Greetings from Rishikesh, India. My exact coordinates are http://maps.google.com/maps?f=
So far I have spent most of my time in Rishikesh, which sits on the banks of the gray, cold Ganges River surrounded by dry foothills of the Himalaya.
My mission in India like many travelers is to learn more about spirituality. Rishikesh considers itself the spiritual capital of the world. So far the highlights have been attending a wedding and staying in an ashram.
I traveled to the wedding with my friend Sanjay. The wedding was between the son of his guru and another women, both who I had never met. My only connection to wedding was that I knew Sanjay, so I was excited to observe a wedding from the sidelines and learn what its all about. However, divine fate had different plans for Pill-up (as I am called here).
We walked through the dark streets of Rishikesh and heard techno music in the distance. Soon there were bright lights and banners of orange and green. We walked into the wedding on green astro turf. Hundreds of people mingled and ten danced to the loud pulsing beat. Sanjay said lets dance. I began to dance, timidly, wondering how many faces are watching the only white guy there. Sanjay encouraged with a big smile coming under his mustache saying "dance, Phillip dance, feel at home." As I began to sweat in the hot Indian night, we moved to the food buffet. People elbowed each other to take food from the tables. Two hours into the festivities and I had seen hide nor hair of the bride or groom. I learned that only the bride's family and friends were in attendance so far.
Sanjay guided me to the door to meet the groom and his family. As we walked into the street a feeling of Mardi Gras came over me. People jumped up and down. Hands waved and horns played unfamiliar scales as a man talked energetically into a bullhorn. Sanjay pushed me into the sweaty middle of people and encouraged me to dance. Soon I was dancing with more grown men. The groom walked in studded in shiny jewels and face covered by a velvet crown with sparkly bangles hanging down. Sanjay grabbed me from dancing soon I was walking in with the groom.
With the clock approaching 11 pm and the bride still unseen, we set out to find the bride. We walked to another building up 2 flights of stairs to find the bride and her maids sitting on the floor talking. I told the bride good luck with her marriage and we went back to the party. Sanjay told me later that the bride had only met the groom 2 times before and that the marriage had been arranged by the parents as many are in India. Later in the night, the bride and groom walked upon a raised revolving platform and gave each other a ley necklace and the ceremony ended.
The next day I decided to fulfill my goal of spiritual attainment by going to an ashram (or place of striving) A large white dome with a gold lotus flame exploding from the top, marked my location for the next week. There, I practiced Kriya Yoga, a yogic technique taught by Lahiri Mahasay, whereby the sensory tumult is stilled permitting man to achieve an ever increasing identity with cosmic consciousness." To me it means learning to live in the present. During the day, I practiced meditation and sat with eyes closed and focused on the breath. The process is difficult because of the many thoughts that come into the brain. The ashram atmosphere is quiet and men dressed in ochre-colored robes pass slowly by. Our meals are delicious vegetarian cuisine served by a slightly feminine male cook. I eat sometimes with my hands, as is the Indian custom.
That's all the news from here in Rishikesh. Namaste
