Of Marigolds and Moonbeams

I have, as of this moment, reached my one week mark here in India. Can you believe it? I certainly can't. For one thing, this week has taken forever. I feel as though I've been here for a month already. I can't tell yet if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

Sorry it is sideways, I couldn't figure out how to get it straight.
Anyways, this is a part of a temple at Simhachelum and I loved
the pillars and the way that they looked. The whole thing is a kind
of slate/dark marble I think. The pillars, if you hit them with something
metal, sound just like metal right back at you. It is quite interesting.

Life here moves quickly and yet not at all. When you are doing something it goes fast but the things you do have a nice leisurely space in between them. The one scheduled appointment I have each day is yoga. Now, yoga here is not like yoga in the states. The purpose of yoga is to reach a state of bliss. You do yoga because it tones your body in such a way as to enhance your thinking process and make meditation more meaningful. I like that. ; With that in mind, it just so happens to be the best workout of my life: excluding my sophomore year in high school when I took weight training. I have sweat dripping off me and I am breathing hard by the middle of the 1 1/2 hour session. By the end, I am downing water and soaked in sweat. But it is kind of like a really good sauna because it is so hot, I sweat more than I otherwise would so I leave feeling detoxified because I sweat out all the impurities in my body. At least, that is the way I look at it.

So the other day we went to Simhachelum (sp?) was INCREDIBLE. It was this old stone temple that looked like some of the old ones from Indonesia. As soon as we arrived, it started to rain pretty hard. The smell of the stone and the rain was delightful. We were with the royal astrologer/Ayurvedic doctor, so we took the Maharaja's car and got into everything without a fee because we were in "the king's car". What he is Maharaja of...I have no idea. But he seems to have a nice set up. The royal astrologer's name is Dr Ramalingaswami. Say that 5 times fast. Anyways, he got us through the whole temple and we were even able to go to the very back portion, which I can only describe as being a "Holy of Holies" sort of thing. It was this boxy room that was all stone that housed a huge shrine made of solid gold and silver. The deity was not able to be seen because it is wrapped in a ball of sandalwood something or other...not entirely sure why. The two monks that were there started to chant as we got there, the acoustics in there are fantastic! Most people don't get to go to that part because it costs somewhere around 10,000 rupees. Which is over $150. We got in for free AND we were able to skip all the lines!

Here you can see a bunch of vampire bats. There were hundreds
in the trees surrounding the bathing area that people went to
before going to Simhachelum. These bats are about 18'' in length.
Can you spot them? They are the black things with orange bellies
right in the middle of the photo. They are loud!

While we were there I saw a bunch of people who had their heads newly shaved, sometimes entire families had gotten it done. I asked about it and apparently they do in in gratitude for a fulfilled wish or a miracle. To show their humility, these people shave their heads as if giving God their hair. I want to do that someday, not the religious part of it: I just want to shave my head. But that is another thing. These women who had done it were so beautiful! They become themselves, if that makes sense. They, in that moment, represent their souls so perfectly that one can't help but marvel at their vulnerability and nakedness. There is another word besides nakedness that fits better...maybe confidence. Everyone in the group commented on the beauty of that level of asceticism. We saw one guy getting his head shaved--they used a straight razor and it looked as though they were pushing hair off an already bald surface. I've never seen something like that before. 

This is the bathing area that I mentioned in the bat caption.
The water is typically much higher. The bats were in a tree
directly to the right of this picture. The middle structure is a
shrine of sorts where images of the deities are floated out to
once a year.

To give you an idea of kind of the funny juxtaposition of religious life here, there is an example from a temple that was a little further up the mountain than the main one. The temple brahmans use this small structure for the eating of their strict vegetarian meals. They claim to be so pure that there is no meat around for a ways in each direction. They are eating the best of the best of the best because that is who they are. Yet, the Jawleries (the people from the fishing village attached to Vizag) go up and sacrifice chickens on roof of the structure where the brahmans eat. Kind of funny.

Let me be candid for a bit. Being here is much harder than I thought it would be, I think that my expectations are typically very different from reality and this is an instance where it shows. Here is some of what I wrote in a letter to my family:

This is a guy we met when we were visiting a goddess temple.

He lives in a house made of mud that is painted white and has a

roof of palm leaves. He was very nice and his wife also wanted

to be photographed (her picture took too long to upload). 

When I compare myself to people I realize how little I know about anything in general and how little I have to offer the world, but I'll do what I can to give the little that I can and try to make the world a better place from wherever I am. I have the opportunity of a lifetime here, thanks to you guys, and I shouldn't waste it by holding things to how I think they should be. It isn't fair to them, and it isn't fair to me. I can live my big, messy life how I want and do it the best that I can.




This is an opportunity to get to know myself and who I am. It is easier when everything is different. I can experience some of that spirituality and and openness that the yoga article talked about.

I'll develop a schedule so that I have some sense of control in my life. Maybe on walks I'll make a pledge to take an interesting picture each day. I will meet people. Talk to everyone. Be open to friendships that come. I'll embrace the slow paced and open society that is India. I thought it would be easy for me to accept the doing nothing, but it isn't. Not in the slightest. Every part of me yearns to be pushed to my limits of walking and talking and seeing. But that is not the way things are here. Here you breathe, you observe, you take time to live in the moment; the meaning of life is peace and freedom. You cannot gain either if you are too busy or restrained by unseen barriers.

This is a dead scorpion that we found on the road.
It's pretty big. Apparently it is a wild scorpion...
(as opposed to a domestic one?)

This is an opportunity for me to lengthen my stride. From the talk by Spencer W Kimball: 

"As a member of our world, I pledge to you and with the Lord to lengthen my stride, to quicken my pace, to stretch my soul in the work of the Lord...I shall never forget the Lord nor his rich promises, his protecting care, and his rich blessings...I pledge sincerely that I will quicken my pace in my love of my fellowmen and work together with them in achieving righteousness..I will stretch my soul to understand..."

I gain hope and faith from the knowledge that the cosmic forces that are want me to be here. For what purpose, I don't know. Maybe so I can gain a better understanding of who I am and what this life is all about. You are welcome to follow my journey down that road. Hopefully something in my adventure will be of help to someone. 

That is the news from Lake Wobegon, thanks for tuning in.