OK, so we had our marriage ceremony in Rishikesh on the 23rd. It was incredible. Two hours long and full of such deep and complicated ceremony it would be almost impossible to describe. We took plenty of pictures.
In other news, I fell down a flight of stone stairs last night directly onto my shoulder/nose. It's miraculous I did not die or break anything, honestly. People around us (including Lauren, whom I felt terrible for) were panicking, with blood pouring out of my face. Lauren says it's the worst fall she's ever seen. Hospital did x-rays and my nose is not broken, how I have no idea. There's still some bleeding and a lot of swelling, but I am fine. I am meant to live longer, obviously. Things here are great otherwise. McLeod Ganj is amazing; it's where the Dalai Lama lives when he's not traveling. Stunning landscape. Life is amazing...
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Niranjana Welfare Trust
(Lauren) I cannot write enough of the amazing work that Siddhartha has done since we had last met. Here is a guy for one of the poorest areas of India, when I met him 10 years ago he had big plans to help the children of Bihar. I had my doubts how this would be possible for him, but 10 years later he has surpassed my wildest expectations! He started an orphanage that shelters about 40 children, a school that teaches about 350 students, and a health clinic that people travel from a 30 mile radius to visit. We feel in love with the staff and children and are so passionate to come home and fund raise for them to support this amazing work. I spoke to a woman last night who told me that people might not be interested in what we saw in India and might not give, but we really hope this is not the case. Being in the midst of this kind of poverty and desparation has changed both of us and I am hoping we can help in whatever way we can. It really puts things in perspective: it take about 40$ a month to house a child at the orphanage so how can I return and buy an un-needed dress when a child could be learning in school or performing child labor and we as Americans have so much power with our dollar, yes even in a weak economy. I think the current economic situation can cause a tendency for people to seal up their wallets, but how amazing would it be if we did the opposite. if this time could instead be an awakening that hot water, big houses and cars, freedom are not a right but a priveledge that few are born with? I can no longer turn my back. rant end.
better (Steve)
Feeling much better at the moment after spending all of yesterday in bed and bathroom. It's amazing how many conflicting things happen in this country at any given time. This evening we walked down to the ruins of the ashram where the Beatles stayed in '68. It was very peaceful, a beautiful location at the lower end of town. The sunset over the Ganges there was stunning. Then we had a very relaxing meal lying on some cushions and tomorrow it's the wedding ceremony! Life is crazy...
Bodh Gaya
The train right to Bodh Gaya was a hoot! We decided to take 'sleeper' class which is a cheaper class since we were not spending the night, and boy did we meet some characters. The most memorable was Vivek. Vivek at first seemed just manic. Telling us stories, asking our opinion of Bollywood and Slumdog Millionaire, etc. Another Indian man in our car kept pointing to Vivek and making a 'crazy' gesture when he caught my eye. There were two sweet Japanese guys who did not speak much english. Vivek, it turned out, was actually quite drunk. He had a water bottle and let me smell it at one point and I believe it was filled with a type of straight up moonshine! As he became drunker, he got more out of control and the other Indians kept trying to throw he out, but he would reappear. The strange thing about Vivek was that he was very intelligent and quite witty. He explained that he was the only man alive that could 'bake a birthday cake in a pressure cooker' and offered us as he put it glimpes of 'mind-blowing history' as he recounted the dates and events of both world wars. It turned out also he did not have a ticket to ride so the ticket collector tried to throw him off which started a fight in our car and eventually Vivek passed out down the hall in another berth.
Siddhartha (my dear Indian friend that I met in college in 1999) picked us up from the train station in Gaya and dropped us at the Burmese Vihar (my home for 4 months junior year of college for the Buddhist Studies program) I had returned here in 2003, but it was so nice to come back. Like coming home. In fact, everyone remembered me, not by name, but by face. So special after three hectic large cities to come here! We passed out.
Breakfast was at the 'Pole Pole' (tent restaurant across the street that has been there for ever) Siddhartha's charity picked us up to take us to Sujata village across the 'river' no river right now b/c it is dry season....
Siddhartha (my dear Indian friend that I met in college in 1999) picked us up from the train station in Gaya and dropped us at the Burmese Vihar (my home for 4 months junior year of college for the Buddhist Studies program) I had returned here in 2003, but it was so nice to come back. Like coming home. In fact, everyone remembered me, not by name, but by face. So special after three hectic large cities to come here! We passed out.
Breakfast was at the 'Pole Pole' (tent restaurant across the street that has been there for ever) Siddhartha's charity picked us up to take us to Sujata village across the 'river' no river right now b/c it is dry season....
Yoga with Raju
(Lauren) Update: Steve is worlds better after hefty doses of cipro and a magic red pill (we are not sure what this one is?).
I forgot to mention our yoga teacher in Varanasi- Raju. Raju is cool beans. He studied with several teachers up in the himalayas and now teachers 5 2-hour classes every day! We loved working with him and were able to get some private lessons. He put me in some postures I have only seen in yoga journal and other photos. Several I though no way in hell am I getting into that and then he would yell- "reach, go, lift, now hold!!" and then would grab my camera and photograph me. I wish I could only post these! He wants me to return and be his student for a few months. I would love to and will stay open to this possibility.
He is also a vedic astrologer and freely offered me a spontaneous reading. On the first day. He explained that I hold emotion tight within me and that the emotions well up in my yoga practice. Actually every intuitive that I have spoken with has told me the same thing, but it was nice to have this reminder.
The next day he told me much more (some good things here, but my head has not blown up too much): he said that in a few years (about three) I would have a big break through, he implied fame of some sort and that I would be immensely successful. He read my palm and saw that I have clashes with both my mom and sister. He said that I hold much power inside the kind of power that could rule an entire country and if I tuned into it I could use this power for whatever I seek. He saw that my largest obstacle is trouble with communication, which is the other thing I am already aware of. Steve was a bit sore he took no interest in his palm; his theory is that he has a crush on me, but I don't think so, or would rather not.
I forgot to mention our yoga teacher in Varanasi- Raju. Raju is cool beans. He studied with several teachers up in the himalayas and now teachers 5 2-hour classes every day! We loved working with him and were able to get some private lessons. He put me in some postures I have only seen in yoga journal and other photos. Several I though no way in hell am I getting into that and then he would yell- "reach, go, lift, now hold!!" and then would grab my camera and photograph me. I wish I could only post these! He wants me to return and be his student for a few months. I would love to and will stay open to this possibility.
He is also a vedic astrologer and freely offered me a spontaneous reading. On the first day. He explained that I hold emotion tight within me and that the emotions well up in my yoga practice. Actually every intuitive that I have spoken with has told me the same thing, but it was nice to have this reminder.
The next day he told me much more (some good things here, but my head has not blown up too much): he said that in a few years (about three) I would have a big break through, he implied fame of some sort and that I would be immensely successful. He read my palm and saw that I have clashes with both my mom and sister. He said that I hold much power inside the kind of power that could rule an entire country and if I tuned into it I could use this power for whatever I seek. He saw that my largest obstacle is trouble with communication, which is the other thing I am already aware of. Steve was a bit sore he took no interest in his palm; his theory is that he has a crush on me, but I don't think so, or would rather not.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Dead kids and dogs in the Ganges
(Lauren) I realize that I am writing about a lot of horrible things, but I assure you we are having a wonderful time and yes, Jannon, many third-eye openings!!
That night we sat at the main cremation ghat (where they burn bodies) and have for thousands of years. In fact, Varanasi is over 3,000 years old! Steve was overwhelmed by this as having never confronted human death in this way. We watch human heads and feet and everything other part go up in flames. This might disgust some of you who are reading this, but I am a firm believer that the way we hide death in the USA is destructive. Many of us are so out of touch with our mortality and therefore taken this precious fleeting life for granted. Anyway, we sat for a long time and learned that the only people who are burn in the pyre are married Hindus everyone else is thrown directly into the ganges. So children, unmarried women, pregnant women, holy sadhus and priest whole corpses chucked in. We watched this happen... a boat carried several children out into the middle of the river and dropped them in. Steve and I are amazed to think of how many hundreds of thousands of bodies are sitting there in front of us at the bottom of the ganges!
Our last morning we took a boat ride at sunrise to watch the bathers and all the religious rites take place. There is really no place like this, and today the energy is again calm and wonderfully peaceful in town. A furry carcass floated by and I asked the boat wallah what is this?, A dead dog floating down the river.
So get this, countless human and animal bodies floating in the ganges here... AND people bath daily here, swim here, DRINK the water here, brush their teeth in it, wash their clothes and everything else you can imagine. Did I mention that the sewage is also emptied into it. I cannot seem to expand my mind to really get how this all works, but this is Varanasi and there are dolphins. yep, a special fresh water ganga dolphin that is only found here! I have seem them jump next to a corpse bopping around out there. Yes you must come here to believe this insanity.
I must admit I love Varanasi and so do the people who live here. It is believed among Hindus that if you die here you will stop the cycle of reincarnation and find moksha or liberation.
Now the evening train to Bodh Gaya...
That night we sat at the main cremation ghat (where they burn bodies) and have for thousands of years. In fact, Varanasi is over 3,000 years old! Steve was overwhelmed by this as having never confronted human death in this way. We watch human heads and feet and everything other part go up in flames. This might disgust some of you who are reading this, but I am a firm believer that the way we hide death in the USA is destructive. Many of us are so out of touch with our mortality and therefore taken this precious fleeting life for granted. Anyway, we sat for a long time and learned that the only people who are burn in the pyre are married Hindus everyone else is thrown directly into the ganges. So children, unmarried women, pregnant women, holy sadhus and priest whole corpses chucked in. We watched this happen... a boat carried several children out into the middle of the river and dropped them in. Steve and I are amazed to think of how many hundreds of thousands of bodies are sitting there in front of us at the bottom of the ganges!
Our last morning we took a boat ride at sunrise to watch the bathers and all the religious rites take place. There is really no place like this, and today the energy is again calm and wonderfully peaceful in town. A furry carcass floated by and I asked the boat wallah what is this?, A dead dog floating down the river.
So get this, countless human and animal bodies floating in the ganges here... AND people bath daily here, swim here, DRINK the water here, brush their teeth in it, wash their clothes and everything else you can imagine. Did I mention that the sewage is also emptied into it. I cannot seem to expand my mind to really get how this all works, but this is Varanasi and there are dolphins. yep, a special fresh water ganga dolphin that is only found here! I have seem them jump next to a corpse bopping around out there. Yes you must come here to believe this insanity.
I must admit I love Varanasi and so do the people who live here. It is believed among Hindus that if you die here you will stop the cycle of reincarnation and find moksha or liberation.
Now the evening train to Bodh Gaya...
Varanasi, Benares, or Kashi (City of Light)
(Lauren)
Following our 'grand' entrance into Varanasi, we found our hotel had overbooked and we did not have a room. The owner of the Hotel Alka is a cute man and reminds of Ted (hi Ted). He brought us to his 'other' hotel not directly on the ghats (piers on the ganges), but much nicer and quieter than the one we had chosen. Our room was huge with hot water!! and a nice open air court yard. We spent the day walking along the ghats. Met a nice hippy from Hawaii named Sky and watched the evening puja with him. We tooks some amazing photos (wish I was savvy enough) to post but will when I return to US.
The next day was more exploring, sleeping (still recovering from jet lag) We treated ourselves to a lavish visit at the Hotel Surya where we both got Ayurvedic massages and ate at their plush restaurant overlooking the garden.
The energy in Varanasi is not as positive as I remember it for these last two days. I think due to Holi, the men are totally WASTED and I mean totally. Liked massive amount of a moonshine equivalent, hash, and tobacco. My theory is b/c sexuality is repressed here and most men only have sex with the wives (often arranged) and maybe some prostitutes, when a big holiday like Holi come they go out of their minds and feel free to act recklessly. The Indian women seem to know this and stay shut in, but since this was our only time in Varanasi, I and other western women were out and about. Many Indian men already view western women as loose with their sexuality... and so the combo of all of this leads to trouble for the traveling ladies. Hence I was grabbed about 4 times by random men and many countless comments were made. I was able to overlook most of this, but did get mad at Steve on several occasions for not defending my honor. I'm not sure what I expected him to do, but he did nothing and that pissed me off. I believe he had no idea what to do and was totally unprepared to deal with this kind of attack. In retrospect if he had done anything it probably would had made the situation worse.
The worst grab was a group of men who came up behind me and once grabbed my butt, I turned around and began beating him and yelling every mean thing I could invent in the moment. Steve had no idea what was happening. It's actually funny, Indian men try these type of things and then when you confront them, they become babies and apologize and run away. Still at the time, I was not laughing and hit Steve out of frustration and then broke down in the restaurant a few moment later bawling. I think its just the feeling of violation is overwhelming, scary, and leaves on in a state of feeling very very far from home.
Following our 'grand' entrance into Varanasi, we found our hotel had overbooked and we did not have a room. The owner of the Hotel Alka is a cute man and reminds of Ted (hi Ted). He brought us to his 'other' hotel not directly on the ghats (piers on the ganges), but much nicer and quieter than the one we had chosen. Our room was huge with hot water!! and a nice open air court yard. We spent the day walking along the ghats. Met a nice hippy from Hawaii named Sky and watched the evening puja with him. We tooks some amazing photos (wish I was savvy enough) to post but will when I return to US.
The next day was more exploring, sleeping (still recovering from jet lag) We treated ourselves to a lavish visit at the Hotel Surya where we both got Ayurvedic massages and ate at their plush restaurant overlooking the garden.
The energy in Varanasi is not as positive as I remember it for these last two days. I think due to Holi, the men are totally WASTED and I mean totally. Liked massive amount of a moonshine equivalent, hash, and tobacco. My theory is b/c sexuality is repressed here and most men only have sex with the wives (often arranged) and maybe some prostitutes, when a big holiday like Holi come they go out of their minds and feel free to act recklessly. The Indian women seem to know this and stay shut in, but since this was our only time in Varanasi, I and other western women were out and about. Many Indian men already view western women as loose with their sexuality... and so the combo of all of this leads to trouble for the traveling ladies. Hence I was grabbed about 4 times by random men and many countless comments were made. I was able to overlook most of this, but did get mad at Steve on several occasions for not defending my honor. I'm not sure what I expected him to do, but he did nothing and that pissed me off. I believe he had no idea what to do and was totally unprepared to deal with this kind of attack. In retrospect if he had done anything it probably would had made the situation worse.
The worst grab was a group of men who came up behind me and once grabbed my butt, I turned around and began beating him and yelling every mean thing I could invent in the moment. Steve had no idea what was happening. It's actually funny, Indian men try these type of things and then when you confront them, they become babies and apologize and run away. Still at the time, I was not laughing and hit Steve out of frustration and then broke down in the restaurant a few moment later bawling. I think its just the feeling of violation is overwhelming, scary, and leaves on in a state of feeling very very far from home.
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