We returned from India in the middle of March, and now it's April! It took a couple of weeks to adjust, and I am really noticing the differences between my experience in India, and my experience here in Toronto.
My wife Amy always says hello to people everywhere. In an elevator, in the park, in stores, it doesn't matter. Sometimes I roll my eyes, but almost invariably, I see people light up with a genuine smile. I find that many people here in Toronto are hiding their light, and it takes someone like Amy to get them to let it out a little.
In India, in spite of material poverty, pollution, over-crowding, garbage everywhere, corruption and so on, people generally are bright-eyed and open (not as much in big cities I might add). They are smiling at us, the visitors, asking "What is your good name?", "What is your country?", "How are you enjoying India?", "Where have you been?". Genuine interest and friendliness for no other reason than to share a little spirit with us.
So without romanticizing or being to cheezy, wouldn't it be nice if we could all take a deep breath here in Toronto, and smile at each other! The light is here as much as it is there, but it's hidden by traffic jams, rushing around the rat race, worry, fear, anger and all the other negative factors that hide our light. Light is everywhere, so let's shine! This moment is beautiful, the past is done, and the future doesn't exist. Enjoy!
We took a local bus to Chandigarh from Rishikesh on Thursday afternoon, about 6 hours.Arrived at 7 pm to catch the “Deluxe Bus” from Chandigarh to Kullu overnight.Not a sleeper bus – they don’t seem to exist in the north, but deluxe nonetheless with soft seats that recline and your own space in the two seats you purchase.It was not to be.The bus which originates in Delhi was full, so we had the choice of the local bus overnight, or hire a taxi for 2000 Rs or so (around $50).We (perhaps foolishly) opted for the local bus.It was crammed!We got into the bus and there was no place to put our backpacks.We were told to bring them to our seats!So they stayed on the floor in the aisle beside our seats.We didn’t actually get the seats we purchased (another story) so spent the night uncomfortably, with very little sleep.We arrived in Kullu Friday morning at 5:30 am and spent the day recuperating with our friends Jerome and Beth.
Then came Saturday.We attended Saturday Satsang with the "Guru of Kullu", Swami Shyam.Beth and Jerome had told us how excited everyone was to meet us, but we were totally unprepared for the reception we received.First of all there were three or four people I knew from 35 – 38 years ago!My old classmate in first year French at U of T – Catherine (now Kholyani) has been in Kullu for more than 20 years!It was wonderful to see her again.She in fact was one reason I went to Gabriola the first time, and Gabriola was the first place I heard about Swami Shyam and “Shyamspace”.
Well to say we were guests of honour does not nearly describe the experience.When Swami emerged the first thing he said was “Hello everyone, who is here visiting us today?”And Beth came up to the podium area and introduced Amy and me and expressed her excitement at having us there.Then Jerome came up to express his welcome, then another dozen people, all with various connections to us, either direct or very indirect came up to offer welcome.Then Amy was invited up, then I, offering flowers to Swamiji.It was overwhelming and very emotional for me.I could not imagine the energy that was being showered on Amy and me.There was so much joy and love and excitement, I can't remember ever experiencing a welcome like that.
And Swami spoke for about an hour, and it seemed that he reflected on our being here and the words we had spoken, and incorporated them into his Satsang.He laughed a lot, told stories and offered wisdom of the oneness of all.It is the same message we receive over and over and over – there is one message, and that is that the real self is not this body, mind, or personality.The real self is eternal, unborn, undying, forever blissful and always there and available to access in the stillness.Each teacher along the way expresses it differently, but the message is the same.We are one, there is only the one pure love, everything else is transitory, illusory, not totally real.And the more we can use the tools to tune into that one space, the more true happiness and peace we can experience.
Of course, I am not the kind of person who surrenders my will to another person, or who worships a human being, be it a realized being or not.Still, I truly appreciate being in the presence of these teachers who seem to experience that state of bliss all the time, and who help us to attain that space as well.
After Satsang, Swamiji invited several of us to tea, so we had another couple of hours of enjoyment and learning.By the end of that time, I felt blasted, light-headed, wobbly.I knew I had to go slowly, as my legs were a little like jelly.It was just so much energy all at once, I was overwhelmed!We went across the street (not far thankfully) and had some soup and other food which helped bring me back to earth.What a day!
Sunday was the festival of Holi.It is a big party, sort of like Hindu Purim (which by the way also starts today!Funny about that!).The Indian men get very drunk, cover each other with colourful powders and coloured water, and generally go crazy for the day.We were warned to stay indoors!And so we had our own little party and quiet time, which was much needed.In the evening we will celebrate Holi with Swami, play some music and as always, enjoy Satsang.It seems that whenever people get together here, it is an opportunity for Satsang, or “The Company of Truth”.And so the topic almost always gets around to the pure spirit of love that exists always and forever.Not a bad topic for discussion!I am really enjoying being in this space and continuing to experience the deepening of the practice of accessing the soul’s state of bliss.What could be better than that?
1) I bought some bananas and oranges from a stall, cost 40 Rs. I gave him 100 Rs, and he didn’t have change. He walked over to one of the beggars sitting on the steps nearby to get change. 2) We happen to have a television in our hotel room. I woke up yesterday around 7 am to watch the last two periods of the Canada U.S. Olympic hockey game (we lost!). Watching the Vancouver Olympics in Rishikesh! 3) I am starting to recognize some of the cows. 4) Lakshman Jhula is a beautiful hanging footbridge that takes you from the west bank to the east bank of the Ganges. It is about 2 metres wide, and can get crowded with people coming and going. And with motorcycles, freely wandering cows and monkeys trying to get through! 5) We go most mornings for Satsang with Prem Baba, a guru who is from Brazil, speaks Portuguese with English translation, and who also incorporates Brazilian Shamanic traditions in his teachings.
I missed a Yoga class this morning, so I decided to practice on my own, on the roof our hotel, overlooking the Ganges (not too hard to take!). I realize how much my Yoga practice is deepening since I have been in India. And Yoga is not only asanas (postures) and stretching. For me, Yoga is breathing, chanting, meditation, selfless service, purification, contemplation, concentration, stretching, and more! So it is life changing for me.
Ever since our time in Kochi where I did daily classes with Yoga Master Sajee, I feel different. First of all, I feel my body is more open and relaxed. I can stretch more than ever and do some difficult positions with ease and relaxation. My breathing is also more open, I am more conscious of my breathing. The chanting I have been doing is sticking in my mind. With no instruments available for me to play, I find myself singing the chants we repeated for many minutes. Also some Hebrew melodies come into my head. I sat at a beautiful spot on the Ganges by some rapids, and started singing some of my own songs. Meditation is easier, and happens during the regular day, much of the time.
Of course, I still lose it! There have been some crazy moments here, and it's not all bliss and grooviness. But overall, the effect on me has been powerful and positive. I am opening up to life, my heart is open, and I believe that if I follow my heart, my highest intuition, my highest self, I will find the best path for me to pursue in my life at this time. I am still concerned about making money, working, dealing with all the ups and downs of life in Canada, and I am hoping I can maintain this clearer space, with work and concentration of course, when we return in March.
Life is wonderful, there is so much love, I am so thankful for my life. I am so thankful for this adventure with my wonderful partner Amy, and for the growth we are both experiencing, together and separately. As Prem Baba said: "God comes to you when you are alone. God is in the silence, the solitude. And relationships are the university of life". Amen! Swaha!
One evening after yoga (and dinner!) our teacher Sajee invited some of his musical friends over “to jam”. I didn’t know what to expect. Earlier, Sajee presented me with his daughter’s violin and asked me to change the strings so I could play it. It was a ¾ size fiddle, with a bow that may never have touched rosin. The men came with harmonium, tabla, some wooden flutes and beautiful voices. After an initial “tune-up” improvisation I played in D minor, one man informed me that they would play a raga in C# minor. Now C# minor is very difficult for me to play on the fiddle, so I kind of droned along. After the first raga was finished, he said that for South Indian music, C# is the most natural key, and they mostly play black notes on the harmonium, not white. He suggested I tune the fiddle down a half step so I could play in my more natural D scale. That made a huge difference. Next he schooled me in the raga form, showing me the scale of each raga, having me repeat after him. Then he would say: “This is the BG so now go ahead!” as if I had a clue what “BG” meant. After a while I gathered that BG signifies the main them of the raga, and is used to introduce the melody on a melody instrument – fiddle, harmonium, flute, etc.
Well it’s a good thing I know my scales a little bit as I was slowly able to catch on with his prodding as to when I was supposed to “fly”, and I was for the most part able to stay with the scale without too many flubs. I did the best I could, and they applauded my efforts.
I started the evening facing the other musicians across the circle. After the first few they beckoned me to sit in the middle of their group. And so it went. I could follow pretty well for the most part, and it was great fun.
There I was playing a squeaky ¾ size child’s violin with no rosin on the bow, trying to keep up to these guys, for whom these strange snaking melodies are simple as breathing! What a learning experience!
I’m sure glad I had a fiddle to play – definitely the right instrument to attempt ragas in that gathering!
I remember someone asking me if I planned to study Indian music during our time here. It hadn’t really occurred to me, and I think I answered that I would probably be more involved in Western music, with some exposure to Indian music as well. Well, I did learn a lot about Indian music and the raga form.
The picture below is also from that night, Alycia our Yoga buddy and “adopted” daughter from Vancouver, Amy and Sajee the Yoga Master.
The north is very different, and Rishikesh is amazing.A friend told us we had to go to Rishikesh, it is “the Jerusalem of India”.Now I can see what she meant, though for me, it reminds me more of Tzfat.It is absolutely beautiful, surrounded by high green hills, and divided by the flowing green waters of the Ganges, the holiest river in India.And because it is near the source of the river, the Himalaya mountains, it is clean and clear – good healing water.Rishikesh is a dichotomy, with literally hundreds of temples, ashrams and Yoga and Meditation centres.It attracts spiritual seekers from all over India and the world.And so, it also attracts a Disneyland of commercialization.Can you imagine?The Ashram Store, The Third Eye Café (sounds appetizing), shops and kiosks wall to wall, “sadhus” grabbing you to apply a coloured bindi to your forehead before asking for 100 Rupees.Fake Yogis, dozens of sadhus begging at every temple.Rishiskesh is a trip.
I love it here, and could easily spend longer than the few days to a week we have.Yesterday we met our first guru in India, Prem Baba, who delivered a beautiful satsang in Portuguese with an English translator.He is from Brazil, and combines Brazilian Shamanic traditions with Hindu practice.His energy was absolutely beautiful, his smile was completely open, and I really got a buzz from him and from the energy of the people who came to see him.There were at least ten people playing instruments and chanting, people dancing, just a ton of good energy.We’ll go again this morning.
We also had a good yoga class at an ashram near the hotel where we are staying.There are many ashram possibilities and we are considering spending three days in one.
Rishikesh is a very holy city, a power spot.Last night we attended Ganga Arti, which is a nightly ceremony on the banks of the Ganges.About ten people lead prayers and chants amplified for everyone around to hear.Then, candles and lamps are lit, and many are set afloat on the Ganges as the ceremony ends.It reminded me of the Jewish Tashlich ceremony during High Holidays where we cast bread crumbs into the river to release our sins.Beautiful.
The food is all vegetarian, and delicious!There is no alcohol here.There is no western music anywhere.I met a musician from Italy and we are trying to find a way to jam together, but many ashrams and gathering places are not open to anything but sacred music.
Today we are going with a Spanish woman we met yesterday and an Indian man she knows to experience Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, about 30 kms away.Kumbh Mela happens every four years in different holy spots, and this year it is in Haridwar.Over a million pilgrims come at some point between mid January and mid April.Today is a special day, with bathing in the Ganges the main focus.It will be a mob scene, but since we happen to be here at this time, I really want to experience it at least for the day.Then we’ll escape back to the relative quiet of Rishikesh.
Amy and I rented a motorcycle (Royal Enfield) to be exact for 400 Rs/day (about $10). We traveled 3 1/2 hours to Neyyar Dam from Varkala, avoiding buses rickshaws potholes and animals along the way. We planned to spend two nights at the Sivananda Yoga Ashram, since we had to get back to Varkala to catch an early train three days later.
When we arrived, we were informed that the minimum stay is three nights, so we had to pay for three nights. There was a lot of paperwork, including pages of policies, procedures and rules that put me off. Nevertheless we had gone to a lot of trouble and effort to get there, so we signed on.
The Ashram is beautiful, next to a fresh water reservoir (hence Neyyar Dam), surrounded by lush hills. There is an Lion Safari Park across the lake, and as we did our yoga class on a pad by the lake we could hear the lions calling. The day is quite full and busy, wake up at 5:30, Meditation and Chanting and Satsang from 6-7:30, then tea, then yoga from 8 - 10 am, then brunch in a dining hall, sitting on the floor and eating satvic vegetarian food with our right hand. After brunch comes Karma Yoga (Selfless Service), where we volunteer to do chores - I helped sweep and wash the floors of the dining hall. A little free time - we went swimming. Then a lecture on Yoga from 2-3:30 pm, another Yoga class from 3:30 - 5:30. Dinner at 6, Satsang, Meditation and Chanting 8 - 9:30, lights out at 10.
I was starting to get into the swing of things, the Yoga was great, it was wonderful to chant and meditate with hundreds of people. There were things I loved, and there were things I had problems with. For one thing, I am not a Hindu, and there is a ton of Hindu practice going on, including prostrations to various deities, as well as to people who are either teachers or sadhus at the Ashram. Not for me. And the restrictions on coming and going were also a problem. We had to fill out paperwork and get an "Out Pass" before the security guard at the gate would let us out. We were not allowed to leaved Satsang in the middle, had to stay till the end, and so on.
What was great was doing Yoga so intensively, and by Yoga I mean practicing the eight limbs, not just physical. There is a strong spiritual element and a lot of focus on mind control. And though I was unfamiliar and even a little uncomfortable with all the Sanskrit chanting, I have been chanting to myself ever since we left - a real earworm. "Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya..." So it's powerful stuff!
We got a good taste, not sure if I would return, but we will have an opportunity to visit several ashrams here in Rishikesh to check them out. I understand that some allow you to come and go as you please, and to participate as you wish. Still rules of conduct I am sure, but that will likely work better for me.
So yes, we have left the south of India, which was not easy! I love the south of India. We took a rickshaw to a train to a rickshaw to a plane to a rickshaw to an overnight train to Haridwar to a rickshaw to Rishikesh! 27 hours total. It is Kumbh Mela time in this region, and a million pilgrims are expected in Hardiwar. Thousands of large tents set up in camps as we drove through this morning, the largest religious festival in the world which happens every four years. This year it's Hardiwar. It was cold here this morning, but now it's sunny and warm. We are recuperating today, catching up, and checking out the sites of Rishikesh.
