Ouf! With just over a week left in India, there just aren't enough hours in the day. It's going to be a crazy last few days - as though the previous ones weren't! So, in light of this, I will to be brief(er) in my final blogs. But I have so much to share!! But still, I will try. Ok, point form.
- Tuesday morning: up to rooftop at 6am (after only falling asleep around 1) as light rain begins. Rain picks up. Loud thunder and lightning as I listened to Charles Aznavour on my balcony. Torrential rain, as if to wash away all the colors from Holi. No electricity. Calmed enough by 8:30 that I was able to walk down to Ashish's for a great Iyengar class. Delicious muesli-fruit-curd-honey and chai for brunch. Sat by the Ganga to write more articles for Dr. Raj. Then to the rooftop yoga hall of a fancy hotel for a Sound Journey that my neighbor in Ananda, Leo, invited me to. They didn't do much advertising, wanting to keep it intimate, and after attending, I was so grateful for the invite. There were 3 musicians: Leo and 2 others, who played various instruments while walking around the hall as the 8 of us in attendance sat with eyes closed, absorbing the vibrations of the sublime sounds circling us. There was a hang drum, a didjeridoo, cymbals, singing bowls, flute, rain stick, and few other instruments I don't know the name of. It was out of this world. Back to the banks of the Ganga to watch the sun set. Sky cleared beautifully after this morning's rain.
- Wednesday morning: up at 7 for yoga at Prem Baba's from 8-9. Then Honey Hut for breakfast and reading The Times of India and The Hindustani Times. Back to PB's ashram, sat in front garden waiting for satsang to begin, as his sangha (his people, his followers) were doing their seva (selfless-service, karma yoga) around the ashram. It was incredibly beautiful to watch. People smiled and sang and chatted as laughed as they swept, mopped, gardened, cleaned toilets. Satsang was lovely as always. Then walked further uphill to Maa Yoga Ashram for my meeting with Amrit (Dr.Raj). On the way, for the second time this year, I stepped in fresh cow poo. Again with my eyes averted from the ground due to trying to avoid oncoming traffic. In French, we have a saying, "Jamais deux sans trois", so I'm expecting a third dung step before leaving. Once I arrived, I was invited to join Amrit for a delicious organic Indian lunch as we chatted. I would love to say more about the chat, but it would take up pages and pages. Those I will see back home will hear more! It was a fabulous and fruitful meeting. He invited to join his yoga class from 4-6, where we did some asanas (postures) in the hall and some pranayam (breathing) on the balcony, overlooking the majestic mountains. During asana, he said, "In some yoga classes, the teacher checks for alignment. In this class, I check for smiles!" After class, he showed me to his office, brought me a laptop, and I typed away, writing my first article/blogpost for a popular website he is a contributor to. I will share it with you soon. My first topic was The Power of Surrender. Many more are brewing. Dinner was brought up to me as I wrote, and after publishing, I was driven back to RamJhula by his personal chauffeur. Gotta admit, I felt a little like royalty.
- This morning: Early yoga at Prem Baba's again, Honey Hut for breakfast again, and then back to Prem Baba's for the final satsang of this India season. I felt a tinge of sadness knowing it was over until next year, but what I felt much more strongly was deep gratitude for what this hall and the energy of these people and the teachings and love from Prem Baba did for my soul. As satsang started today, like on the first day I was here two years ago, the inner gates opened and tears flowed. Tears of release, tears of recognition, tears of joy. I smiled through the tears, I sang through the tears, I danced through the tears. But by the end of satsang, the tears had stopped. And I was left with a feeling that, this time, I had not experienced in previous years. I felt a deep sense of stillness, of quiet, of peace. And I held it in my heart. And it remains.
- This evening I went to Children of the Ganges and taught them French. Their big eyes, their big smiles and their enthusiasm filled my heart with even more love than the day already had.
(Earlier, I mentioned a hang drum being played at the sound journey. It's an instrument I heard for the first time here two years ago at Trika bhajans. I immediately fell in love with the sound of this magical instrument. Here's one of my favorite pieces, enjoy!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=xk3BvNLeNgw&list=PL269B827E21C20BAD
- Tuesday morning: up to rooftop at 6am (after only falling asleep around 1) as light rain begins. Rain picks up. Loud thunder and lightning as I listened to Charles Aznavour on my balcony. Torrential rain, as if to wash away all the colors from Holi. No electricity. Calmed enough by 8:30 that I was able to walk down to Ashish's for a great Iyengar class. Delicious muesli-fruit-curd-honey and chai for brunch. Sat by the Ganga to write more articles for Dr. Raj. Then to the rooftop yoga hall of a fancy hotel for a Sound Journey that my neighbor in Ananda, Leo, invited me to. They didn't do much advertising, wanting to keep it intimate, and after attending, I was so grateful for the invite. There were 3 musicians: Leo and 2 others, who played various instruments while walking around the hall as the 8 of us in attendance sat with eyes closed, absorbing the vibrations of the sublime sounds circling us. There was a hang drum, a didjeridoo, cymbals, singing bowls, flute, rain stick, and few other instruments I don't know the name of. It was out of this world. Back to the banks of the Ganga to watch the sun set. Sky cleared beautifully after this morning's rain.
- Wednesday morning: up at 7 for yoga at Prem Baba's from 8-9. Then Honey Hut for breakfast and reading The Times of India and The Hindustani Times. Back to PB's ashram, sat in front garden waiting for satsang to begin, as his sangha (his people, his followers) were doing their seva (selfless-service, karma yoga) around the ashram. It was incredibly beautiful to watch. People smiled and sang and chatted as laughed as they swept, mopped, gardened, cleaned toilets. Satsang was lovely as always. Then walked further uphill to Maa Yoga Ashram for my meeting with Amrit (Dr.Raj). On the way, for the second time this year, I stepped in fresh cow poo. Again with my eyes averted from the ground due to trying to avoid oncoming traffic. In French, we have a saying, "Jamais deux sans trois", so I'm expecting a third dung step before leaving. Once I arrived, I was invited to join Amrit for a delicious organic Indian lunch as we chatted. I would love to say more about the chat, but it would take up pages and pages. Those I will see back home will hear more! It was a fabulous and fruitful meeting. He invited to join his yoga class from 4-6, where we did some asanas (postures) in the hall and some pranayam (breathing) on the balcony, overlooking the majestic mountains. During asana, he said, "In some yoga classes, the teacher checks for alignment. In this class, I check for smiles!" After class, he showed me to his office, brought me a laptop, and I typed away, writing my first article/blogpost for a popular website he is a contributor to. I will share it with you soon. My first topic was The Power of Surrender. Many more are brewing. Dinner was brought up to me as I wrote, and after publishing, I was driven back to RamJhula by his personal chauffeur. Gotta admit, I felt a little like royalty.
- This morning: Early yoga at Prem Baba's again, Honey Hut for breakfast again, and then back to Prem Baba's for the final satsang of this India season. I felt a tinge of sadness knowing it was over until next year, but what I felt much more strongly was deep gratitude for what this hall and the energy of these people and the teachings and love from Prem Baba did for my soul. As satsang started today, like on the first day I was here two years ago, the inner gates opened and tears flowed. Tears of release, tears of recognition, tears of joy. I smiled through the tears, I sang through the tears, I danced through the tears. But by the end of satsang, the tears had stopped. And I was left with a feeling that, this time, I had not experienced in previous years. I felt a deep sense of stillness, of quiet, of peace. And I held it in my heart. And it remains.
- This evening I went to Children of the Ganges and taught them French. Their big eyes, their big smiles and their enthusiasm filled my heart with even more love than the day already had.
(Earlier, I mentioned a hang drum being played at the sound journey. It's an instrument I heard for the first time here two years ago at Trika bhajans. I immediately fell in love with the sound of this magical instrument. Here's one of my favorite pieces, enjoy!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=xk3BvNLeNgw&list=PL269B827E21C20BAD
Beautiful music, I love it !
ReplyDeleteI'm listening to all the YouTube that follow your link and am in a meditative state.
The only other piece of music that I enjoyed meditating on before was Gabrieli's Miserere.
Thank you Erika.
Je suis en train d'ecouter Miserere... vraiment super beau. Different du hang drum, mais les deux nous transportent dans un autre univers...
DeleteMon erreur, le compositeur n'est pas Gabrieli, mais plutôt Gregorio Allegri. Les voix y sont divines...
Delete