Follow the Journey

I’ve received a handful of emails from my friends in the states recently, all asking the same broad question: “what’s India like, Joe?” It’s a simple question, yet it was hard for me to answer until our group arrived in Varanasi. As I sat crosslegged on the banks of the Ganges, with the red sun’s first rays peeking over the distant hilltops, a half forgotten word sprang into my mind, and suddenly I had an answer to give to my friends. Perhaps my new favorite word, salitter is defined as the essence of God. This last week in India has affirmed my belief that this country holds this essence in its humid air. Its hard to put my finger on what it is that makes India so magical, but that unknowing adds to the mystery. In the last week, we have visited Varanasi, Bodhgaya, and Kolkata. Bodies burn. Holy men pray. Cows amble along. Vendors and beggars cry out for attention. Piles of waste line the same streets that rickshaws zoom by on. Shrines, temples, and monasteries offer refuge to those seeking prayer and meditation. The combination of all of these things creates an aura unlike any I’ve ever known, an aura of coherent chaos, of life in its purest form. Without a doubt, salitter can be found in this magical place.