Vanares and the Puja Dog

Puja Dog. Only in India, and probably only in Vanares. If you ever want to come to India and see "real" India, Vanares is the place. Vanares is where they host funerals for the recently passed away. Along the Ganga River, the funerals are open for any passerby to witness. They burn the bodies with large fires while offering certain prayers for the deceased. No pictures were taken of this as it is quite disrespectful. Again the River Ganga is said to be extremely holy in Hinduism, and to die here is seen as a blessing from the Gods and instant access to heaven or a good afterlife or rebirth. Everyone has their own idea about the afterlife.In the evening, the people of Vanares perform a public puja, or prayer or offering, that is visited by many foreigners, Indian tourists, and locals as well. There are two main platforms along the River Ganga where the young Hindu practitioners gather to participant in the devotional dance and prayer offering to the Gods. It may be difficult to see in the picture above, but there are many people who arrive in a boat to witness the Puja and watch from the river. It is quite a scene, viewing the platforms in the foreground and the many boats in the near yet fading distance. The Hindus pray to a multitude of Gods, so if you are ever in any sort of trouble, you can pick a God, any God, for your issues to dissolve. The favorite I have found, and also a favorite of mine, is Ganesh, the elephant headed God. This is the God that removes obstacles. Typically, Ganesh is prayed to before any other God, so as to remove whatever may be in the way for the next God to be worshipped.Oh, this guy! Just one of the characters that catches your attention and just want to stare at. Well, this is just what I did. At first, I stood at a distance and secretly shot photos of him, maybe because I was afraid he would pull some Shiva mystical powers out and strike me down - Shiva is the God of destruction. It turned out, after slyly snapping some shots, he glanced over my way and invited me over. I learned he not only is a Shiva follower, but also the head of a local orphanage. What an outfit though! This may be my next Halloween costume.

Amritsar - The Border Closing and a Red Handed Pick-Pocketing Rickshaw Driver

Ah, Amritsar, the city of temples, they say, just like every other city.


Ma, I know you'll like this picture, but not just the picture, but the entire temple is made from mosaics. It is so colorful and enchanting, especially the life size deities dressed in mosaics. Lots of places, most of all temples, forbid the use of cameras, so I had to sneak my camera in to get some good shots. There was another temple in Amritsar I visited which required you to walk through a small cave, head hung low, and feet sloshing through water. I don't think any synagogues or even churches would have you walk through a maze like compound dragging your feet through chilled water in the name of God, but India is a special place.

This is classic India. We spent the evening at the border closing show. Amritsar is a city in Northern India which borders Pakistan. Each night, citizens from both India and Pakistan gather to celebrate the closing of the border. Th is is actually a crazy Indian and Pakistani party. Before the event commences, music is blasted through the air and people on both sides of the fences mosh in the middle of the street dancing their hearts out with intense pride. And it sure was intense. Situated within the masses, I had to inhale each breathe with careful precision, otherwise being enmeshed with the fierce gathering, there was no guarantee for air. Many people held the Indian flag and ran up and down the street while the rest continued to prove their love for their country b y dancing wildly.
You can see the other side of the border with the Pakistani flags. This event is really quite humorous; some say it intended to mock or simulate the movie Holy Grail. The soldiers on both sides would march towards each other in a satirical manner, legs and arms pumped high to show the exaggerated pulsing the army typically requires of its troops. After an hour of dancing and an hour of marching, the flags on both sides are finally lowered, and everyone cheers and heads home. With this exchange of fun for the two countries, one would never guess that deep down, near the root of theirs beings, they really hate each other. Well, there is some peace here in crazy land!


Oh right, the Red Handed Pick-Pocketing Rickshaw Driver. I almost forgot. After the show, my friends and I needed to catch a rickshaw or Indian-taxi back to our hotel. At this point it was dark, maybe 9 or 10 o'clock and of course, still much traffic. Our rickshaw driver motioned for me to come to the front seat, as the three of us were pondering around in the back reminiscing with a gentle smile about the night we just experienced. With a calm attitude, I agreed, besides, I had never been up front in a rickshaw. These seats are usually reserved for people from India as it's a small and not the safest of seats - driving in rickshaw in the first place is not the safest of things to do, but we do anyways. Well, in the front seat now, witnessing the barrage of rickshaws, cars, trucks, bikes, and other, the driver leans over to me and asks if I would like any hash or drugs. I giggle and softly reply "No, no. No need, but thanks." My chuckle subsides, and I remain in the front seat.
I then feel a poke on my right leg where my cargo pocket is located. I notice the flap is now open. I find this odd, shut it, and go about gazing at the chaos of the street. Again, I feel a poke on my right leg where my cargo pocket is located. At this point, I know what the driver is up to. Luckily I have a zipper under the flap to make is extra difficult for people like him to get in. I close the flap. But this time, I pretend to look the other way while gazing down at my cargo, so he wouldn't notice. Sure enough, with one hand on the steering wheel, the other slowly makes its way down to my cargo pocket. I lurch my left arm down with such might and precision to grasp his hand, and I do not release, but instead clench tighter. I begin to yell at him, "Nay Teek, nay teek - No Good, no good," while pointing my right finger at him. Blood has rushed to my face that I'm surprised it didn't explode all over him. I motion for my two friends in the back seat to get out and we will get another ride. Ya, this was smart. It's nearing 10 o'clock, dark in the middle of a machine infested street in the middle of nowhere, and I decide to hop out and into it. Somehow we survived. I told them what happened, we got into another rickshaw, and made our way back to our hotel with all the money remaining in our pockets!

Sri Ram Ashram - An Orphanage

Sri Ram Ashram - An Orphanage















Before and After
This ceremony is similar to a bris - only its shaving the baby's hair off the head. This takes place before the child turns 1. This baby was a trooper, barely shedding a tear even when slight blood began to trickle down her now bald head.

My very first yoga class. One morning, I woke up earlier than usual due to the fact that it becomes unbearably hot outside during the afternoon and wanted to spend some time outside for some fresh air. Each morning I do at least ten minute or so of stretching, and one of the kids at the ashram came up beside me and began to stretch with me. Slowly slowly, ten or so other kids joined in, and I had a fully functioning yoga session. This then became my daily routine. Early morning yoga outside for whoever wants to join in.


Each month, the ashram celebrates the birthdays of those who turned a new year within that month. The celebration consists of kids getting together to dance to a song of their preference, which they practice every day. These three pictures show the color, culture, and random appearances of each dance. The dance is accompanied by ice cream and cake, which hits the spot in this dead heat of the summer. These kids are so so talented, and when they dress up, one can really get a sampler taste of the rich Indian culture.

A good time to visit Sri Ram Ashram. I showed up here at the ashram during a filming of the facilities and the kids. A group from NYU was shooting the second film for the ashram for their next fundraising effort. Lucky for me, I got to tag along with the kids when the film crew decided to fund a field trip to Crystal World Water Park. Fun Fun.

A Bath in a Cow's Mouth

Gaumukh: Hindi for Cow's Mouth.
Gaumukh is a glacier, which is one of the main starting points of the River Ganga. It is said to be one of the holiest places in India, as the River Ganga is the holiest river in India. A cow is a very holy animal in India, and so, putting 2 and 2 together, apparently you get a Cow's Mouth. Makes sense, right?The hike to Gaumukh is an 18 kilometer trek up and, of course 18 kilometer trek back to a small mountain town called Gangotri. No Cartman's or Kenny's here, but there is a small mountain ashram here, which, of course, offered nothing but the best. On the left is Olat, from Spain, hanging out in her room, which is just big enough for a small single bed with little cushioning, a narrow entryway for standing purposes, and a sweet tapestry pre-hung. I shared a room with another fellow in about the same size room as Olat's, but without the colorful tapestry. Of course, before our long trek up, none of us got more than an hour to two of sleep.

On the right, we met a really charasmatic sadhu, whose English was remarkable, telling us his life of living inside a cave, meditating all day, and coming down to the town for some rice and dahl, all while loading a bidi filled with tobacco and hash.



















We get out of bed bright and early to commence our hike. We don't go the full 18 kms the first day because there is another ashram near the glacier that we stayed at. We hike 14 kms up, and rest for the evening at the most secluded, silent, and stunning ashram. There are no other people here at this time, people don't generally come early May for this trek. There is good reason for this, too: it gets to be extremely cold in the evening. But again, we all manage to sneak in an hour or two of sleep at the most as we all shared a room, which was just as cozy as the previous nights' sleep. Again, we get up bright and early to hike the remaining 4 km's to Gaumukh.

We arrive an hour or two later at the glacier, and the river, well, it is a flowing.



And it is really really cold. Only few are senseless enough to submerge one's body into river water 20 ft from the melting glacier. Well, when in the Mouth of a Cow!



Really cold!




















On our way back, as we now have 4 km to the ashram plus 18 km back to Gangotri, we periodically glance back to see the sights of the towering mountains releasing our sins into the thin air of nothingness. No better way to descend back to where we came from than a visit from over 50 Himalayan Big Horn Sheep crossing our paths in the line of the mountain.

We arrive with our legs shaking and our conscious clear.

Kumbh Mela 2010

This is the crazy Kumbh Mela.

The Kumbh Mela was going on for 3 months, from end of January til the end of April. There are main dates or baths to be there for the holy baths. A bath is simply dipping in the River Ganga, which, it is said, to cleanse ones self of all sins. I'll need to take many baths for this feat.


Before heading to the main ghat, where the majority of people take their baths, we, the group from the ashram, took a bath in a more peaceful and, hopefully, cleaner area of the River Ganga. After our dip, we all sat in a semi-circle to meditate.
After our meditation session, we performed tikka, or said a prayer, at the River Ganga and softly placed flowers in the river as an offering.I don't know this guy, but anyone dressed in orange with face paint is a sadhu. The face paint resembles him being a devotee to a certain god, in his case, the lines across his face are meant to be for Shiva.

And of course, we arrive at the main ghat where all the craziness happens. The main bath occurred on April 14, but I did not make it then because all the trains and buses were sold out well in advace. This made sense to me when I learned that over 60 million people were here in Haridwar that day to take a bath. I only heard of its madness. That day several people were killed, due to being trampled or from being hit by a car of sadhus. But it is said that people wish to die during the Kumbh Mela as it is a holy festival and a very spiritual act to die during this period. I arrived in time for the last bath on April 28, which only hosted several million.
You can just see the madness of the many people taking sin cleansing baths here. Simply craziness!

An Ashram Experience - Sri Santosh Puri

Sri Santosh Puri Ashram

Arti - It kind of resembles friday night services with prayers, only here, the Arti is done every morning and evening. There is singing and chanting songs all in Hindi and Sanskrit, as well has praying to the many Gods as well as the Babaji. This photo is taken from above the Arti ceremony so as to not disturb the prayer sessions. Once the chanting is finished, everyone goes upon the "alter" and offers additional prayers to Babaji.

The story of Babaji is quite interesting. It is said, that 9 years ago, Babaji "Left" his body during meditation. He performed Samadi, which is pure enlightenment. It is believed that we are not who we think we are. We think we are that which is called the Ego, but it is all bullshit, and only temporary. We are not even our own bodies, but we are the essence of our bodies, the inner us, or, in Hindi, it is called the Atma, the divine within each of us. Babaji became detached of everything - The outside world, the ego, as well as his body, and became who we truly are - pure consciousness.

His body is buried here, and every day, the people of the ashram chant and pray in his honor.

There are many little ity bity frogs hopping around the ashram, that I was wondering how many survive the stampede of everyday human life.
This is a birthday celebration. Many flowers are put together on the floor of the dining hall, candles are placed within the flowers, and everyone in the room offers prayers and best wishes by dropping flowers upon the head of the birthday girl/boy. It's quite a beautiful ceremony. Then everyone sings happy birthday to them in their native language. There was Hindi, English, Hebrew, German, Dutch, Spanish, and French.



This is a Sadhu or Guru, basically a Hindi Monk. He sleeps outside by this tree along the Ganges River. I was on my way back to the ashram from a dip in the river, when I heard this Sadhu playing the flute. I sat along the Ganges and listened to him for some time. The Ganges River is said to be the holiest river in the world, and many people live just by it and take daily baths in it. My guess is that this Sadhu is either poor and had no choice but to live this way, or he made the choice to be detached from the outside world, and live a life devoted to God, the Ganges, and meditation. Either way, the music was a delight to listen to with some really incredible scenery. This place is just one minute walk from the ashram. The backyard to the ashram is the woods and the Ganges.

Jammu: Just Passin' Through

From Kashmir, I took a 7 hour Jeep ride through the mountains to arrive at Jammu, where I was staying for just the night. The next evening I was to catch a 15 hour train ride to spiritual Haridwar.The day was spent touring different temples, museums, and national parks. This ferris wheel was part of an amusement parks for one of the larger temples in Jammu. A very interesting experience to say the least. Cameras are never allowed inside, and I now understand why. Waiting in long lines lends to some fascinating people watching. One guy seemed to be possesed by God, and it seemed as if I was the only one really curious as to what was really going on. My guide kept saying "God is coming, God is coming" and the other people waiting in line acted as if this was a daily occurance - people being "possessed" and crazily shaking their heads up and down, left and right, and the body moving in all sorts of directions as well. India really is incredible!

Somehow we were able to sneak a picture with this portrait. The eyes kinda creeped me out, but the museum was actually really nice.
A national park with many different kinds of animals, and the peacock, the bird of India, with its array of colors.
Again, Jammu is famous for its temples, this being one of them. Sitting on the bank of a river, you can see a few giant statues facing the city. Ganesh, the elephant headed God on the left. Hunaman, the monkey God in the middle. And some other statue that I am unsure of. It may be difficult to see, but in the bottom left, many people are taking sin cleansing baths in the river to purify their souls.

Thats all we are - Just passin' through!