Open Heart, Open Mind

The new friends I have made here inspire me every day. In my mind's eye, my adventure seems extreme but having met the people I have met here I realize that my time frame pales in comparison to the journeys that they are on. Each are experiencing the world in a variety of ways for their own individual reasons.

Sarah is a social worker from London with a vivacious spirit and wicked sense of humour. She has been travelling around the world for the past year. India is her final destination. She will end her journey here with a 10 day silent meditation in Mumbai. She doesn't know what she wants to do when she gets back home to England but doesn't seemed concerned about it in the least.

Stefan and Linda are a married couple from the Netherlands. They have been together for 18 years and act like newlyweds. They have been travelling for 6 months and will continue to do so for 6 more. They were inspired to take off for a year when a close friend of theirs passed away. With this deep loss they realized how precious life and their time here was. They have travelled all across the US, down to Costa Rica, Australia, Malaysia, Nepal and now India which will be followed by Singapore and future undecided locations.

Rob and Louisa are also travelling for a year. They are a backpacking couple who have been living in Australia and decided to take off to experience the world en route to their final destination in London. Louisa works in non profit and Rob is an architect who works with sustainable materials. They travel around without a plan, pulled by wherever seems to draw them based on people that they meet along the way.

Lita is a new friend who arrived yesterday. She is a beautiful Italian woman in her 50s who has been living in Miami for the past 3 years. She lived in Los Angeles prior to Florida. She is recovering from chemotherapy treatment for Cancer and has come to India to heal her spirit. Her plan is to travel on her own around the world for the next year but, like me, felt an instant connection to India and may decide to stay here for the majority of her trip. She and I felt an instant connection. When we met with Swami Ji last night he encouraged us both to begin our community service here next week. I have inquired about working with children and animals, which she is interested in as well, and he will give us appropriate assignments soon. I can't wait to begin!

This past Sunday, a group of us took a walk up to the now defunct Maharishi Ashram where The Beatles used to stay and famously wrote most of the White Album. After having slipped a few rupees to the guard, the gates were opened to a magical world of miles of stone huts and meditation caves overlooking all of Rishikesh and the Ganga River. I instantly felt a wave of inspiration standing on the top of the mountain. Had I had a musical gene in me, I would have happily whipped out a guitar and burst into song. But alas, that not being my path, I came back to my room and sketched instead.

New friends arrive here every day. My heart is constantly flooded with gratitude for their kindness and generosity of spirit. I speak to almost everyone I come into contact with. There are lessons to be learned everywhere I go.

"You must not let your life run in the ordinary way; do something that nobody else has done, something that will dazzle the world. Show that God's creative principle works in you." (Paramahansa Yogananda)

Sending you love and light from the Ganga River.
xoxo

New Beginnings

I have only arrived in India six days ago and already have a steady routine in place. Every morning I am woken up at 4:30 am by monks chanting to the Divine. Prior to arriving in Rishikesh, I was nervous about not being able to wake up for 6:30 am yoga classes but so far I have not had any problems. I am up before dawn, I sit in my teeny tiny little room and meditate while listening to the monks' enchanting voices. A shower takes place by 5 am which entails short lived hot water and a bucket. By 6 am I am out the door and make the beautiful walk to the Yoga Hall. The route is lined with Hindu Deities and gorgeous gardens.

We have been instructed to wear all white clothing for yoga which is lovely. Mataji, one of our teachers who's name translates to "mother", informs us that white is the color of the divine and that we will be able to tune in with spirit more by wearing it. It is lovely looking around the room at a sea of yogis dressed in white.

Our yoga schedule for the next two weeks is intense. The first class begins with Pranayam(breath work), then Asanas (physical postures) and ends in Meditation. We then break for breakfast in the communal dining hall where silence is mandatory and meals are eaten while sitting on the floor in front of individual little tables. This is very different from my experience at Amma's ashram where the dining hall was very social and gave visiting devotees the opportunity to meet each other. Parmath Niketan encourages more of a relationship to Self and God and less to others which was intially challenging but I am still finding the time and space to make new friends.

After breakfast, we return to the Yoga Hall for Vedic Chanting, Mantras and Prayer. Our teacher, Indu, has the most beautiful voice. The feelings that come up during the chanting are pure bliss. We then move on to Yoga Theory followed by lunch which is usually followed by a walk through town. Afternoon Yoga is more Asana focused.

Rishikesh is intense. The poverty here is extreme and took me a few days to adjust to (although I know I will never fully get used to it). Initially I couldn't imagine ever wanting to leave the confines of the ashram walls in order to avoid the pain that I felt in my heart every time I did. But over the past few days, I have found ways to ease the pain and that is simply by giving back in every way possible. I do so by purchasing fruit (which costs pennies) and hand them out to women and children who beg for anything available and bread and milk for the puppies and dogs (the leftover bread usually ends up in the cows' bellies). I have of course fallen in love with one dog in particular who I have named "Shanti". She is a pathetically scrawny little girl with the sweetest disposition. My struggle is not to scoop her up and cuddle with her but I have educated myself enough about the rabbies epidemic in India to know that that would be plain ignorant. So feeding her twice a day is my pleasure. My intention is to get her nice and healthy over the next couple of months.

Evenings end with Aarti ceremonies on the Ganga River which are beyond magical. Boys and girls (students at Parmath Niketan and disciples of Swami Ji) dressed in traditional Indian garb sit across from each other divided by a fire pit. Devotees and visitors sit on steps which face out on to the Ganga River where a large statue of Shiva sits. A fire Puja takes place followed by chanting. I was called down to participate in the fire Puja at the first Aarti that I attended. It felt like India was welcoming me back home. My spirit has never felt happier.

The friends I have made here are kindred souls who have open hearts and travel spirits. Most are travelling for similar lengths of time as me if not more. I will get into their fascinating tales in my next entry.

Sending love and light from India and Mother Ganga. Om Shanti!