to my spiritual path. i agreed, glad to have a reason not to leave ganeshpuri, and sangeeve and i walked back to where she was staying. I was introduced to yogini - her host, and mr datta, or simply datta - a delightful man from mauritis (island of the coast of madagascar). the accomodation there was really quite nice, and i actually ended up staying there for the rest of my time in ganeshpuri. we went on an afternoon adventure - datta had to send something by courrier - all the way to vikhar - about an hour + ride from ganeshpuri. yogini is a roboust woman, and cannot walk around very well, so i experienced vegetable shopping from the car - she waved over the veggie sellers to her - they all knew her - to inquire about prices and bargain. i booked a train ticket to chennai so i could make my way to ganeshpuri, and the next available train was on sunday at 8 pm! so i was destined to stay in ganeshpuri through the weekend, which delighted me as i would be able to chant the guru gita again and also have darshan and meditate in baba's mahasamadhi.
the next morning i awoke (5am) in the room i had shared with sangeeve - and she was gone, along with all of her luggage! i was dumbfounded, but continued on with my program (morning asana on the wonderful rooftop - this time facing the moon, as it was setting, then 6 am arati, then meditation in nityananda's sleeping room - a very powerful place). i actually managed to get seva in kailas (what they call nityananda's house) - which is apparently difficult to do - but i just asked and ganapatim (the caretaker?) said ok, and gave me a broom. i lovingly swept the area around nityananda's chair - and beat out the mats that people come and sit on for meditation there. after i finished, i swept out the kitchen area, and then shared prasad - sweet milk with a hint of coffee powder - with ganapatim and nora, a woman from mexico who was doing lots of seva, 'good seva' in kailas (from 7till 11 every morning!). it was wonderful talking with her, but due to sangeeve's strange and unnanounced dissapearance, i hastened to get back to yogini's in case she returned (i had the only key). ganapatim said that i could do seva the rest of the time i was in ganeshpuri - which i delighgfully accepted! - for a few hours every day.
sangeeve had not returned, and yogini seemed to think that she wouldn't, so i headed off to bramhapuri and my meeting with swamiji. i arrived and he was preparing things for a special puja - apparently it was poornima (full moon) - big day for the goddesses. i thought that it was the following day, as that is what my calendar says, but i was mistaken. in any case, i had the most delightful time assisting swamiji in the pooja =- it took about an hour and a half - first lots of chanting, then cleaning this magnificent gold plated pyramid thing (i really should know what it is called, i will find out!) with first water, then milk and ghee, then water, then coconut water, then water, then rosewater, then repainting it with kumkum and throwing lots of flower petals on it - all the while chanting. during this pooja, swamiji dubbed me saraswathy - goddess of learning and knowledge - as he placed the yellow and then red kumkum on my third eye. i haven't mentioned yet - i don't think- but all the indians that i was meeting in ganeshpuri and mumbai could not pronounce luella - so i just started introducing myself as sarah. that is where, i think, swamiji got the saraswathy. swamiji did give me some instructions after the pooja - he gave me three mantras to memorize and gave me a meditation technique - and i stayed for the noon arati. i told him that i was not leaving ganeshpuri until sunday, so i would be back. he asked me if i could cook anything, and i said yes, of course - so he asked me to bring food to cook for tomorrow's meal, which i excitedly agreed to. however, when i got back to yogini's, datta and vinot (another swami (?) i met while meditating in kailas) were there, and over chai i explained my morning. they both immediately warned of potential druggings and the fact that the swami only wanted money from westerners, so i was thrown into a state of conflict. i did go out for evening arati with datta, and i did buy the mungdal and rice to make kitcheri, intending to still go visit swamiji the next day, but the universe had another plan indeed.
i awoke at 4, for the early morning arati, which vinot accompanied me to. vinot was very overprotective, and insisted that he come with me to arati - even though i had been tramping around ganeshpuri in the very early morning by myself for several days now - and proceeded to direct my every move from thereon out. however, once i got into meditation in nityananda's room at kailas i started feeling quite terrible - faint, dizzy, very hot, and constant runny nose. my stomach was also giving me warning signs... and i had a very clear thought come to me - i must take care of my physical body if my spiritual work and progress is to continue. so i left (no seva, which i was dissapointed about, but really felt quite bad and couldn't do it). i went back to yogini's and went back to bed, with the intention that i would wake up in a few hours and go on to cook for swamiji, as at that time is was only 6am. i had crazy dreams (one with lots of snow and ice) and suddenly i was awakened by a loud knocking. i answered the door, and there was vinot, checking on me. on the wall behind him was a clock and it was 5pm! i absoutely could not belive it! i had slept all day long, on thursday, which is guru's day and a special day in ganeshpuri. i did manage to make it down to the village (yogini lives halfway between the nityananda temple and the gurudev siddha peeth ashram) for palike - the procession they do every thursday of a mini statue of nityananda around the town. the whole way people come out with little trays of flowers and coconuts and insence, and have the brahmins preform an arati for them while the whole procession (which i was a part of) waits, continually singing songs to nityananda. however, after only 20 mins or so, i was really feeling faint, and got some water and left the procession. that evening, yogini insisted again that i take milk with ghee and tumeric to help my cold. she really did insist, and i couldn't say no (or it would have offended her) so more things into the system that really did not serve it at all. vinot was administering me warmed honey with ginger, which was helpful, as was a tea made with tulsi and cardamon.
friday, i awoke feeling much better, no more fever, and i practiced yoga on the rooftop with datta (who has his own style). we had a delightful conversation about spiritual progress, and somehow, the time slipped away and i was unable to get up to visit swamiji - i also still didn't feel as if i had the energy to do so. also, datta and vinot's warnings were still fresh in my mind. that afternoon i went with yogini and vinot to a funeral (of sorts). the 13th day after the death is the last day of mourning/celebration, and we were fed delicious food and pretty much just sat out under the awning for a while. then yogini took us to her favorite temple - a jain temple, which was carved most magnificently out of white marble and really quite beautiful. there we had chai and prasad - a sweet, ghee soaked grain with tumeric and cardamon.
the next morning, guru gita (so so sweet!) and then yoga asanas with datta on the rooftop again. i went to the aratis at the nityananda temple, and also sat for meditation in baba's mahasamadhi twice that day (the two times it was open). i was starting to feel really bad about not going up to visit swamiji - i realized i had to trust my own gut feeling rather than trust these eccentric old men - so i vowed to go the next day. i did, bringing the rice and mungdal and vegetables and fruits (for the cows) and when i got up there, it turned out that a family had bought new clothes for the main ganesh statue - so there was a whole crew of people up there and there was an intensive pooja for ganesh. swamiji was happy of course to see me, he did make a little play of being mad at me, but he made hand signs and facial expressions to indicate that it didn't matter. he gave me a little bag of nuts and dried fruits to take with me on my travels, and he said of course "you go tomorrow" while waving his hand, but i insisted that i couldn't change my train, and had to leave that afternoon. a pleasant ending to an amazing visit - he invited me back next year in march when he and three other female devotees from switzerland?sweeden? i can't remmeber, will all be traveling to kerala on a pilgrimage of sorts (that is where he is from originally).
i hired a rickshaw to take me to the train station in vasai - where i got 1st class to dadar (a station in mumbai) where my evening train to chennai left. all uneventful - traveling by train is quite comfortable, as you can lie down whenever you want, or read, or look out the window at the AMAZING countryside - and not too expensive, and they bring you food, or chai or water or juice or biscuits. i saw some amazing rock formations in the center of the country, made me only slightly jealous that i didn't get out of ganeshpuri and go to hampi, which i still could do, if i so desired.
i arrived at night to chennai, the train was late, as usual, and i would not make it to the mother's house before their 10pm curfew. i decided to get a room in a hotel for the night, and come the next day, when suddenly "sarah, sarah!". there was a man, waving a phone at me. he said that he was vinot's brother, and he offered for me to go stay with him in his house - free of charge. i couldn't really belive my luck, and after he pulled out a corded (yes, corded phone like you would have inyour house) and actually used it to call datta, whom i spoke with there in the train station - he said, yes, of course it was alright for me to go with him - makesh - so i did. a 20 min mororbike ride later (me with my way too big pack on my back) through the crazy streets of chennai, we arrived at his house. it was very nice, and he and his son very extremely hospitable and nice. i am pretty sure that they gave me the only bedroom in the house, and in the morning i had breakfast and makesh arranged a ride for me to the bus stop so i could get to pondicherry, where i have a booking at the mother's house for a month. i was really amazed at his generosity and he said if i have any problems at all, to just call him. i spoke with his sister, who lives in an ashram in hardiwar, and she did some translating for me - his wife and daughter were on pilgrimage in delhi to see nityananda - a disciple of baba muktananda's and gurumayi's brother (complicated story here, will not explain) - and she got my breakfast likes and explained to makesh that i wanted to go by bus to pondicherry (i think that vinot had convinced him to take me all around chennai the next day to see temples and what not, which i really did not want to do). so, with the help of his amma (cleaning lady) i made it to the bus stop and got on my bus to pondy (only 65 rupees).
the ride itself took about 4 hrs, but we passed beautiful scenery - we were traveling along the east coast road. i kept seeing all these square cement platforms on the ground, clustered together, and finally it dawned on me that they must be old villages - the tsunami had swept away all the rest of houses. once i realized that, i started to look for more evidence of the tsunami, and there it was - everywhere. the road itself was new, and i saw places where the old road was - all new bridges and lots of strange half structures and low walls with nothing inside. the beach looked like tropical paradise - lots of palm trees, white sand, and sparkling blue water. i was getting very excited for pondicherry, right on the beach.
i finally arrived at the mother's house that afternoon, and while i was getting a little concerned along the approach (it is right smack dab in the middle of a fishing village, on the northern part of town), after a week i really like the location and smiling at the neighbors and meeting the children (and giving them bananas). everyone who is presently at the mother's house is over the age of 50(i think) - all very nice but all on their own programs.
i ended last with a bit of suspense, so here is the resolution: ok, so i had a delightful cup of chai and a package of tiger milk biscuits for breakfast, and took a picture of it to remind myself of my last breakfast in ganeshpuri. the chaiwalla told me the best way to get to mumbai (less crowded) and soon thereafter i was off to visit the swami. i sang the whole way up the mountain: gam ganapatie, namo namah - the chant that is played continuously at the temple up there, and when i arrived swami was suprised to see me, but delighted. to me, it seemed like i was going to visit an old friend, there is something very familiar about him. i asked him if it was okay if i called him swamiji (i was having quite a hard time pronouncing his full name - vishveshwaranda) and we sat under the awning where he receives devotees. tuesday i soon learned, was ganesh's day - two female devotees came with fruits and flowers for ganesh. additionally, there was a western female there as well - sangeeve, a devotee of gurumayi. together we all had darshan with swamiji. he talked in english and marathi alternatively, and he spoke of the role of the guru and also of the water shortage. in his presence i felt electrified and his voice was very resonant, and his eyes were sparkling - sangeeve said that his shakti was so strong due to his practice of keeping silent for most of the day. i could only agree. at noon we preformed arati at the ganesh temple, and i accidentally gave all of my prasad to the cows (there were two cows and i got two bananas, so i thought that was what i was supposed to do) and we preformed arati at the other two temples on the hill top - then we all (sangeeve, myself, the two devotees, the ashramites (4 old men) and swamiji) took lunch together in the ashram's main building. this is a very basic structure - brick walls withholes for windows and a palm leaf roof. it was really sweet eating the absolutely delicious food with my fingers, right alongside the indian women (who i have come to absolutely adore!). afterwards, swami beckoned me aside, and told me to come tomorrow, as he would give me private instructions related to my spiritual path. i agreed, glad to have a reason not to leave ganeshpuri, and sangeeve and i walked back to where she was staying. I was introduced to yogini - her host, and mr datta, or simply datta - a delightful man from mauritis (island of the coast of madagascar). the accomodation there was really quite nice, and i actually ended up staying there for the rest of my time in ganeshpuri. we went on an afternoon adventure - datta had to send something by courrier - all the way to vikhar - about an hour + ride from ganeshpuri. yogini is a roboust woman, and cannot walk around very well, so i experienced vegetable shopping from the car - she waved over the veggie sellers to her - they all knew her - to inquire about prices and bargain. i booked a train ticket to chennai so i could make my way to ganeshpuri, and the next available train was on sunday at 8 pm! so i was destined to stay in ganeshpuri through the weekend, which delighted me as i would be able to chant the guru gita again and also have darshan and meditate in baba's mahasamadhi.
the next morning i awoke (5am) in the room i had shared with sangeeve - and she was gone, along with all of her luggage! i was dumbfounded, but continued on with my program (morning asana on the wonderful rooftop - this time facing the moon, as it was setting, then 6 am arati, then meditation in nityananda's sleeping room - a very powerful place). i actually managed to get seva in kailas (what they call nityananda's house) - which is apparently difficult to do - but i just asked and ganapatim (the caretaker?) said ok, and gave me a broom. i lovingly swept the area around nityananda's chair - and beat out the mats that people come and sit on for meditation there. after i finished, i swept out the kitchen area, and then shared prasad - sweet milk with a hint of coffee powder - with ganapatim and nora, a woman from mexico who was doing lots of seva, 'good seva' in kailas (from 7till 11 every morning!). it was wonderful talking with her, but due to sangeeve's strange and unnanounced dissapearance, i hastened to get back to yogini's in case she returned (i had the only key). ganapatim said that i could do seva the rest of the time i was in ganeshpuri - which i delighgfully accepted! - for a few hours every day.
sangeeve had not returned, and yogini seemed to think that she wouldn't, so i headed off to bramhapuri and my meeting with swamiji. i arrived and he was preparing things for a special puja - apparently it was poornima (full moon) - big day for the goddesses. i thought that it was the following day, as that is what my calendar says, but i was mistaken. in any case, i had the most delightful time assisting swamiji in the pooja =- it took about an hour and a half - first lots of chanting, then cleaning this magnificent gold plated pyramid thing (i really should know what it is called, i will find out!) with first water, then milk and ghee, then water, then coconut water, then water, then rosewater, then repainting it with kumkum and throwing lots of flower petals on it - all the while chanting. during this pooja, swamiji dubbed me saraswathy - goddess of learning and knowledge - as he placed the yellow and then red kumkum on my third eye. i haven't mentioned yet - i don't think- but all the indians that i was meeting in ganeshpuri and mumbai could not pronounce luella - so i just started introducing myself as sarah. that is where, i think, swamiji got the saraswathy. swamiji did give me some instructions after the pooja - he gave me three mantras to memorize and gave me a meditation technique - and i stayed for the noon arati. i told him that i was not leaving ganeshpuri until sunday, so i would be back. he asked me if i could cook anything, and i said yes, of course - so he asked me to bring food to cook for tomorrow's meal, which i excitedly agreed to. however, when i got back to yogini's, datta and vinot (another swami (?) i met while meditating in kailas) were there, and over chai i explained my morning. they both immediately warned of potential druggings and the fact that the swami only wanted money from westerners, so i was thrown into a state of conflict. i did go out for evening arati with datta, and i did buy the mungdal and rice to make kitcheri, intending to still go visit swamiji the next day, but the universe had another plan indeed.
i awoke at 4, for the early morning arati, which vinot accompanied me to. vinot was very overprotective, and insisted that he come with me to arati - even though i had been tramping around ganeshpuri in the very early morning by myself for several days now - and proceeded to direct my every move from thereon out. however, once i got into meditation in nityananda's room at kailas i started feeling quite terrible - faint, dizzy, very hot, and constant runny nose. my stomach was also giving me warning signs... and i had a very clear thought come to me - i must take care of my physical body if my spiritual work and progress is to continue. so i left (no seva, which i was dissapointed about, but really felt quite bad and couldn't do it). i went back to yogini's and went back to bed, with the intention that i would wake up in a few hours and go on to cook for swamiji, as at that time is was only 6am. i had crazy dreams (one with lots of snow and ice) and suddenly i was awakened by a loud knocking. i answered the door, and there was vinot, checking on me. on the wall behind him was a clock and it was 5pm! i absoutely could not belive it! i had slept all day long, on thursday, which is guru's day and a special day in ganeshpuri. i did manage to make it down to the village (yogini lives halfway between the nityananda temple and the gurudev siddha peeth ashram) for palike - the procession they do every thursday of a mini statue of nityananda around the town. the whole way people come out with little trays of flowers and coconuts and insence, and have the brahmins preform an arati for them while the whole procession (which i was a part of) waits, continually singing songs to nityananda. however, after only 20 mins or so, i was really feeling faint, and got some water and left the procession. that evening, yogini insisted again that i take milk with ghee and tumeric to help my cold. she really did insist, and i couldn't say no (or it would have offended her) so more things into the system that really did not serve it at all. vinot was administering me warmed honey with ginger, which was helpful, as was a tea made with tulsi and cardamon.
friday, i awoke feeling much better, no more fever, and i practiced yoga on the rooftop with datta (who has his own style). we had a delightful conversation about spiritual progress, and somehow, the time slipped away and i was unable to get up to visit swamiji - i also still didn't feel as if i had the energy to do so. also, datta and vinot's warnings were still fresh in my mind. that afternoon i went with yogini and vinot to a funeral (of sorts). the 13th day after the death is the last day of mourning/celebration, and we were fed delicious food and pretty much just sat out under the awning for a while. then yogini took us to her favorite temple - a jain temple, which was carved most magnificently out of white marble and really quite beautiful. there we had chai and prasad - a sweet, ghee soaked grain with tumeric and cardamon.
the next morning, guru gita (so so sweet!) and then yoga asanas with datta on the rooftop again. i went to the aratis at the nityananda temple, and also sat for meditation in baba's mahasamadhi twice that day (the two times it was open). i was starting to feel really bad about not going up to visit swamiji - i realized i had to trust my own gut feeling rather than trust these eccentric old men - so i vowed to go the next day. i did, bringing the rice and mungdal and vegetables and fruits (for the cows) and when i got up there, it turned out that a family had bought new clothes for the main ganesh statue - so there was a whole crew of people up there and there was an intensive pooja for ganesh. swamiji was happy of course to see me, he did make a little play of being mad at me, but he made hand signs and facial expressions to indicate that it didn't matter. he gave me a little bag of nuts and dried fruits to take with me on my travels, and he said of course "you go tomorrow" while waving his hand, but i insisted that i couldn't change my train, and had to leave that afternoon. a pleasant ending to an amazing visit - he invited me back next year in march when he and three other female devotees from switzerland?sweeden? i can't remmeber, will all be traveling to kerala on a pilgrimage of sorts (that is where he is from originally).
i hired a rickshaw to take me to the train station in vasai - where i got 1st class to dadar (a station in mumbai) where my evening train to chennai left. all uneventful - traveling by train is quite comfortable, as you can lie down whenever you want, or read, or look out the window at the AMAZING countryside - and not too expensive, and they bring you food, or chai or water or juice or biscuits. i saw some amazing rock formations in the center of the country, made me only slightly jealous that i didn't get out of ganeshpuri and go to hampi, which i still could do, if i so desired.
i arrived at night to chennai, the train was late, as usual, and i would not make it to the mother's house before their 10pm curfew. i decided to get a room in a hotel for the night, and come the next day, when suddenly "sarah, sarah!". there was a man, waving a phone at me. he said that he was vinot's brother, and he offered for me to go stay with him in his house - free of charge. i couldn't really belive my luck, and after he pulled out a corded (yes, corded phone like you would have inyour house) and actually used it to call datta, whom i spoke with there in the train station - he said, yes, of course it was alright for me to go with him - makesh - so i did. a 20 min mororbike ride later (me with my way too big pack on my back) through the crazy streets of chennai, we arrived at his house. it was very nice, and he and his son very extremely hospitable and nice. i am pretty sure that they gave me the only bedroom in the house, and in the morning i had breakfast and makesh arranged a ride for me to the bus stop so i could get to pondicherry, where i have a booking at the mother's house for a month. i was really amazed at his generosity and he said if i have any problems at all, to just call him. i spoke with his sister, who lives in an ashram in hardiwar, and she did some translating for me - his wife and daughter were on pilgrimage in delhi to see nityananda - a disciple of baba muktananda's and gurumayi's brother (complicated story here, will not explain) - and she got my breakfast likes and explained to makesh that i wanted to go by bus to pondicherry (i think that vinot had convinced him to take me all around chennai the next day to see temples and what not, which i really did not want to do). so, with the help of his amma (cleaning lady) i made it to the bus stop and got on my bus to pondy (only 65 rupees).
the ride itself took about 4 hrs, but we passed beautiful scenery - we were traveling along the east coast road. i kept seeing all these square cement platforms on the ground, clustered together, and finally it dawned on me that they must be old villages - the tsunami had swept away all the rest of houses. once i realized that, i started to look for more evidence of the tsunami, and there it was - everywhere. the road itself was new, and i saw places where the old road was - all new bridges and lots of strange half structures and low walls with nothing inside. the beach looked like tropical paradise - lots of palm trees, white sand, and sparkling blue water. i was getting very excited for pondicherry, right on the beach.
i finally arrived at the mother's house that afternoon, and while i was getting a little concerned along the approach (it is right smack dab in the middle of a fishing village, on the northern part of town), after a week i really like the location and smiling at the neighbors and meeting the children (and giving them bananas). everyone who is presently at the mother's house is over the age of 50(i think) - all very nice but all on their own programs.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
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!
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!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
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!
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!
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