Om
Trip Start
Oct 20, 2008
1
3
15
Trip End
Oct 20, 2009
Rishikesh,
Uttarakhand,
India
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
We had pre-booked our stay for a week of Ashtanga yoga at the Parmarth Niketan Ashram on the banks of the fast-flowing River Ganges. After dumping the bags we searched for (as no one in india will give you a straight answer) our contact and eventually were offered a bespoke daily programme of yoga, indian philosphy & meditation lessons. What we eventually came to realise was that the ashram is basically a holy place of worship & study for Hindus to come for seminars & theological talks.
On the first night we were drawn towards a gathering of people on a ghat (steps down to the river). An enormous opal statue looks back at the hundreds of people sat on the steps. The ceremony lasted nearly two hours with lots of Hare Krishna looking devotees chanting and clapping away with some westerners who had clearly been here too long. We later sat in silence eating our vegetarian slop cross-legged and barefooted on the floor wondering what we had stepped into!? All we wanted was to do some yoga and relax! I am no good with religion - there are too many opportunities for me to put my foot in it. Fiona too is struggling with the no talking at dinner.
Our inital thoughts changed over the week as the friendly (and highly camp) staff were very chilled and were just happy for you to simply experience the ashram without chastisement. The veggie food was also really good although curry for breakfast takes a little getting used to. The lush gardens and walkways, the clean, tranquil courtyards, huge ancient trees and religious iconography all create a space in which to rest the ego and float a while and despite the cowshit, motorbike horns, viciously cute monkeys and flies I'm starting to appreciate their way of living.
Eventually we settled into the routine of relaxing by crisp, pale blue waters of the ganges on the sandy beach in the morning then sweat our knackers off during an hour and a half of Ashtanga yoga at 12pm. Our teacher (Manoj) seems to think me sweating buckets is hilarious and enjoys pushing me deeper into impossible positions as my body screams but he has really helped my practice. We then break for lunch and after a quick shower go to our philosphy lesson at 3pm with Buddhi Prakesh. The lessons are really interesting learning about indian/hindu thought which is not through fear or guilt or any negative emotions but by a connection with knowledge and the peaceful contemplation (via meditation) of the universe and the wonder of nature and consciousness and how it all ties in with modern sciences like quantum physics. Granted, some people are eating paper off the floor but the essence of it all still holds true for me. Ommmm. Buddhi is about 70-odd (it is difficult to tell) with a pearly white hair and beard and in a white tunic and white 'skirt' (mundi) it seems at times, in the dimly lit room, we are sat on the floor listening to Plato! But he is genuine, kind and has a serene nature.
After an hour's philosphy there is a lesson on meditation. I keep falling asleep. One time i woke up, fiona had gone and another class had started around me prolaxed on the floor! After realising i eventually crept out to find fiona in hysterics.
train
I was snoring too apparently. After philosphy and with our beads and heads full of hindu mysticism is the Aarti (river worship ceremony) which we have been to a couple of times sitting safely at the side. The holy man (Swarmi Chidanand Saraswati) whose face is plastered over everything sat in the middle singing and giving his sermon. On the second night after the aarti we were invited with some other westerners for an audience with his Swarminess. We were ushered into an outdoor santuary with rose petals strewn across the lawn and a bamboo overhang. He was taking questions mainly of a philosophical nature although the floor was open to anything. He was a humble and light-hearted man with an aura that certainly commanded some awe and it certainly felt like a privilege to be there but looking around the confused and issue-ridden westerners were lapping it up like they were in the presence of Jesus! He offered clear common-sense advice about letting go of grievances and listening to your yourself separate from your ego followed by a lingering but peaceful stare. I wanted to tell him a joke but i couldn't think of any suitable.
Some of the characters we have spotted over the week at the aarti - First there was Kate Bush who, dressed in flowing white sheets, curls and unfurls like sails swaying in a trance to the music like one of those dancing flowers and make dove silhouettes with her hands. Other casualties include Shirley Valentine, a woman in her 50's who has been completed 'Rishikeshed' - sari over her head like M.Teresa, beads-a-gogo, henna all over her hands and bindi - singing words that didn't exist and clapping unrhythmically. Her dowdy friend next to her, not having been bitten by the bug clapped unsurely probably worried about her friend and having to explain to friends and family back home that she stayed behind or perhaps just secretly looking forward to her getting off the plane in full regalia. Lastly, the queen bee herself - an American woman in her late 30's who appears to live and work at the ashram. Her white sari a symbol of the abandonment of her former life and a sickly sweet smile of a psychopath. Would love to know her story and who or what she is running from!! Maybe it's just me and i need to let go of the cynicism but it's just too funny.
Anyway, can't add photos here - will try again once we reach Rajasthan..
train to Haridwar
Comments
hi
lovin the pics and stories, tey are so descriptive and really entertaining, lots of effort put in them, and gonna be so good to think back on when you get home.Keep em coming, love to you both, clubber xxxx
hi
lovin the pics and stories, they are so descriptive and really entertaining, lots of effort put in them!!They are gonna be so good to think back on when you get home.Keep em coming, love to you both, clubber xxxx
wow
wow you guys! all sounds amazing! so jealous. Wish me and mark thought about doing something like this! loving the blog Rick! you should write a book when you are book! love from the hezzies xx