The second day was much better.
After spending the night in our little haven, where we managed to sleep more or less through the night (give or take a few disoriented arousals), we felt restored, rejuvenated, and refreshed. It was the first full night of sleep we’d had in 3 days. And we knew, whenever we had had enough of wandering in the typical October day’s lovely 100+-humid-sweaty-choking-noxious-“fresh” air, we could retreat, to our A/C haven, where we can pay homage to the God of Naps. I love our life.
It was one of those days that you just don’t forget, where it feels like you’re walking through a magical world. If only every day could be like that, where you could see everything with fresh eyes, grateful eyes. I imagine it’s something like how it feels when a child walks through Disneyland. Chai over here, mango lassis over there, internet café here, south Indian dosas over there, samosas over here, the vast blue Indian ocean over there. The sun, the trees, the sidewalks, the faces, the saris, the buildings; the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, the feelings and emotions, they all just feel so different, they feel so much!
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| Hindu temples are pretty glorious |
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| They have things like elephants |
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| And giant "Pagodas", pyramids of colorfully painted sculptures of various deities graphically murdering various demons |
Walking around the streets of an Indian city, it’s not hard to see the world in a different way. It’s not all good; in India, you see it all. And that’s what I think is so special about India – it’s all there, right there, in your face. In fact, there’s no escaping reality. Poverty, disease, urban decay, consumerism, pollution, right alongside wealth, prosperity, holiness, harmony, joy, service. The highest highs and the lowest lows intermingle, coil around each other like two serpents, and at times you lose track of which is which; they’re all so close to you. So I just let it all wash over me, the Good and the Bad, the Positive and Negative, the Yin and Yang. It’s a good reminder: Good and Evil are everywhere, wherever you go; there’s just no effort to hide one or the other in India.
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| Women wake up early every morning to make these sand paintings on their doorsteps. Why? Nobody knows... or at least I don't. |
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| The streets are so colorful - just look at those women in their saris! |
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| The streets are even colorful at night! So much life, spilling out all over the place, it's hard not to step on it! |
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| Not properly representing Americans if I'm not wearing aviators. Now I am cool. |
Today was the day we went to one of my staple locations from my last visit to Pondi – the Ashram Dining Hall. It’s a very special place, which cooks and serves thousands of meals a week, staffed entirely by volunteers. It was incredible to see so many familiar faces – almost everyone in the serving line was the same as 4 years ago. All the food is imbued with so much love, so much devotion, you can feel it permeating the entire building. I took Aphyna up to the little rooftop where I spent so many meals during my last Pondi stay, and we sat in reverence for the abundance in our lives; we were in awe of the greatness of the Divine that it has taken us on this incredible spiral path.
Aphyna and I had a great discussion about Yoga, specifically the way Yoga is practiced here in Pondicherry at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. In India, Yoga is not conceived of solely as a physical practice, or as a one-hour practice one does after work on Tuesdays at the gym. Yoga is a way of life, Yoga is a life practice, and you can (and must) do it with more than just your body – in fact, the body is often considered the least important component of your being.
See, in many Indian Ashrams (like the one in whose dining hall we were eating lunch), they don’t really practice physical yoga at all (though I’m sure many ashramites do) – they practiced devotional yoga, or Bhakti yoga, which basically is just what it sounds like: you seek spiritual fulfillment through devotion, typically to a chosen Guru or Deity. And at first, I didn’t really get it; I was thinking, well, how am I going to get enlightened just by being really really into this other enlightened person? And it doesn’t make sense to the ego-driven mind, where the goal of spiritual practice is some form of personal enlightenment. But that’s not how they see it here. See, when you’re devoted to a realized guru, you become a part of an enlightenment process, but you don’t have to become enlightened. In the Indian worldview there’s a respect for the natural order of life, a higher power beyond your personal will and ego striving for accomplishment, a Universal choice that trumps your personal choices, e.g. the decision of where and to whom and which species you will be born. While many people in the Western world would find such a view uncomfortable, disheartening, depressing, or ridiculous, there’s an element of it that’s quite freeing, if you are willing to embrace that Higher Power, that Divine Being, Brahman, surrendering your will to the Divine purpose. When you look at it as a surrender, you can feel embraced by the Universe, completely absorbed, supported, and loved, for exactly who you are, not for the person that you should be.
In the US, love is reserved for the physical world – whether it’s romantic love, which is mostly physical but is at least directed towards a physical person, or the love of money, power, objects. Materialism is the form of love that we understand. Spiritual Love – the Love of God, the Love of Spirit, the Love of Beauty, the Love of the Divine, is not seen as socially acceptable, except within specifically predetermined zones of society, like churches or ecstatic dances or full moon circles. I find the closeness and tangibility of Spiritual Love here in India absolutely soul-refreshing.
There are a lot of things about Pondicherry that are eerily familiar – certain streets, shops, colors, smells, even emotions. But there’s one element of my experience coming to India this time that I just can’t reconcile with my last one: Aphyna. From the moment we embarked on this trip together, she’s added a whole new dimension to the day to day trials and tribulations of living and moving through the Universe that I can barely understand, let alone describe. It’s like I have a friend, by my side, all the time. I’m not just traveling anymore; we’re traveling together. And so I don’t feel that feeling of alone-ness (not loneliness) that I felt last time, which I admit I needed to fully embrace so that I could find my own center (which being alone can really help one to do). This time around, I’m not alone – I have a mirror, a smile, a familiar face, a purchasing consultant, a fellow adventurer, a friend, a lover, an embrace, an extra backpack, a storyteller, an encouraging word, a kiss goodnight. This time around, I took a very real piece of home with me.
Oh, that reminds me of another little piece of home here: the mosquitos. Except the Indian mosquitos species somehow possess mystical superpowers. They’re treacherous, they’re ingenious, they’re equipped with some kind of camouflage mechanism that renders them invisible – and their bites itch 10x worse. And, worst of all, they LOVE Aphyna. I take it as incontrovertible evidence that she is, in fact, the sweetest creature on Earth. She is not amused. Just a little, maybe, between itches.
We’re thrilled by everything we’ve experienced so far – and it’s only just beginning! Tomorrow, we head out to our home away from home for the next couple months – Auroville.
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