Spring 2007 Germany and Austria Travel

We traveled to Rishikesh to study the philosophy of Sri Vidya at the feet of Swami Veda Bharati, disciple of Swami Rama and my direct teacher.

When we arrived at this oasis, we had a mere 4 hours of sleep in the last 48. We were overwhelmed by India just two days into our trip. The first shocks hit you at the airport - luggage conveyors, but they don't work (for lack of parts or electricity - who knows). Rather, luggage is litterally dumped in one huge heap. Then, you exit the airport into the corral. 50 or so Indians all clammering to carry your luggage. The purpose, I think, of the corral is to offer travel weary tourist time to compose themselves. But, there's no way around it, you have to leave the corral. As soon as you do, one person grabs each of bags and runs. Ultimately, they run your bags to the correct bus and simply would like to be rewarded for the service. Quite nice actually!

Each morning we crossed the Mother Ganges over this pontoon bridge before catching a vikram or taxi on route the Sadhana Mandir and the lectures of the day. The line "we cross this bridge every day" became an important reminder that every day we cross the bridge into life!

This small shop is where I had my Kurtas taylored that I would wear for the rest of the trip.

It had been a long day and we were returning home very tired and under the pressure of the fact that we were returning after curfew. Anxious to get home quickly and nervous about what might happen if we were caught, we pannicked when we discovered the driver dropped us off at the wrong bridge, which was quite far from our home. We were dropped at the high bridger over the Ganges - the wind was strong, the sky a deep midnight blue with gorgeous grey and white clouds marching furiously accross the sky. Crossing the bridge was a long, breathless, other-wordly experience as it swayed with the wind. Now the walk down the lane past the shuttered shops where halfway down the lane, at a clearing, I looked out to the Ganges and stopped mid step. Shining brilliant white against the midnight blue sky were Krishna and Arjuna and their charriot! The power of that vision is an example of the highs and lows experienced constantly in India! A moment of fear swiftly overcome by a moment of complete awe!

The man who lovingly tended the garden was also a Shaivite priest.

Swami Veda Bharati began each lecture began with a meditation, connecting himself with the tradition of the yogis and preparing our minds to recieve.

Pandi Hari Shankar Dabral purchasing sweets for our day trip to Kunjapuri Devi Temple.

In the modern world, we took a 45 minute taxi ride up the mountaint to the Kunjapuri Devi Temple. Still, these stairs provided the sense that we had reached a place of pilgrimage.

After listening to Pandit Dabral chnating the names of the Mother Goddess, we ate our sweet treats and emerged onto the hilltop.

The view from the Kunjapuri Devi Temple revealed layer after layer of mountains.

The Vanprastha Cafe was a frequent destination for food. One of the most special moments took place when we saw the cook walking out behind the restaurant to pray in before cooking the next meal. The paneer paranthas and mattar (peas) paneer were delightful and our days were blessed.

This became a magic spot for us, as the air was filled with music. One day as we passed by the sounds of Ravi Shankar's Chant CD was filling the air, providing the perfect backdrop to our pilgrimage to the Himalayas.

The spring festival of Holi is a festival of colors, which the shops in Rishikesh revealed in the full spectrum of colors.

Somehow I became the master of ceremonies for the seminars evening of celebration.

Haridware

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Our favorite Indian restaurant is Gaylords. Whenever we are in a city with a Gaylord, we eat there as often as we can. We waited for this moment with great anticipation! It was a pure pleasure and a great memory for us! (Though, Kandahar in The Oberoi Hotel in New Delhi is hands down the best Indian restaurant we have ever experienced!)

The art dealer at our hotel was a wonderful man and the art we brought with us back home has been a constant inspiration. The image of Ganesha at the top of the "Evolutionary Astrology" page came from his shop.

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As we left the Taj Mahal, we were exhausted and knew that we had a long train ride back to Delhi. In Agra, one is constantly solicited for any number of reasons. Near the exit of the park, we encountered Sanjay. Frankly, our first thought was, how to politely get beyond the kid. Well, he was quite pursuasive and a lovely being. Gladly, we spoke with Sanjay for about 20 minutes. Sanjay spoke perfect English and possesed an incredibly entrepreneurial sprirt. In the end, we were not interested in the trinket he was offerrng for money. But, we wanted simply to give him some money. Sanjay refused indicating that he had been taught by his parents not to accept money without providing something in return. So, we completely agreed and exchanged some rupees for his lovely trinket!

Naturally, we were caught off guard at this coffee shop - a typical tourist moment. I was surprised by both how big the brownies were and how expensive. But, we had an amusing cup of coffee while enjoying the scent in the air.

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Sri Vidya and Shivaratri in India - 1998 - Scott Wolfram of The Traveler's Well