So, second leg. I’m including a quick excursion to Varkala as part of my second step of my Journey. I left the Ashram a day early and went to Varkala, by the sea, where quite a few people I’d met in Neyyer Dam were going. I met a great new friend who I shared a room with for the night and we ended up running into quite a few people. Varkala is a mix between a temple town, I’ll admit I didn’t visit any, and a tourist destination by the sea. An entire strip of the land by the cliffs and the water is one booth after another of clothing, Indian wares, restaurants, hotels, inns, jewelry, so on and so forth. Rarely is there space left available. I had a bit of a shopping bug in me and managed to keep it down to a new colorful outfit, surely to be seen in pictures, some anklets and a skirt. I definitely packed badly for the trip. I’ll get into that more later. We had a beautiful room at the ends of the cliff; so quieter, with a pool and a deck with a lovely view of the sea in the near distance. It was absolutely what I needed after the last few weeks and so worth the extra expense of the trip over. If ever you find yourself in Southern India, swing by Varkala. There are Ayurvedic shops, yoga, temples, shopping, and really anything one could want in a lovely ocean setting. I highly recommend it! We had a lovely Italian dinner and I couldn’t have been happier when my dear Sweet Alison and her boyfriend walked by us!!! We didn’t know if we were going to be 2 ships passing in the night as I had no idea where she was staying and she wasn’t sure when I was making it in, so I said a little prayer that I hoped we ran into each other and how happy could I be that we did!? We hadn’t seen each other since Yoga Teacher Training Graduation, December 12, in LA! She sends her love to everyone back in LA, by the way. She is amazing, absolutely amazing as usual... <3 my Bhakti Sister Alison! Hopefully, our paths will cross again in Dharamsala next month... We also got to run into some of our Ashram ex-pats... It was such a wonderful night full of joy and laughter and great new friends. Hopefully my path will cross with theirs again as well... What great, great people! Here’s to you David (please thank Billy for that amazing green lemonade thing, it was divine), Paddy (Superhawk), Vari, and Fran!!!! Blessings to all of you on your paths!!!! I also got a GREAT picture of some North Face gear on mannequins dressed for the Himalayas, that I can’t wait for my TNF friends to see... I love seeing that stuff when I’m traveling. This was funnier though because they were super bundled up and ready to go when it was 100F yesterday...
Mumbai:
I now find myself in the Radhagopinath Temple in Chowpatty, outside of Mumbai. This is the home of Radhanath Swami, whom I met last year at Bhakti Fest. To say he has had a profound affect on me is an understatement. If you’ve read “Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramansa Yogananda I highly recommend his book “The Journey Home” by Radhanath Swami. And, if you struggle with Autobiography of a Yogi, Radhanath Swami’s book is a perfect book for you...
In short, he is a Swami in India, from Chicago. He came to India in 1969, in search... What he found and has created is powerful and far reaching. He is the first “Holy Man”, for lack of a better term, who has been able to ‘speak to me’. I liken it to finding a Pastor or Father in a church, as a Christian, who can deliver the message of God in a way you understand. It’s all God, right? HHRS (His Holiness Radhanath Swami) has done this for me. He has painted a picture, told many stories and explained the human relationship with God in a way that completely personalizes it for me. He is one of the people in my life who has brought me God.
I have a long and interesting relationship with religion. I have, in essence, rejected organized religion all my life. This relationship has shifted over the last year. I pray. I talk to God, in many forms. I sing to God. I sing about God. I talk to God. I still have ‘issue’ with dogma and some of the interpretations of the words of God; however, not necessarily the word of God Himself. This, along with my teacher training, the leap of faith I took last year and study of the Bhagavad Gita have profoundly affected my human relationships as well as my divine relationships. What I appreciate about Hindu philosophy is it’s inclusion and acceptance of all faiths and religions; though, you will still most likely never find me as a secularist, an exclusionist or preachy. I include your belief and the guy in the streets belief and find no fault in how we each choose to have a relationship with the divine, whatever you want to call the divine; be it Krishna, Science, God, Jesus, Kali, Allah, Cosmic, whatever... It’s all good.
So, today marks the beginning of a journey with HHRS. I am absolutely speechless in gratitude that this is happening for me. I was bereft when I saw him last and didn’t know when I would be able to partake in his wisdom again. That my path has brought me here, now, is amazing. How lucky. My path has been so blessed. So, the next few posts, I’m sure, will shift from a very physical experience to a much more metaphysical and deeply personal (on a whole different level) experience. Rarely do I feel nerves for what’s ahead for me. I generally meet most experiences with excitement and eyes wide. Because I feel some of this nervousness I know there is something rich, deep and transformative for me here. I am open to and excited to this next step.
Until next time friends.
Side note, my “getting here” was a complete and utter jeux-to-position of my getting here at the ashram. Prem Gauranga Das picked me up at the airport and was the perfect greeting for me. Jason showed me around the temple grounds, imparting some of his great wisdom of the lineage and the “why’s” of being Hindu and we sat and had an absolutely beautiful dinner sharing stories. I feel so cared for and welcome and ‘held’. My wellspring of gratitude is finding it’s depths, that’s for sure.
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