Rishikesh, Uttarakhand

My beautiful moonstone mala necklace. Peach Moonstone supports the heart as it stimulates the mind, soothing worry or anxiety, and bringing out the best in people. Its loving energy promotes the Divine in all situations, and is an emotional support for intuitive or sensitive children.

Oh Rishikesh. Poor thing. Let’s just say I just had a break-up with Munnar, definitely wasn’t ready for, and Rishikesh had to be the rebound. I left nice cool lucisously green Munnar for dry hot cow poop covered walkways holy city of Rishikesh. Rishikesh is a special place, I just believe it’s a bit hyped and I wasn’t ready to be back in the heat. It’s also a bit tricky when there are more cows to dodge on the pedestrian walkway than actual people. I did enjoy my few days in Rishikesh and made sure to slow down to enjoy the ashram lifestyle.

Anyway, Ami, Mona & I parted ways as I headed up North. I flew into Dehra Dun thinking that’d be the best option and then I could take a 30 minute bus to Rishikesh (as told in lonely planet). Well unfortunately the airport is in BFE and the local bus didn’t come after 2 hours; luckily I did make friends quickly and 2 soldiers ended up sharing their lunch with me.  After my full belly, I gave in and shelled out the fixed price 600 rupee fare for the 20 minute taxi ride. In the scheme of things that’s not much money, it’s more of the principle that was irritating.

I made it safely and found a room at Parmath Niketan ashram. I spent my days here going to yoga, participating in the nightly ganga aarti, attempting to stay cool, reading and relaxing with my new friend Myriam from France. Also, there are tons of great souvenir shops in Rishikesh. One tip, shop on the other side of the river (opposite of Parmath). The shops over there had much better deals! 

Unfortunately, this ashram was not what I was hoping for. It felt more like a business than a place for spiritual pilgrimage. The front desk staff were not very welcoming and I could tell that they were not happy people. The ashram also didn’t have many opportunities for teaching or allowing you to get involved. It would have been nice to have an orientation with history of the ashram. The meditation and yoga classes were pretty dry. If I were to do it all over again, I would have sought out better yoga courses and spent the time to find a teacher that I connected with. I think Amma’s ashram set the bar high!

One of my favorite moments was when we asked around and volunteered one evening in the kitchen. We were rolling out and making chapatti like it was nobodys business. Or so I like to think…in reality we were amateurs and the aunties were trying to help us – use less flour, roll them out a bit more etc. The people I met at the Ashram were very lovely and I was glad to be there. Myriam and I had many wonderful deep conversations together that I won’t ever forget. We also attended the Ganga Aarti each night at sunset – it was always a different experience each night. Here's a video I took:

Cows on the beach even. They are everywhere!

You can raft the Ganges...more like paddling though because it's not that swift and there's not any white water.

OMG finally a salad!

Putting my feet in the Holy Ganges river.

Puja

The pollution is very sad. The governement doesn't provide trash collection so garbage is everywhere and then they burn it. We are so lucky to live in a soceity where are government provides basic needs such as garbage pickup.

Where the Beatles wrote the White Album.

Overloaded bicycle!

Our building for our stay at Parmath.

Myriam and I at Ganga Aarti

She was so adorable, happy little girl!

Meal time!! That cauliflor was pretty tasty.

Where we dined at Parmath.

Adventures in Transit

Here’s one for you. I decide to take one last government bus from Rishikesh to Delhi – a nice 7 hour ride, but I can make it. Or apparently I can’t…or the bus can’t. Bus breaks down about an hour into the trip, we all grab our bags and stand on the side of the road. Nobody speaks English and can explain what the plan is. So after about 30 minutes of waiting I flag down a rickshaw and head backwards to the closest train station in Hardiwar. Not to mention my bag is beyond exploding & I desperately need to send 15lbs back to the US at this point. As I said lots of good shopping in Riskikesh J

Now I get to embark on my least favorite experience once again – buying a train ticket at the station. You fill out this little paper, everyone shoves and cuts equals immediate headache.I highly recommend if you are going to India to setup a Cleartrip account so you can book train tickets online. In this circumstance I needed a ticket asap so the station it is. I am waitlisted number 8 for an express train that leaves in 5 hours. I keep my fingers crossed, grab lunch, send a box of 15lbs of goodies back to the US and then “wait” in line again to find out if my seat was confirmed. YAY luckily I am confirmed in a lovely A/C chair car seat that includes meals and snacks. Delhi I am on my way!

To take the tone in another direction, the train station is such a wonderful place to people watch. I love it. Then you’ll also have sweet moments at the train station like this one. I was walking around trying to find the car that my seat was in…quite important to be at the right end of the train in India as these babies are long, usually at least 30 cars is my guess.  As I am meandering, this sweet lil old woman comes over shakes my head, reaches up and squeezes my face with a huge smile spread across her face. I can’t help but smile myself!

While I was waiting for the train I took some candid photographs of people walking by:

Hard to watch this poor guy on his little skateboard since his legs don't work.

Ashram Life in India

Rangoli in the reception area of Vivekanandapuram

To kick off our travels together, Ami and I spent time in 2 different Ashrams. I’m actually staying at a 3^rd Ashram in Rishikesh at the moment as well.

Swami Vivekananda’s Ashram, Vivekanandapuram, in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu

Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), known as the wandering monk, opened an ashram there on a huge piece of land. He’s known for bringing yoga and the Vedanta philosophy to the west, as well as bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion.

Swami Vivekananda’s Ashram was closer to a bird sanctuary or national park than an active daily ashram. We now know that it is a natural spiritual retreat for those on a spiritual journey. I’d hoped for kirtan, yoga and meditation, but it’s more of a resting ground for groups or individuals on a pilgrimage. The rooms were interesting. See right..

The one great thing is that within the 100 acre campus you have access to watch the sunrise and sunset from the beach. I also really enjoyed the many enlightening quotes displayed all around. Here are two I connected with:

“Infinite purity, infinite patience, and infinite perseverance are the essentials to success, and, above all, love.”

“In a day when you don’t come across any problems – you can be sure that you are traveling in the wrong path.”

Night one was perfect example of Indian hospitality. There was a group of travelers on a yatra (spiritual pilgrimage) that wanted to take pictures with me. I obliged and as they were communicating with me, Ami realized they were speaking Gujarati. Thanks to Ami’s mad Gujaratie skills we were invited to dinner. We accepted and dined with them later. They were all very sweet and excited to have us as guests. Although I know they captured many awkward photographs of us eating. I’m getting used to it by now. 

Why did the peacock cross the road?

Amma’s Ashram, Mata Amritanandamayi Math, in Amritapuri, Kerala

We took the train from Kanyakumari to Kollam at the crack of dawn. We planned it out so that we would make it time to take the public ferry through the backwaters to Amritapuri to visit Amma’s Ashram. 

Kerala Backwaters

Thali for Lunch on our way to Amritapuri

Our first view of the Ashram as the boat was pulling up. It is huge!

Amma is a humanitarian who spreads love and embraces all through her hugs. Amma, pronounced Uhmma and which means Mother, has created a beautiful community at her ashram. She travels all over the world and millions flock to her in hopes of receiving a hug from her. Her hugs are said to be the most comforting and remove sorrow from those in her embrace. Amma wasn’t there at the time so no hugs for us (darshan), but she will actually be in SF the week I return.

She attracts very warm, humble followers. The moment we walked in the ashram, many people were offering to help us with our luggage and directing us to where the dining hall is located. The ashram even holds daily orientation to get you familiar with the campus.

Amma’s ashram is very active and home to nearly 2000 people from all walks of life: Indians and foreigners, old and young, rich and poor, single and married, full time residents and short term travelers. Amma strongly encourages Seva as part of your stay. “At Amritapuri, selfless service is an integral part of the spiritual practice of residents and visitors alike. When we work for others without expectation, we reap the wealth of a peaceful mind and an open heart.” Ami and I were happy to help. We choose to fold clothes and organize items in the second hand store. I loved it & for anybody that knows me, I was very excited to color coordinate the tops haha. We also participated in bhajans, sunset meditation and yoga during our stay (no voluntary 4:30am wakeup call for me). Here’s Amma’s daily schedule:

4:50 – 6:00 Archana (Chanting of the 1,000 names of the Divine Mother)

6:30 – 7:30 Meditation at the Beach

7:30 – 9:00 Yoga (women only)

9:00 Breakfast

10:00 – 13:00 Seva (selfless service)

13:00 Lunch

14:00 – 17:00 Seva (selfless service)

17:30 – 18:30 Sunset Meditation

18:30 – 20:00 Bhajans (traditional devotional songs)

20:00 Dinner

The Ashram itself is quite westernized, even with a western dining hall option. It was 250 rupees a night including Indian meals. We stayed on the 13^th floor of one of the buildings that rose high above the sea of palm trees. I can’t even describe how densely packed the land is with palm trees, it was incredible! Amritapuri is an island that lies between the Arabian sea and the Kerala backwaters. Amma’s ashram was a beautiful place to rest, enjoy nature’s embrace and connect with your heart.

“May the tree of our life be firmly rooted in the soil of love;

Let good deeds be the leaves on that tree;

May words of kindness form its flowers;

And may peace be its fruits.” –Amma

Sunrise from our room.

Note: I don't have many pictures as photography is forbidden within the Ashram.

Parmath Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand

Parmath Niketan is right on the east bank of the Ganges in the holy city of Rishikesh. The ashram was founded in 1942 by the great saint Pujya Swami Shukdevanandji Maharaj (1901–1965).  

There are nearly 1000 rooms at the ashram - 500/300 (single/shared room) rupees per night including all meals, hatha yoga and meditation. Every evening at sunset, the vibrant ganga aarti is held at the riverside temple of the ashram. There’s singing, changing, musicians, the lighting of candles and pooja at the water’s edge of the Ganges.  I’m actually still in the middle of my stay so I will write more about my experience here in a later post. Here are a couple photographs until then. 

A photograph from my first night at Ganga Aarti