the way of the dark clouds

[boudhinette]

introduction
no where to go in particular but meeting the world out there
the path starts at doorstep
the evenig star has risen over this passing world
the perfect "in the move' mood struck me again

it was cold in paris, icy fog dripping from the skelon like trees, xmas lights giving a poor shelter from the night
we took the tube and at the doorway met the shuttle man drivng us for free towards the new year party
a smooth night, happy smily people. colors. friends, and a groovy music!
sounded a bit like what was playing at groovy beach at the Boom last summer, great to go through the night>>>
the shuttle left us at the nearest RER subway but because it was holiday and early morning we had to wait 45mn way below zero in sweaty party clothes (a pair of short pans and a jumper) 
t'was a bit hard!
then some sleep and a long journey started
nearly got late at the airport for the first plane, which in turn was an hour late due to defrosting obligation. so nearly missed the flight connection, but we made it
then next thing we were in New dehli having skipped the night because of time difference, marcel's bag didn't arrive!
we reported but as we where not the only ones, it took ages! besides we were planning to go on the next day so there is no guarantee we ever see this bag again (bye bye mushrooms) 
at day break we took a taxi into town, foggy, gloomy like a devasted city with the metro work everywhere>
we managed to get a train ticket at the tourist booking office without having to wait too long and then found a hotel for a few hours of sleep. Phar ganj, the main bazar, is also a mess, they are digging for the used waters, mud and junk everywhere. but the indian are friendly and joyful as always, i learn that it was 4 degres this morning, nowonder I'm frezing!!!
in the evening after a full thalim the complete indian meal of rice pulses and vegies, we set for the old dehli railway station from where our train is leaving. dehli is but a big traffic jam , pollution is terrible even though they spread gaz ricskhaws all other
we get into the railway station and just before departure time an annoucement says our train has 8 hours delay because of foggy conditions! i can't beleve it! we are so exhausted and only willing to rest but no no no!!!
 
we waited the whole night until the supposed departure time that was already 9 hours and tehn another 5 hours trying to get infos, finally the damned train did arrive!   
we get into it, crash on our births and fall asleep instantaneously, but no no no  they come to wake us up half an hour later THE TRAIN IS FINALLY CANCELLED
patience, patience!
we go out, by the time it's ten a clock in the morning, i get into a queue to get our ticket refund
takes another hour but we get it!
then too confused to think of coming back to a shanty hotel trying our luck again with booking and the all scene, we got to the nearest bus stand in order to go to Rishikesh which is only a few hours away
get in the bus and tehn after an hour..... the bus brekes down!!!
took 9 hours instead of 6 so we arrive as carpets in the holy city of Rishikesh

[poulpyx]

On the road again 8)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiZXjHxgMaQ

[boudhinette]

getting out of the bus all dusty and sticky, people advice us to stay one night at the hotel in front because it's late and the "tourist area" is 7 km away, good advice, warm welcome at the hotel, a very tasty meal at the nearbye shop a bucket of hot water to wash and a long long night of sleep
welcome in Rishikesh, the sacred space of the rishi (great yogi)
next day we go to the Ganga river, how magestuous the river flows, green, clean and strong
a rejuveranating wash


we meet some bhramins who obviously have been drinking
now Rishikesh is a holy place, eating meat eggs and drinking alcohol is highly forbidden, especially for the brahmins, the priest cast. i tell them in my broken hindi and they are suddenly very embarrassed, apologizing over and over

in India, having a strong blessing through visual contact or just by touching is called "darsha" we had a good darshan at the river this time


then we crossed over the foot bridge. on the other side there are many ashrams looking here and ther we found a very nice room in a peacefull place, clean, friendly and cheap
we'll come tomorrow morning

[boudhinette]

today we explore the area around. this is a place of practice, one can feel it! many ashrams and many swamis. an ashram is the equivalent of a monastery, there is a daily routine, yoga classes, meditation session, lectures and question and answer sessions whiche is a particular form of teaching in the hindu tradition "satsang'
the swamis are dressed in orange and follow their practice but they all have mobile phone!!!! 

in the afternoon we go to yoga niketan where Sam used to stay 25 years ago, apparently the atmosphere is still the same ; serious praticionners around! we meditate a bit on the tumb of the great indian master, a very special feeling of deep concentration (samadhi)
later we go to ganga beach and do mahakala puja
cows are not really timid here

later we attend the ganga offering prayer in front of the wealthiest ashram of the area
now all these ashrams have become trusts, they own the land and started to build to make guest houses shops and rstaurants for the many pilgrims and tourist from all over india and the world. they have become very rich, still they are registered as charitable organisations and don't pay tax!
neverthelessm these places do provide  valuable teachings and trainings and in these decadent india have the mission to keep the traditional way of the vedas upright
ayrveda, yoga and the various path of meditations are practiced and taught here
it' like an island of peace and contemplation in busy modrn India
 

[boudhinette]

this is the ganga arhti, the evenig prayer to the river

there is a sacred fire from which lamps are lit and passed around in the crowd for blesing, later there are bajhans :devotional songs
next morning someone wakes us up at half past seven, sam's bag as arrived! incredible India, they found us in this ashram where one ca only come on foot across the bridge! happy to get back his clothes and mushrooms too!
this morning I attend a two hours yoga session in our ashram the teachers are westeners, it's a very valuable teaching both theoretical and praticalm it's called vikra yoga. I haen't been doing asana since somethig like twenty years, but with dauly meditation and chi kung i remained flexible and had no trouble doing all the asanas, the problem was to keep them for a while! for sure I woke up next morning with stiff muscles 
we spend some times at Ganga beachm weather is getting warmer, Sam takes his first bath in Ganga river

i have a cold so prefer to wait a bit for that. i go to see an ayrvedic doctor who gives me a syrup and some throat tabsm very very efficient, my bronchitis is almost cleared in a couple of day
ayruveda is a very ancient tradition of healing based on pusle diagnosis, herbal treatments combined with yogic asanas, appropriate diet and so on

[boudhinette]

we leave in a very beautifull surrondings, it's auiet and conducive to practice
here is the banyan tree just before our placem like everywhere in India, trees are worshiped

and here is one of the many nice spots around us, a coplex of temples, a garde, some swamis (hindu practitionners) and of course the many cows that hang around waiting for offerings, not forgetting the monkeys who grab and snatch what they can

to day we walk all the way aong the river to Laxman jhula which is the place where hanuman, the monkey god, sent an arrow. it has become a travellers area, many new guest houses and some ashrams too
now the rules are pretty stricts in Rishikeshm because it is a holy place you will find no meat nor eggs, no alcohol and also it is not allowed to smoke 

that's way people have moved to laxman jhula for more freedom, we go to a very nice place called pyramid cafe, a pyramid on the jungle above, with organic food, spirulina and kamputcha tea, chill out music, some dj's set sometimes in season, and a wifi connection!!!!
and amazing connection, the owner of the place is an old friend of mine 
we met back in 1979 in Nepal and kept meeting again untill I became a serious buddhist and stopped going to the travellers places 
it was nice to chat for a while reminding the old times but also talking about India's changes and fast development. he's going to Gokarna the next day so anyone travelling in Gokarna, visit his pyramid's cafe, a cool place to hang around

[boudhinette]

next day we go up to Nilkanth Mahadev, this is a pilgrim's place in the mountain wher lord Shiva is said to have drunk the deadly poison arisen from the churning of the milk ocean which was threatenig to kill all humans. he swallowed it and through his yogic powers, the poison got stuck in his throat whic became blue (nilkanth means blue throat)
it's a three hours trip going steeply up in the jungle. we saw peacocks, many monkeys and kinds of squirels but much larger. a very beautiful and peacefull walk. up there is a temple build around a huge banyan tree. after lunch we went on towards a cave, on the way we stopped on a ridge overlooking the valley and ganga river flowing away, we did mahakala puja in the light breeze, in the middle of the day the sun was hot, but it's pretty highm i would say 1200m when Rishikesh is only 300m above sea level
the countryside is traditional with farms and terrace fieds, people are very friendly and respectful here, which is not the rule in rural india!
then we went on and finally reached the cave. the forest was lush and wild, the place was awe stricking. the holy man stayed here 23 years and passed away theree years ago, some diciples of him keep the holy fire (dhuni) alive as well as his teachings.
unfortunately, my battery was out so i have no pics of this incredible place
we stayed a short while singing some mantras, offering incense and talking to the babas
a very intense experience
going down took three hours, well it was up and down and up again and finally a long way down at sunset, nearly got caught by the dark and met a few monkeys gangsm those back faces nasty ones!! 
we were a bit exhausted that evenign after 7 hours treck!!!

[boudhinette]

so the next day we have a kina day off 
in the mornign I go to the market to a music shop, i want o get some sarangui strings for a friend of ours, emile henri who plays with us back in francem the the shop is closed for the second time. India si pretty laid back in terms of schedules
later we spend the afternoon bu the river, I even take a bath. it's icy cold but really tonic, a good darshand from the himalayas
sun bathing after ; 

we do tara puja and then by evening mahakala
the babas are generally curious and respectfull towards our practice, i was a little bit afraid they may find the drum an ofence since it's an animal skin but they don't go that far!!! they watch us a while, and then pass their way, it's nothing more than 2 crazy foreigners doing their puja 

/but some kids found us and really enjoy it! they start to dance and clap hands etc... interesting to experience this connection through music, music is an universla language it is said, so through music different ways and tradition could meet in harmony
 

[boudhinette]

first i must apologize for the many typing mistakes you may find, but this is an indian computer  and having to pay for internet, one doesn't take too much time correcting mistakes
today we went to haridwar, another holy city on the banks of Ganga river, it's 25 km south of rishikesh and is the place were the Kumbha mela is held every few years. the story of the kumbha mela is so; when the gods and demons churned the milk ocean, after the poison chich shiva drunk appeared a vase of nectar of imortality : amrita. the demons stole it and flee away but 4 drops of nectar fell on 4 places: haridwar, allahabad, nask and ujjain. the drop of immortality comes back at these four places and certains dates that's why it is said that bathing at this occasion grants you i;ortality
i was at haridwar kumbha mela in 1986, today as we juped from the bus on the bye pass road we could see that there was a mela (festival) too
there is a colourfull crowd and a feeling of middle ages. lepers, beggars, poor pilgrims, holy men, snakes charmers and children in a joyfull mandala of sounds smells and colours

we stayed a bit by the main temple, the ganga river is very strong here and they have put some fences to prevent people from drowning
today is full moon so a special occasion

we did a short ceremony pouring water from the wishfulling spring of Aleyrac near our place back in france and replaced it with water from mother ganga, making wishes so that this purifying water may cleanses nowadays dark tendencies, so that peace and harmony may develop in the world. so like all rivers join in the ocean so all living beings may unite in love
 
then we walked several km along the river, a nice and cool walk towards the ashram of mahananda mai a female guru who was very muched respected, she was the incarnation of the mother godess, always loving and in perpetual bliss. we meditated a while near her tumb
then came back in time for mahakala puja at ganga beach near our place in rishikesh
we met a very beautiful japonese women who was a bit confused by the swami mafia business. alas! this is kali yuga : the dark ages! even swami who are supposed to be renunciants and holy beings are into business, and even sex it looks that she has been abused and has lost faith towards her guru. now this story i have heard many times already, how sad that some people make business out of the most valuable thing in the world ; spiritual teachings 
no wonder the world is getting crasy if the holy masters are falling into covetousness and lust 
she had very soft energy and i hope our meeting was a good connection for her, she enjoyed mahakala puja very much

[boudhinette]

today we went passed laxhman jhula upstream where the river flows  as a wild mountain stream between steep slopes of lush forest. we just had a easy going day so there is not much to say
as we were starting Tara puja oone of these freaked out mad guy came around,  :zarbi:a westerner, half naked and obviously out of his mind, but quiet and smiling. i've seen many of those in Goa but it's not necessarily the work of drugs, India is strong enough to blow your mind 
around here the jungle is pretty creative

in Hardwar yesterday we met a french lady who told us that there is an older french swami staying in mahananda mai ashram he is 94 and when he came to this place in the 50 there were tigers and elephants! i'm not surprised
 
a beautifull rock which looked like a cow

later as sam was resting I did mahakala pjua alone with the drum and an old swmi came behind me and joined with a flutem it was very beautiful!
ganga beach

[LIPO]

  ah ganga beach, I remember a lot of time there,
bathing in the cold ganga, so fresh...
have a nice trip 

[rajshasha]

  I often came there to medit, to read the bagava gita, it s really powerfull energy place 

[Excell inside]

quite funny to speak English each other, gäll 

[boudhinette]

quite funny to speak English each other, gäll 

yes but some other people are reading it too, so it's useful
today i can't uplod pics, the only ocmputer with a USB port is taken in the shop
this morning we had a visit from the monkeys, it's good that our balcony is fenced!! we gave them some bread, in India the monkeys are a real drag, they steal and make a lot of nuisance, they break  branches and even electric wire, water pipes and so on! yet as most animals, no one kills them so they are pretty familiar
this is the blackfaced visitor

trying to grab our bananas

now some friends went up to nilakanth yesterday and coming back at nigh fall they met....an elephant 
a wild one in the forest, no need to say they ran away pretty quick!!
in the afternoon we went to a place a little upstream where a baba used to sit in a cave, he passed away and the cave became a place of worship, i wonder if this is not  the baba you mentioned raj?

[LIPO]

quite funny to speak English each other, gäll 

sorry I'm a bad english writer