rishikesh (india part #4)

rishikesh is where Guruji spent the majority of her time while in india..
it is a crowded place filled with a constant flow of colorful life of all sorts and varieties.... a steady stream of indians, tourists, sadhus, cows, monkeys and beggars line the walkways...
devotional worship and rituals
are constantly taking place near the ghats or along the dirt paths that are laden with cow dung and mud from the last rains..
as usual Guruji escorted us to a decent place to stay that had a restaurant downstairs...
... one could even order american style food..
the area  in rishikesh that we hung out much of the time was relatively small
it made for easy travel on foot with market stalls and cafes lined up throughout..
have written about rishikesh in the first post entitled india (part # 1) ...
this is where we spent the majority of our time ....  wandering about and relating to the sadhus,
market vendors and beggars...
though we spent our days in the thick of sadhu life... it was not near to the degree that Guru lived several years back when she was in rishikesh...
she lived on the banks of the ganges for a time with a group of sadhus (this is where she entered realization)
it was a very rare thing for a sadhvi (female sadhu) to live in the *raw* open land with just a little sparse hut set up ...
she would bathe in the ganges early every morning and that water was *COLD* she said many
times....
(i can attest to this as did dip the feet in awhile and brrrrr)...
one of the sadhus she lived with  (who has now entered maha samadhi) was very dear to her and took the role of watching over her ....he took this role *very* seriously it sounded like from the stories
she told about him....
there are many different sects of sadhus in india -
each dons a different style and color of robes (or lack thereof as in the case of the naga babas who roam stark naked)...
one sect of sadhus are called aghoris -- some these sadhus wear all black...
they are Shiva devotees and engage in extreme practices and austerities as a means to break through
mental conditionings and attachment to form...
there were a group of aghoris in rishikesh that we met... one of these sadhus had a very peaceful
presence and did appear to be absorbed in sadhana and deep contemplation...
we would see him along our route everyday and Guruji would praise him for holding his concentration
within....

most of the sadhus in rishikesh, Guruji was well acquainted with and they recognized her

and called to us to come over as we walked along...
(with the exception of the ones that knew of her strong presence and tough love style manner.. these ones would run away )....
Guruji gave several diksha ceremonies on the ghats of the ganges during our stay there...
initiation was given to a sadhu as well who claimed that he was going to change his ways...
which meant that he would stop smoking cannabis and hanging out with the wrong crowds ..
he vowed that he would immerse in sadhana and try to be honest...
the spiritual name given to him by Guruji was Kali das  --
when diksha was given in the early years, the spiritual name given always ended in das which
means *servant of* ...  so his name meant *servant of Kali* or to be surrendered to that energy that
cuts thru conditionings ....  a great name indeed ....
this sadhu hung out with us much of the time we were there...
he was rather endearing, but one could still feel the mischief in him and unsteady energy that he carried...
Guruji was very generous with him and gave him some clothing and food ..
some of the sadhus we encountered appeared to be in need of hospital care .. they had wounds
or illnesses...
to live outside and sleep on the hard earth with the mosquitoes and rainy seasons and barely a cover or wrap can be brutal on the form...
so the majority do give in to smoking cannabis as a means to numb out from the rough lifestyle...
so many are very thin as food becomes secondary...
but even when money was given to take care of the needs ..  it was found out that they did not go
to the hospital at all, but spent their money on more smoking and nonsense...
this is when Guruji would get after them for their dishonest actions and she did not speak in a
shy voice about it ...
Kali das was no different... even though he was given such grace .. he was found later smoking and
hanging with the group of babas that were not good influences....
of course he was caught by Guruji and you can bet that this was addressed ...
(at the end of our stay there,  it was not looking promising that Kali das would clean up his act)...
it is a *very* strong pull for sadhus to go back to the old ways that one is used to ....  especially when
this area was saturated with fake sadhus and so many masquerading as Gurus or seekers ..
along our daily walks we also saw some sadhus engaged in austerities of all sorts...
one sadhu was found with his arm held straight up in the air everyday -- he said so far he had held it there several weeks..
and was working towards holding it up for several years or more...
there was another little sadhu in his hut who attended to his needs and appeared very devoted to aiding
this sadhu in his laborious task...
after several days we walked further into rishikesh ...  Guruji showed us where she used to live

with the group of sadhus on the banks of the ganges...
the little hut was gone --
she said a lot of the babas had been run out of the area due to their dishonest ways and lifestyle...

we walked over the suspension bridge across the ganga called lakshman jhula..
it took quite awhile to make it across as
every bit of space was crowded with motorcycles, cows, monkeys, beggars and droves of people of all types
and forms....
Guruji said this is where the beloved sadhu that watched over her entered maha samadhi --
the mind fell away easily while walking over this bridge ... an indescribabale feeling of peace entered.
the energy there was extraordinary...
Guruji said within her journey while walking across it, she lost body consciousness... this is understood...

in the early morning hour, we went to one of the temples in which rituals were performed to the
shiva lingum --
liquid and flowers was poured over the lingam as a means to honor shiva and shakti...
devotees chanted *om namah shivaya* which means "i bow to Shiva.. the lord of the yogis..
the spirit that dwells within all hearts"...

this is all the flow that is coming for now...
our next stop was to be dharmsala -- up in the foothills of the himalayas where the Dalai Lama and buddhist monks reside...
om shanti

for more on rishikesh see india - rishikesh (part #1)

india - rishikesh (part #1)

when in India, there was a raw *in your face* lifestyle

not seen here in the west 

there was so much of a realness, in terms of debilitated souls 

beggars and those that had been cast aside living on the streets,

holding the hand out for just a bit of food...

some of the people were not at all grateful when given money

clothes or food...

they wanted more and more and more...

a few were very grateful and smiled with whatever was given,

even some with no arms or legs...

the majority of the sadhus there were pretenders, and did not wear the cloth 

for the right reasons 

they begged about and held out the hand as a gesture of  give me, give me

this was not taken in well at all by Guruji -

she told them very strongly that to beg like this was not the way of a sannyasi

and that one should be sitting doing sadhana 

then what is given is out of respect

that the sannyasi is engrossed in the search and a way to honor efforts made there..

the next day, the very same sadhus were found scamming the tourists yet again

when they saw Guruji coming, many would run 

when we stayed in rishikesh and went out in the day 

the babas (sadhus) there would recognize Guruji and call us over

so our little tribe would wander over near the Ghats, and sit around the dhuni fire

while many of the Babas smoked and the flies pestered the body constantly --

the face was sweating with the heat and the fire...

some of the babas would chant *om namah shivaya* ...  but most 

were talking and gossiping about, not at all focused within..

there were a few sincere sadhus that were noticed, and Guruji would praise these ones

for staying in the heart and honoring the tradition of a wandering seeker that 

has taken vows...

the cows in india roamed about all over the place...

their bodies were mere skin stretched over bones ...

this was sad to see....

there were rituals down by the Ganges every night in which homage was paid to Lord Shiva

there was a constant flow of activity about all night and day...

thank goodness for Guru being the guide there as so much of her time was spent

clearing the way for us by calling out the dishonest ways of the ones that came in our path..

we wore sannyasi robes the entire time we were there ...

this was not always honored though... 

a female western sannyasi did not for the most part go over well in india...

sometimes a humble one would come by and touch the feet as recognition for what it was 

to be within vows  --  

other times, there would be slander and a very mischievous, unwelcome attitude about 

entirely different feeling ...

all in all an interesting experience...  

thanks to Guru we were able to see india in the *raw*,  not the fantasy version of it..

not always fun or easy ... 

but definitely an experience that no tourist gets.. 

one can be sure of this....  

this is all that is flowing now on this subject..

possibly more to come later about the time there ...

shanti om

for more on rishikesh...see rishikesh (india part #4)