Namaste!
I write to you now after having returned from a quick trip to Rishikesh. I stepped into yet another version of India, and this reality was much more closely related to the idea I crafted in my head before coming to the country. Rishikesh is a religious center and adorns the banks of the holy river Ganga. The Ganga is believed to be a goddess, and often referred to using motherly terms. She came to earth from the heavens as a gift to King Baghirath for his piety and to wash away the ashes of his 60,000 ancestors who were incinerated by the sage Kapila so that their souls could reach the heavens. Ganga descended to earth, but she did so by flowing through Lord Shivas hair so as not to create mass destruction on the earth. Her waters are holy, and bathing in them is said to cleanse you of all your sins. Hindu people leave the ashes of their dead to be swept away by her current, and often offer lamps to the river.
We slept in a hotel on Ganga’s banks, and were able to hear her and walk along her banks to get wherever we needed to go. Rishikesh has two major foot bridges, called Ram Jhula and Lakshman Jhula after the two mythical heroes of the Ramayana, brothers Ram and Lakshman, we stayed closer to the Ram Jhula, but the best restaurants were after you crossed Lakshman Jhula, and so I walked across both bridges in their crowded, shaking, exhilarating reality many times. I don’t think I will ever quite get used to how cows roam wherever they want here, and I was particularly reminded of this when I had to shimmy around multiple cows on each of the bridges.
Our first day here we went to the Beatles Ashram, which is now abandoned. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I quickly fell in love with the little meditation huts that are now grown over and covered in artwork. Once we were in the ashram, we were allowed to wander freely, to find our own little treasures. I found a butterfly wing, and instantly felt my soul expand. On top of one of the abandoned dormitory buildings, there was an artist just finishing up her mural she calls the “Love Portal.” The sun was hitting her work just right, and as I shook her paint flecked hand and introduced myself it was really great to appreciate some of this worlds beauty simultaneously. I loved wandering through the spaces that belonged to another time, and to find bits and pieces of art tucked here and there. There was also a group of guys who brought a guitar and were jamming in an old amphitheater. Yes, this was a place belonging to the past, but some of the vibes of the Beatles has endured and was flitting through the air in a beautiful way.
On our second day, we went on a short hike to a waterfall and swam. This was one of my highlights of the trips, and the sheer power of this water crashing around you and the solitude we were able to find in these pools was beautiful. I had a smile plastered on my face and enjoyed finding the sunlight. When everyone else was starting to get out and get changed, I turned to face the waterfall, hearing it thunder in my chest. I am not someone with a naturally talented singing voice, but I turned to the waterfall and sang – the power of its noise eliminating the singularity of my voice and swept up the vibrations I was sending out into its own power. I sang songs that rattle my soul, and for a good ten minutes, it was me and this waterfall, and a butterfly that is a sister to my butterfly (the common yellow swallowtail), danced to our music. I was open to the beauty of this moment, and subsequently moved by it. When I got to singing, “It is Well,” my cousin Luke was there with me singing to the waterfall. It has been a little while since I felt his embrace, and it was such a gift to feel him again in the midst of this adventure.
After we hiked down from the waterfall, we were given time to explore the city. We found the most delicious food at the Little Buddha Café, and afterwards had time to wander between shops selling anything from ayurvedic books to malas to pants to bags to hookahs. There were ashrams around every corner. Rishikesh is a tourist town, and so I was walking in step with many people who looked like me, and it was interesting to be surrounded by white people in India. We attended an evening arti, a prayer service, and I enjoyed watching people receive the blessings of Shiva through smudging themselves with the smoke of many little fires. We were along the banks of the Ganga, and it was incredibly crowded. I didn’t know what was happening as much as I wanted to, but it was still nice to be in attendance.
On the third day we went river rafting down the Ganga. I have been rafting many times in my life, and it was nice to be back on the river. We were allowed to swim in the Ganga multiple times, and I really enjoyed contemplating the religious aspect of being embraced by the river. Am I cleansed of my sins? I like to think so, and I enjoyed taking part in this practice. After rafting and returning to the hotel, we were again let loose on the town. I really enjoyed eating out again, and then in the afternoon I accidentally crashed a yoga workshop. It was supposed to be a class, but they changed the plan and ended up running a workshop. Anyways, I was invited to stay, and I am so glad I did. We spent the two hours I was there breaking down the forward fold and practicing inversions. The teacher was such a light, and he took time to interact directly with each and every one of us, myself included. He helped me with my headstands, informed me that I have weak inner thighs and a wide pelvis, and subsequently recommended an exercise to help me with my yoga practice in the future. I did not anticipate how sore my hamstrings would still be two days after, but I am very impressed with how he taught us how our bodies should be moving in this practice.
At the end of the workshop, we (about twenty of us) assembled ourselves in two lines facing each other, forming a kind of tunnel to do a group exercise. It went like this: one at a time, you come into the center and close your eyes. Then the people standing around you slowly guide you down the line, and one at a time whisper, “I love you,” to you. I was surrounded by strangers, people who I had met less than two hours before, and yet how I was embraced. I told each and every one of them I loved them – and they received it. When it came time for me to go, I closed my eyes and was brave. These people held my hands, placed their hands on my back, told me they loved me in many languages, and really meant it. I felt so loved, and it was extraordinary. This experience was such serendipity for me, and I am so enamored with how it unfolded, how I was able to give and receive love, and how amazing it felt. I need more of that in my life, and so look forward to cultivating more open love in my life. The feeling of joy and exhilaration I felt after completing my walk down the tunnel are still floating around my heart, and I am so grateful.
We were only in Rishikesh for three days, but I loved it. I would love to return and participate more in some yoga and meditation trainings, but that might have to wait for my future trips to India. I want to look more into yin yoga, it looks like something I would really enjoy. Rishikesh was a great experience, and I thought it was nice to see the India of the yogis, something I have been surprised to not have experienced for the most part during my stay here. There are so many India’s, and I adore getting to move in and out and between them all.
In other news, I have really been enjoying making friends and building networks here. Such sweet serendipities arise! In Rishikesh, I met a woman who had been living in a nunnery in Dharamshala, and as we kept talking I learned that her sister has been working at the Teton Science School since January – what a small world. As we kept talking and I told her about my study abroad program she said one of her friends from the nunnery was at Woodstock, and just as a wild guess I threw out a name of a woman I had been getting to know (Sophie), and I was right! Two days before, I had actually said goodbye to Sophie because she is headed back to Himachal Pradesh, and as we said goodbye she tied a blessing band that had been blessed by the Dalai Lama around my wrist. I was completely speechless and my heart overflowing. She told me she recognized my pursuit of light and is so excited for my journey. We embraced, and here is yet another moment whose love is still lingering inside of me. I now have the blessing band tied around my ankle where it will stay until it falls off. And so, I told my new friend about my encounter with Sophie, and both of us were blown away with the connections weaving through this world. This week I also went to Happy Valley, where there is a Buddhist temple that is the first temple the Dalai Lama constructed in India after he fled Lhasa. It was a beautiful place, and I enjoyed soaking it in.
I have booked my tickets to spend my last week in India in Bangalore. I’ll be staying with the older sister of one of the friends I have made in Mussoorie and am so excited to have been invited to do so! She has two daughters, the youngest is eight months old, and I am jazzed to get to spend time with this family. I haven’t done any planning in regard to what I will do while I am there, hoping to go off suggestions from the friends I have made who have lived there, and if you have any suggestions send them my way!
For one of my classes here, I wrote a short story with vignettes of the people who live in the hills. Here is the link if you are interested, and I would love to hear your thoughts!
I am weaving my light into this world and loving the space I am seeing the world and being seen in return. Learning and growing so very much.
Love,
Regina
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