Pune - Osho

We arrived to Koregon park – the local back packer hang out – by about 11 at night. We headed to the busy German bakery, and found an old friend of Ananda’s. Things seem to have a way of resolving themselves in Pune. They ‘just’ work out. Interestingly, I have been having many déjà vu experiences here… Maybe it’s the energy? What ever it is, it is very intense.

Pune provided a location to settle down for two weeks and not need to worry about where we were off to next. Pune is also home to the Osho Meditation Resort. After taking a quick tour of the grounds and getting all the details about fees and the general rules, I walked away with a sour taste in my mouth – and two books… I talked to a few people who have been to the ashram and found that many people who have been avoid talking about it because of the negative image that so many people have of it. I think that this is partially due to negative publicity that the ashram has received in the past 30 years, as well as the alternative approach of many of the ideas and meditative techniques that are used. But as my dad used to say; you have to try everything once. So after debating and procrastinating go to the ashram I took the plunge and went to the welcome morning introductory class.

For all first timers they suggest taking the “Welcome Morning” tour so that you get a little introduction to the activities in the ashram. Well our group was fortunate enough to get a great guide, an Italian from Rome who moved to India some 25 years ago. He was incredibly charismatic and funny, and there was something in his voice that was reminding me of something… But what was it?

The “Welcome Morning” introduced us to the three main types of meditation that is done at the resort: Dynamic, Kundalini, and Nadabrahma meditation. Before anyone of the group could say it, the guide was describing our thoughts; “I could be in Goa right now, what crazy things are these people going to do to me, what would my mother think if she saw me doing this?” Almost as if he was reading my mind! But after the awkwardness of the first few exercises things really started to take flight.. (Then I realized what it was that the welcome morning instructor was reminding me of – his voice was identical to that of Triumph the Insult Dog. It was almost unbearable to keep myself from laughing… “For me to poop on!”) The guide described meditation as not allowing an “idea” or “thought” to grab your mind and go for a walk. Attempting to distance oneself from your thoughts, and just watch them go by, like a movie reel! This doesn’t mean that you need to be still, but in the beginning it is easier this way. This definition really resonated with me, as this what happens when mountain biking and practicing Jiu-Jistu.

After the introduction I went off to lunch. There is a local tali restaurant where you can eat all that you want and it only costs 35 Rs. ( $1.00 CND)! Interestingly, everyone there was wearing a maroon robe – they were all Oshoites. Then I was off to try some of the meditations in the Osho Pyramid. The Nadadrahma Meditation was a total trip! The first stage consisted of sitting for 30 minutes. I knew something powerful was happening as my leg fell asleep, then all of a sudden it stopped hurting, then I wiggled my toe and bam, then pain came back! Dam I was taking control of my mind then I let an idea bring me back, Then maybe 45 minutes into the meditation, I felt these orbs of heat in my hands, followed by an almost instantaneous warmth in my lower belly – but that might have been the tali…

The walk home was great, really chilled. Sure some of the things were a little hokey, but you can’t judge, you just have to do it. I will defiantly enjoy the next week at the ashram, looking forward to Zen Archery and getting deeper into the meditations.

The second day at the Ashram was with Ananda, we went and did the Dynamic Meditation, followed by the Tai Chi, then Laughing Drums, Lunch then Nadabrahma then the White Robe with the Audio talk and a little Dance…. It seemed to be a little too much as it was almost 7 hours of intenseness! But Monday and Tuesday gave an opportunity for relaxing and reflection on the past few days.

It was defiantly a positive experience but on my final day at the ashram things took a bit of a nose dive. The meditations did not seem to be affecting me in the same way. But that it to be expected and one cannot get upset about that, simply practice a little more. But then at the white robe and audio talk (where they show a video recording or one of the countless Osho talks) it totally fell apart. The talk was about genetic engineering and how beneficial it would be to the future of human beings. But the silliness and verbal diarrhea that was being said was too much for many, as they were walking out… Kind of a sour note to end on but our time was up, and we had to move on. As we had a flight to catch to Kerala!

I’ll post some pics next time!
Ciao for now!

Udaipur

We arrived to Udaipur after spending the night on a sleeper bus. Luckily we were in the first set of bunks, so we did not get tossed around as compared to the back of the bus, we actually fit quite nicely with our packs and all. Thank goodness for portable music. Udaipur immediately proved to be was the most chilled out place thus far. Very good vibe, and it is where Octapussy was filmed!

We stumbled into a guest house at about 5:30 am, praying that they would have some rooms available… We crashed in a room until 10:00 am, changed to what has been the best room thus far, lake view, clean and white. But at 700 Rupees it was a little pricey. We were in the heart of the tourist hood, with loads of restaurants at our fingertips. We stumbled on a hotel with cooking classes, and were reeled in when the teacher gave us a taste of her cooking! Wow, by far the best Indian food we have had. Good thing wee tried the food, as the price of the cooking class was steep - $25 for 3 hour lesson, and lunch included, hey that is expensive for India! But it was so worth it.

We met a couple from Australia in Sudha Guest House, on the ‘other’ side of the river. Which proved to be even more authentic, with less hagglers and less stores. The cook at the Sudha guest house proved to be one of the finest that we have encountered thus far. Like almost all India kitchens that I have seen, there is only one burner, tucked into a room the size of a small closet. Yet the feasts that these little kitchens can produce are out of this world! Absolutely phenomenal.

The tuck shop owner who had to rub my shaved head – perhaps for good luck??? Its alright, Ananda didn’t seem to mind. The owner proved to be a good talker, we ended up buying an expensive bus ticket to go to Mumbai, and it proved to be a disaster, but we arrived, so that is what matters. We did discover some good toothpaste: “the best one” - according to the tuck shop owner - drew out attention as it is made from “the pure extract of the Meswak plant” hmm, sounds interesting. Hmmm, it is made from all natural ingredients. Cool. Hey, wait a second, it lists only the “key ingredients” well W.T.F. does that mean????

“Best Price!” Whenever you are buying something here, you hear that expression, well either that or “Best Quality!” I am going to go nuts when I get back home, there is no negotiating with that bloody interact machine, I wonder if the north American society would be better off with a little more negotiating? Yeah I think so, we would talk more!

I have seen many tanker trucks that say ‘Non-Flammable’ on the back. I think that the jury is still out on this one!

In Udaipur, it was so cool to see the old traditional irons that are heated with coals. WOW. It really takes you back to see the non-electric original way of doing things. Especially as night when there are people ironing on the side of the road, and you see to glow of the coals…

The street dogs in India for the most part are really chilled out dogs. It seems like the “shannti shannti” of the locals has worn off on the street dogs. They are completely passive, and look around to see if there is something coming that will cause them to relocate. I think that the relaxed nature of the people is due to the positive energy and that shows itself in the animals. Lets see if I keep this throughout the journey.

We caught a free Shakespeare play at the castle, it was reported to have a ‘mixed’ cast. But after thirty minutes of hearing prefect Shakespearian English, a local actor made an appearance and reminded us that we were in India. It was so awesome to be in an open courtyard sitting on small pillows on stone seats, watching an old play being preformed in the open air while stray dogs would wander around take a peek then go about their business. It must have been like this originally!

From Udaipur we headed to Mumbai. I will skip the Mumbai entry as we will be going back in about a month or so… So the next stop was Pune for two weeks.

Pushkar - Rajasthan

We arrived to Pushkar, a holy city that is where the mountains and deserts meet in Rajasthan. It is a real shame, but it seams that Pushkar has changed into a busy bazaar city. From what I am told, it used to be quiet and really very spiritual. But now it has been transformed into a city where the people are ruthlessly trying to scam tourists and motorcycles bus around narrow laneways without any regard for others – even for Indian standards. But there were still some great people. Our first day we arrived to a great guest house, Mayur. We sat and chatted with the owner about the monsoons that have virtually disappeared over the past 20 years. It used to rain for day without end, but now it is only a few hours a day. It was interesting to talk about environmental issues with someone from the dessert. Apparently the monsoons today have nowhere near the intensity that they did a mere decade ago.

Puja at the temple:
Being a Holy City, we were accosted daily for the Puja ceremony. This is a ceremony that is done by a “supposed” Brahman and they bless you at the holy lake. After a few days we were walking by the main temple and thought, ah, why not? We had been given an hour long tour, by a Brahman and he was offering to give us the Puja. We were pushed into doing it, but at the same time it is better to take advantage of the situation and enjoy! It was a nice ceremony, and provided a, the dude was kinda peeved that we contributed 300 Rs. Total, falling far short of the thousands that were expected. But as it has taken a few weeks to get used to, you can’t make everybody happy when it comes to donations. Especially when you are asked hundreds of times a day. This was something that was a great nuisance in the beginning, but by the third week you begin to develop calices to the continuous prodding. But to be fair it was more the pushy store owners who were continuously interrupting “the moments” We were trying to enjoy.

The topic of arranged marriages has come up quite a few times and I wonder if the secret to surviving an arranged marriage lies in the IHW (Indian Head Wobble -01.05 wiggle it the ihw) It works great, in discussions and never fails to leave both parties equally satisfied, as the wobble can mean so many different things. As an Indian newbie, I am still left scratching my bald head when ever I get the wobble, not knowing if my answer has indeed be answered, or if I have just been told that I am crazy. Hopefully with some experience I’ll be able to master this calming technique. I think that I will try it on some customs officers when they ask me what I am bringing back with me from India. HA. Or maybe I’ll practice on Ananda! Wobble Wobble Wobble…

We went to visit a Mosque in Dargah in Ashmir, it was a really scary experience. I thought that I was going to get trampled on. The crowd turned violent and just going crazy to get inside to touch the vial that covers the Sufi Saint’s Tomb. There were 72 people inside who’s sole job it was to get money from the pilgrims who visit.

While in Pushkar, I went for a shave. Getting a straight edge shave on both head and face was absolutely incredible. The trust that you need to have when someone else has a knife edge on your throat is intense. It is interesting the relationship that men have in a barber shop, hmmmm. Well after the shave, I got a head and face message. It bordered pain, but when it was all said and done I was warm for days, I guess it helped improve the circulation throughout my whole body. After the head message, he proceeded to massage my back shoulders and arms, when he went by my biceps, he said “Oh good muscles” and started asking me in broken English how I train, I tried to explain martial arts, and all he understood was wrestling, then the whole shop shouted out “WWF.” They thought I was a wrestler!!!! HA HA. (I don’t think that bald mango would be intimidating enough…)

First Impressions

Well, the first two weeks we have been sleeping in both our silk liners and our sleeping bags. It has been dam cold here. Oh yeah and with our tooks! Not to mention walking around most of the days in our fleeces. Burrr, not quite what I expected, but defiantly warmer than back home.

The first week has been a lot of adaptation, but in a pleasant way. In 7 days I have completely forgotten what side of the road to walk on. I need to stop and concentrate on how we drive back home then flip it over to the British/Indian style.

Everyday, I go through this ritual of showering, but for some strange reason it is very different here in India. Since the first day it has been puzzling me. Maybe it has to do with the pollution and how dirty things are, but washing is more of an event. Or perhaps it is because now there is more time, and the bathing is not done under pressure to finish? No I don’t think that is it. It must have something to do with the fact that you need to squat to bath, and that the water in not hot-hot, but warm. Yeah I think it is the squatting, it is like playing simultaneously. And the few places where they have had western style showers, the experience is totally routine. I am sure it sounds weird, but hey it has been a highlight since arriving.

Try Crossing a Busy Road in India:
Crossing the road is reminiscent of the old “Frogger” Video game. I would say that the drivers here in India are probably amongst the worst in the world. I don’t know if they are worse than in China, but they seem to have the same type of chaotic mentality. The speed limit in between 30 and 40 kilometers an hour, so they are not going extraordinarily fast, but the distances between rickshaws and cars and bikes and pedestrians is centimeters. Most cars have their side view mirrors folder in as to prevent them from being broken off! No real loss, I don’t think they really care what is going on behind them, it is more important to focus on the next time that they can use their horn. I can’t figure out weather the horns of the bikes, cars and rickshaws are somehow remotely connected to the eye blinking of the driver, or if the government has set up some sort of credit system that compensates drivers for using their horns. No joke, they beep at everything – Beep – I am coming – Beep – I am now closer – Beep I am about to pass – Beep Beep – you just let me pass – Beep – Oh wow the horn still works – Beep – I just blinked – Beep – Oh I forgot to turn the Iron off. You get the idea. But every car no matter how fancy has a dent or a scratch on it. But that being said, the driving here is based on a simple principle – that all moving objects will continue to move in a straight line, while maintaining their current velocity. I think that for the most part this seems to work. But when a bright eyed tourist shows up on the scene, traffic goes amuck, for we pitter patter and run around like the little frog from Frogger and often back track! But what we should do is simply keep on moving forward and close our eyes. It is daunting to be standing in the middle of the road and hope that everyone keeps their line and doesn’t hit you – so far so good.

The next stage in the progression of crossing the street is the Jedi Master: Locals seem to have this ability affect traffic simply by raising their hand and making eye contact. I am sure that they to themselves “You will not hit me, you will not hit me…” mmmm I still have not tried this as I don’t think that my mind is able to manipulate the law of conservation of momentum. Hopefully soon though, India is the place for the impossible!

Not since the days when I was working at the mechanics garage – where the air was filled with diesel and asbestos particulate – have I blown my nose and seen the black soot come out. But the Black booggies, have been back. Yuk I hate to think what is going on in my lungs!!!!!