Shout Out #29
Trip Start
Jun 05, 2006
1
32
41
Trip End
Ongoing
Rishikesh,
India
Sunday, December 9, 2007
The meaning behind his question didn't get through. Krishna explained again that the fan was our air conditioner
01
. Elad and Peter both explained, "He wants to go back outside." Just as they finished speaking the power went out, shutting off the lights and the AC. Krishna understood their translation and smiled about the power outage. "Thank Krishna! (The Hindu god) He is taking care of you." Ash acknowledged the sign by giving namaste with palms pressed together in front of his forehead.The Ganga flows by with an unhurried rhythm. Its strength comes more from a still fluidity than from harsh, battering force. Most of the loungy tourist restaurants provide a padded place to relax near the river. Lucky had the best arrangement. Low tables ringed by cushions lined the edge of an intimate rectangular space. A thatched roof sheltered all the padded seating. Typical tables and chairs were place under the shade of a large tree. Ninie, Sebastian, Elad, and Ash sat in the cushioned area after a morning class. In custom fashion, Sylvan sat there with his flute most of the morning and struck up conversation with those passing through. A woman was talking to him about her contributions to humanity.
"I'm doing my prayer services at Paramarth ashram this afternoon." Until she mentioned being a medium for Yogananda Paramahansa Ash assumed he was in the midst of a missionary. When she explained the nature of her service he realized his assumption wasn't too far off
02
."We are all vessels. Either good or evil can enter us. Through prayer I remove evil spirits and hopefully everyone leaves with a guardian angel." (One from the good side of course.) She wasn't trying to change people's beliefs; instead, she assumed the role of savior. Regardless of the name she professed (Jesus or Yogananda), she obviously came from a dichotomous belief structure. Ash was opening his mouth to ask who prayed for her- what angel she was vesseling- when Sylvan asked if he could go to her event. The question caught Ash off guard. Apparently not everybody shared his skepticism.
"Do you smoke marijuana?"
"No, of course not."
"I have to ask because marijuana disturbs the process."
Ash had time to think twice about starting a debate with the lady. It's pointless to talk philosophy with someone who has dichotomous views. He's never met someone who speaks of life in terms of good vs. evil, right vs. wrong, positive vs. negative AND is willing to consider that they COULD be evil, wrong, or negative. The best reason he didn't dispute her claims was because his motive for wanting to debate was ego driven. He only wanted to challenge the validity of her talents to reinforce the validity of his thoughts. She had to be wrong for him to be right. It was the same dichotomy.
The woman left and Sylvan rejuvenated the topic of good and evil spirits. He studied kinesiology and called himself a healer. A girl he knew apparently got mixed up in black magic- utilizing a cat's ability to see spirits and transferring that skill to people (herself). She turned to him for help
03
. At her house he couldn't turn the lights on. The switches only responded to flicks from her wrist. After doing his process the lights miraculously worked for him too. The situation triggered a bunch of questions in Ash's mind. If he is a savior why did he want the other lady to save him? If they are both saviors, who is the Savior Supreme? What happens to people saved by her if Sylvan is the ultimate, really, really, great Savior Supreme? What happens to those saved by Sylvan if she holds the crown? It's a dilemma that can only be settled with bombs. And when the bombing ends can we ask why anyone needs to be saved anyway?
In Rishikesh talk of spirits is as common as real estate talks in the United States. Magical or mythical happenings fit into just about any available topic. It's mostly a casual comment about the river or the weather but this particular day went to the extreme. Ash was continuously surprised not so much by the claims being made but by the validity others gave to those claims. First Sylvan wanted to join in the Paramahansa Lady's affair, and then a girl sitting with the group asked to talk privately with Sylvan about something (or some thing) plaguing her.
In the east, especially in spots like Rishikesh, many westerners look for refuge in subtler beliefs than those presented by predominantly Christian cultures. Generally eastern philosophies point at the causal nature of our existence. Our individual worlds are fully self-created based on our way of being. Karma. What we reap, we sow...now and in past and future lives. More than promoting the worship of an all-loving, eternally punishing god, these ideals point toward specific lifestyles. Western ideologies generally speak of good or evil deeds. Eastern ideologies generally speak of the nature (spirit) of ideal thoughts and actions: ideal living
04
. For a person accustomed to dualistic beliefs, the spirit of an action easily becomes a Spirit. Essence gets distorted into a conceptual Other...typically, an other of an either good or bad nature. Because of the abundance of so many spirits an enterprising individual can easily feed on the collective confusion found in places like Rishikesh. Those individuals were easy to spot. Ash's favorite was 'The Jheri curl Prophet'. He wandered the streets telling all the beautiful girls about his gatherings. They would learn to be warm and loving and smiling and cheerful (and hopefully all of the above towards him). He claimed to have learned Kebala with a high lama in Tibet. Mostly, he stayed at the internet cafes smoking cigarettes with an annoyed look on his face. If Sylvan was more sinister, he could have easily taken advantage of her confusion with his propheteering.
A few nights earlier Ash had seen a man ranting his way down the street, shouting loudly only to himself. He was clearly living by a reality of his own. Ash typically would've walked by without thinking too much about the man but all the talk of spirits brought questions to his mind. Was this man saner than everybody else or does he see spirits too? He wondered what that guy was responding to. What's the nature of his motivation and what are its karmic effects?
There was a moment in Ash's life when he witnessed the fine line between awareness and insanity in himself
05
. The path to insanity was clear and simple. It was only an imbalance between conceptual learning and applied wisdom...a very thin line. It's easy to delve deeply into concepts of life and existence without establishing a foundation for implementing that knowledge. Through his conceptualizing he saw certain limits programmed into his ego (his constructed identity). He created a game of constant struggle. In knowing of this self-imposed programming he was forced to either overcome or go insane trying. Ignorance is not bliss. He wondered if the insane man peered over that same edge without coming back? If so, he at least had the courage to look.Sometimes solutions are found in just knowing of the dilemma. There was some resolution in knowing, but Ash's was a problem of knowing too much. For full resolution he had to live by the ideas he knew all too well. Francis Bacon gives a good visualization of the dilemma, "The knowledge of man is as the waters, some descending from above, and some springing from beneath; the one informed by the light of nature, the other inspired by divine revelation." Ash had grown infatuated with the rain to the detriment of the wells and springs. More simply, his head was in the clouds more than his feet were on the ground. Ultimately, living by his ideas meant leaving with a backpack.
He imagined that the man on the street had gone too far into the wells of the earth without coming to terms with the rain- mistaking tangible, three-dimensional truth for Ultimate Truth. He also thought the talk of demons and spirits was symptomatic of being too far into the clouds- taking intagible, ethereal conceptualizing as the Ultimate Truth (the overall spirit of life) and forgetting about gross, physical truths. When spirit becomes spirits Jheri-curl Prophets become businessmen.
06
Ash started spending more time alone each day. He needed the time away from familiar faces. He usually ate breakfast with the yoga family before disappearing in the afternoon. After the night yoga and meditation class he started eating alone at local restaurants. Once Krishna concluded class with his famous words, "Take any items belong to you. Have a nice dinner but a light dinner", Ash went and ate a huge thali plate at one of the cheap spots with the best food in town. He was in bed by 10 with a full stomach.
One night a cow walked up to him while leaving a restaurant. A man, most likely the restaurant owner, told him the cow was asking for food. He had one of the workers bring over some chapatti. Once fed, he told Ash, "You have a friend now."
"I'm going to miss the cows when I leave."
"In India you can do anything."
The man's words were interesting. Not many people would make that connection...freedom and cows in the street. Ash thought of how absurd it would be to have cows roaming an American street...the land of the free. Someone would sue for slipping on a cow turd, someone else would take the free dinners for a year, and the traffic jams would be incredible- only because the painted road lines are so much more rigid in the United States
07
. Health codes, property laws, insurance, ADA, taxes... "You're right, in India you can do anything (if you're not starving)."The following morning Elad was going through a rare treat- a newspaper with relatively decent news. He pointed out two particularly interesting articles. The first was a headline stating: Pak's (Pakistan's) Tourism Minister Resigns Over Fatwa Issued Because She Hugged Her French Paratroop Trainer in Paris. (Damned uppity women...serves her right for leaving the kitchen!) The second article delved into the intricacies of why Arjun Tanks, established in 1974, has yet to produce one combat-ready tank. The article was especially condemning due to the success Pakistan has had with it's tank manufacturing. These articles were a great addendum to the news Ash was reading in the Matrimonials section, 'for the better half of your life'. It contains 12 pages of ads for families looking to marry off their respected son or daughter. One headline in bold, colored text read:
ALLIANCE
For Handsome, Smart,
MBA Maheshwari Boy
Teetotaller, 27 yrs.,
5'-10.5". Very well
settled in family business.
The Girl should be
Beautiful, slim, Edu. from
Respectable Agarwal /
Maheshwari family
08
.Send BHP (Returnable)
The section includes a small Advice box (a.k.a. 'A Word from Our Attorneys) stating: Readers are advised to make appropriate/thorough enquiries before acting upon any advertisements. This newspaper does not vouch or subscribe to claims and representations made by advertisers regarding particulars of status, age, income of bride/groom.
Advertisements for businesses specializing in such enquiries are thrown into the mix as well. Some of the language in the matrimonials caught his eye. 'Professionally qualified girl' was a frequent curiosity. One ad read: WANTED Tall, Beautiful, Fair, Well Educated Homely Girl from Status Family... It was a very newsworthy morning.
In the afternoon Ash took a walk to Ramjhula 30 minutes down the road. Being Sunday, the Indian tourists were out in droves. Crossing the bridges could take 10 minutes or more. He never crossed the river but his walk was eventful nonetheless. He felt like it was a trip from isolation back to India proper. People said hello and asked where he was from. Many wanted photos but he was tired of being the token white guy. A group of kids even greeted him with Jai Shri Krishna. They smiled when he replied, "Om Jai Shri Krishna". He enjoyed being back amongst Indians
09
.While standing with the crowd of kids a foreign tourist rode by on a unicycle. The brilliance of having such a contraption struck him instantly. With skill, it's agile enough for crowded walkways, oftentimes parting crowds of its own accord. It's quick and provides escape if he's not in the mood to talk, and it appeals to Indian curiosity. If he wants to talk he can walk without being too burdened by its bulk and he has a topic of discussion beyond where he comes from. He even had followers- two kids running along behind him. It was iPod genius...Ash didn't know how he survived without one.
It's impossible to walk back to Luxmanjhula, past the best lemon-mint maker in town without stopping for refreshment. A mixture of water, sugar, squeezed lemons, crushed mint, Himalayan rock salt, and masala, they are the ideal drink in Rishikesh. Even though the guy got his water from the police station's constantly flowing outdoor shower, Ash was on a two-a-day habit. Not only did he make the best drinks in town, he was exceptionally nice. Stopping by just to say hello was another one of the simple daily pleasures...yoga, eating, washing clothes, and drinking lemon-mints.
During one of the after class breakfasts Ninie mentioned not liking the way Hinduism has names for their gods. Ash brought up the name Allah. Both Elad and Ninie said Allah is not a name.
"It's not a proper name but it is a name...an identifier."
Ninie responded, "That's not what I'm getting at. Hinduism has all these named gods and incarnations. They're like characters."
"How is that different from referring to god as Allah?"
After all the restraint in all the other debatable situations, Ash started an argument. He slipped into the duality of needing to make somebody else wrong in trying to be right. Ninie and him slugged it out over the Koran and whether it was god-created, the merit of Sadhus in society and whether it should be acceptable to renounce and take alms, and any number of pointless debates involving their differing beliefs. When the bloody battle came to a close Ash felt shitty for getting caught up in such a heated fight with a friend.
Of all things, their horoscope cleared it up between them. They are born on the same day and Elad read the day's message from the paper. "Working with your partner will be beneficial. If not, it will lead to frustration. Your color for the day is peach." It was another newsworthy morning. Ash apologized for losing his temper and not being respectful. Ninie apologized and mentioned that her beliefs are very strong. She gave Ash a really long, friendly hug and they both defused their bombs.
