"OM, MY GOD!"

Tuesday, February 24 at 22:44

Kevin

Seeing as our original driver for the Rajasthan car tour, Charlie, had to cut out early to attend a wedding, we were dropped off on our final day by our new driver, Yogish, right back where the whole thing started, Paharganj, New Delhi. This time we stepped out of the vehicle with complete confidence and purpose. We knew where we were, what we were doing and everything was familiar. We returned to Hotel Namaskar, raved about our car tour, had a thali (meal) for dinner and retired early in order to make our 6:50am train. Well, 6:50 came all too early, as they usually do, and we found ourselves dragging our groggy, exhausted bodies down the lovely main bazaar thoroughfare (read sarcasm) and into the early morning New Delhi traffic to try and survive a walk to the train station. Not only does the pedestrian not have the right-of-way in India, he is considered a nuisance and is to be dealt with accordingly! By the grace of God and some learned behaviors, we made it to our train, which was conveniently located at the furthest platform. Without much effort, we were on the proper coach and in the assigned seats. The steady stream of snacks, tea and food started on take off and did not ease up until landing, which came at about four and one half hours later at 11:25am.

We had arrived in the north Indian city of Haridwar, which was our connecting point to the bus that would lead us to Rishikesh, which is the connecting point for the shared auto rickshaw, or vikram, that would lead us to Lakxmanjhula, which is where we would be once again reuniting with our Aussie friend, Nic, who had kindly made a reservation for us at Dharm Yatri Niwas. As luck would have it, there was nobody to share the “shared” auto-rickshaw, so the driver was kind enough to charge us the full amount anyways. After a short, but expensive, ride we had finally arrived at the suspension foot bridge that would lead us home. A quick phone call to Nic and we were reunited and headed for the hotel.

At first glance we liked what we saw. Rishikesh is an area comprised of several districts, Laxmanjhula, where we would be staying, Shivananda Nagar, home to the famous Shivananda yoga ashram, Muni-Ki-Reti, Ram Jhula and Swarg Ashram, where the Beatles visited and met the Maharishi in 1968. Rishikesh is also a way-station for sannyasin (a homeless, ascetic Hindu without possessions), yogis (yoga practitioners) and people, such as ourselves, who are heading for the high Himalayas. The four districts are neatly tucked into a valley flanked by low mountains on each side and the mighty, and very holy, Ganges river running swiftly in the basin. This is the same river that eventually winds its way down to Varanasi, another future location and holy city, where it becomes horribly polluted by industrial chemicals, raw sewage and the dead carcasses of animals and humans. However, this far north, and close to the source, it is relatively clean and shockingly cold.

The beginnings of our adventures in Rishikesh were quite touristic. On day one, we walked as far south as you could possibly go, ending at a point where a sharp cliff clashed with the rocky shore of the Ganges River. We three, took time to settle a bit and admire the view. Seeing as Nic just completed a Buddhism course in a Nepalese Monastery and we are preparing to enter one in Dharamkot, Idalis and Nic delved into deep conversations concerning spirituality, Buddhism, the Dalia Lama and Tibetan history. Nic is a bit of an authority on Buddhism as she has studied it extensively. And Idalis loves to pick her brain in an effort to better understand. Meanwhile, I was hopping from boulder to boulder along the shore of the Ganges, dipping my feet, washing my face and rummaging through the various forms of ceremonial refuse that litters the shore. Prior to heading back, I was approached by a sadhu (holy man) who was quite interested in squatting with me on the rocks and talking philosophy, religion and life. He said his name was Swami and in spite of us being from completely different worlds, we had a great conversation and I was happy to get the chance to speak to him. That evening, Idalis and I dropped into a Hatha yoga class to see what it was all about. Our teacher, Sandeep, was a young, flexible, effeminate Indian man, with a cute pot belly, that put us through our paces. Hatha yoga is a bit gentler than the Ashtanga we were used to, but we still felt ourselves challenged to follow along through the unfamiliar postures, somewhat unique sun salutations and the “om” chants between every move. Sandeep's voice was soft and soothed our minds as our bodies twisted and contorted. His gentle persuasions to, “try make balance”, “little try?”, and “feeling, experience peace and happinessssssss”, made our class truly enjoyable. Personally, I found my favorite part of Hatha yoga being the savasana pose at the end. As I laid flat on my back, Sandeep slipped in orders to totally relax my body and sink into the Earth. He then proceeded to walk me, and the rest of the class, through the independent relaxation of every single part of the body. I fell fast asleep by third toe, right side of body!

After being awoken by Idalis and told to gather my things, we headed out to meet up with Nic for dinner. On the way, we stopped by a store, just out of curiosity, and ended up doing a bit of shopping. Idalis got a new top and I got two new shirts to replace the ones I donated in Pushkar. Dinner was at the Pyramid Cafe and was fairly uneventful. However, on the walk home, we were inspired to stop and get chocolate bars and go to Nic's room to watch some television. We three laid in bed as we watched COPS, shot on location in Texas, Top Chef, which happened to be a Miami Beach edition, and the Millionaire Matchmaker. In between fits of laughter we were almost brought to tears thinking that this is the type of programming that is making its way into India and shaping the Indians, and any visiting tourist with the fortitude to watch, views of what America is and how Americans are. A very sad prospect when you actually stop to think about it.

The very next day we walked north, though not as far as it goes, since the road goes on into the mountains. However, we did walk far enough to find a path through the wooded mountain side that lead to a water fall that collected in small pools all the way down to the Ganges river. The water actually looked clear and clean enough that it taunted me to enter it for a bath, which I did. I broke down to my skivies and jumped into the fresh, crisp water and let the water fall pour down over my head and down my back, almost losing my underwear in the strong stream. After our exhilarating hike, we headed back to the town we were staying, Laxmanjhula, but stopped long enough to enjoy some fresh chai at the street stall, watch a few river rafters negotiate the rapids below and have a close call with an angry red-assed monkey.

We also made it a point to try and dine at a separate restaurant for each meal eventually whittling down to our favorites, all of which were quite tasty and very affordable. In fact, on the day before we would leave, we returned to the same restaurants that we had our original breakfast and dinner once arriving. Our breakfast was at the Ganga View restaurant, which is a bit of a watering hole for the local devotees. In addition to a super fresh bowl of muesli, fruit, curd and honey, you can actually participate in conversations surrounding theology, philosophy, sociology, anthropology and spirituality, in addition to meeting a rather diverse collection of characters from around the globe. And that, we did. In our final sitting, we were joined by Erika and Bjorn from Sweden, and Hussein and his friend (whose name we missed) from Iran (via Sweden and Germany). The breakfast culminated in an incredibly interesting conversation surrounding each persons struggle to get where they are today, in sharing each others opinions and understandings of each others countries and an invitation to join a satsang, more or less a Q&A session, in the Sacha Ashram of Shanti Mayi. Originally, Rishikesh was, and still is, a holy site for the Hindus and a pilgrimage spot for people around the world who wish to bathe in the Ganges to cleanse their spirit. Coincidentally, it also became a point of pilgrimage for westerners seeking a Guru, spiritual enlightenment or any variation of spiritual awakening. Shanti Mayi is a result of this quest and is a devotee and student of the Maharaji who has run an ashram for over twenty years, imparting her knowledge on anyone interested in receiving it, the bulk of which seem to be wealthy, middle aged westerners.

Wanting to step outside of the tourist realm and experience this Rishikesh thing, Idalis, Nic and I agreed to meet Erika and Bjorn for this truly unique experience. We entered the ashram through the large security gate, took a tour of the garden and housing complex and nestled into our spot on the floor with our individual area rugs to provide comfort. At first, the crowd was thin and there was plenty of space to spread out. The afternoon began with chanting lead by the devotees and accompanied by music provided by traveling musicians. The chant went, “Prabhu aapa jago, paramatma jago, mere sarva jago, sarvatra jago, prabhu aapa jago, paramatma jago.”, which translates to, “Oh, God awake! Awake within me! You are everywhere in all places. Awake!” This went on for about half an hour until we were all prompted to rise for the grand entrance of Shant Mayi. I should probably also say that Shanti Mayi is an American ex-patriate. I am not sure how that fits into the story, but I thought you should know that one of the most famous Gurus in Rishikesh, India, is a blonde, middle aged, American woman. The afternoon continued, after her entrance, with a passing around of the microphone for questions, comments, and rather shallow attempts to discuss the philosophies of life. All in all, I think we were all three glad that we experienced such a thing, but needless to say, none of us are ready to make the leap into the devotee role.

We concluded our final evening with dinner at the Freedom Cafe, where we had our first dinner, completing the circle, and retired for our final night in Rishikesh after an evening of great food and great conversation. The next morning would find us waking early to begin packing and I would run down to the Ganges River for a very cold and refreshing dip in the 54 degree water, with an air temp of 44 degrees. They say it cleanses the soul, I would have to agree.

Today we leave for Dhamsala in the north. Not to be disappointed, India has again ushered up a challenging travel day with a 16:30 train that will drop us off in Chakki Bank at 2:30am where we will sit for an hour and a half waiting for the first bus to Dharmsala that leaves at 4:00 am and takes about three hours to arrive. Hopefully our new spiritual awakenings will help to alleviate the exhaustion. If not, our anxiousness and anticipation to enter the Buddhist center should help! Please be advised that we will be out of touch for at least ten days, as it is the center's policy that contact from outside be suspended for the duration of the course. We promise to upload a new blog entry, detailing our experiences, once we have received our enlightenment!!!!!!