We have been very busy here in India the past several weeks, but a very different kind of busy from the first half of the trip. Instead of running about crowded towns filled with honking horns and cows, we have been enjoying the mountain scenery around the towns of Rishikesh and Dharamshala.
After a short stop in Delhi after an incredible week in Kolkata, we took a train to Rishikesh to do a yoga and meditation retreat at the Phool Chati Ashram. The Phool Chatti Ashram is tucked away in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains, right along the Ganga River. It is surrounded by trees and every morning you can hear birds singing and the river roaring. We did a 7 day retreat with 35 other people from all over the world, such as Iran, New Zealand, Poland, Latvia, Chile, Israel, Ukraine, South Africa, and Iceland.
We began every morning with a wake up call at 5:30 in the morning, with meditation beginning at 6. Me being an early riser found this to be no challenge, however other members of my group we certainly tired for several mornings. We practiced several forms of meditation throughout the course of the week, each one enjoyable and refreshing. After a 30 minute meditation, we would chant mantras for 15 minutes, followed by “cleansing.” The cleansing session involved pouring warm salt water in one side of our nose and have it flow through our sinuses and out the other nostril. Now, my mother had impressed this practice on me from the time I was 12, so it did not phase me much. But it certainly was good for a few laughs to watch others attempt this feat!
After cleansing we would have breathing yoga to strengthen our lungs, followed by an hour and a half of posture yoga. It was a really refreshing way to begin our mornings, and it was great to get some physical exercise. After this was breakfast, which was always delicious! The ashram prepared all our meals so we could focus on ourselves and on our experiences. I can now safely say that I am totally addicted to banana honey porridge though. After breakfast was karma yoga, where we cleaned the ashram. This was followed by a 2 hour meditative walk in the areas surrounding the ashram.
After walking meditation was lunch, which was also always delicious, as well as very healthy! The ashram had its own garden where it grew the vegetables for our meals, as well as their own cows for all the dairy foods we ate. After this was free time, where we could read, meditate, hike, basically do what we wanted. Personally I enjoyed bathing in the Ganga and reading my book on the river bank while enjoying the sunshine and peaceful scenery. Following this was a lecture on the history and practices of mediation and yoga, followed by another yoga session, chanting and singing, and then finally dinner followed by an evening meditation. It was the same schedule every day, and it was nice to have a clear cut routine.
On the final evening of the retreat, the entire ashram gathered on the beach for a campfire, and each country got up and shared a song in their native language. It was a beautiful ceremony that celebrated the discoveries we had all made during our time at the ashram, as well as celebrate the coming together of countries to practice peace together.
After a week we said goodbye to all our wonderful friends and instructors and headed back into Rishikesh. We spent another week there where we explored the town, took a few day hikes, spent a night camping on the Ganga River, and even took a yoga class from a 106 year old man!
It was a grueling 15 hour bus ride from Rishikesh to McCloud Ganj, but it was a beautiful site to climb out of the bus and see the first rays of sunlight shining over the peaks of the Himilayan Mountain Range. We spent two nights in a nearby hotel, and then were placed with our home stay families. When you enter McCloud Ganj, it is like entering a whole new world! It no longer feels like India here. McCloud Ganj is the home of the Tibetan Government in Exile, and has several thousand Tibetan refugees living in and around the city.
While here we were lucky enough to be able to attend some of the teachings of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet! Although he is almost 80, the Dalai Lama is such a brilliant man, who seems only half his age. This man carries so much with him, yet he seems so light and happy. He also laughs at his own jokes quite a lot, which I found rather funny. His laugh is like that of a little school girl, but with the voice of a boisterous god-like man.
I am personally a huge fan of the Dalai Lama, and have read several of his books. To sum up the three days of teaching, here are a few of the notes I took.
When you choose a faith, do not follow it blindly. Understand what you are practicing, and why you are practicing it.
– It is not enough to just be knowledge about the texts surrounding a religion. You must also implement the teachings from the text into your own life.
– We must treat sorrow, rather than try to disguise it or cover it up. When ridding yourself or another of sorrow, you must dig at the root of it, not simply try to pretend it is not there.
– We do not exist as individuals, but rather as communities. We should focus on full community happiness, then each individual will be able to attain happiness as well.
– If we wish to eliminate suffering, we must cultivate virtues, and then use those virtues to dictate positive actions to help others.
– Death is certain, but it is uncertain when we will die. What matters is what we leave behind on this world, the positive actions we do to better the world while we are living. This is such a precious life, and we should use it to help others.
– Find what part of a religion speaks to you, and use it in practice. What speaks to some, might not speak to others. Take what you can, and leave the rest.
– Cherish others more than yourself, it will have a better impact on you in the long-run.
The Tibetan people are such compassionate and loving people. They know what it is like to face hardship and oppression, yet their smiles never seem to leave their faces. They look forward with hope for a better tomorrow.
Something quite impactful we have done twice now if met up with Tibetan refugees to teach them English. I met with three students at the last session, one is a monk studying at one of the local monasteries, and another who is a mother of a four-year old girl, while the final is a student who is in his mid-twenties.
The monk fled Tibet when he was 20 years old. He hiked through the snowy mountains at night, in the cover of dark, to avoid detection by the Chinese. He walked for twenty days before crossing the border into Nepal. He then took a bus for two days to reach Delhi. He left his mother, father, two sisters and one brother in Tibet. This was in 1997. He remembers the day he got to meet the Dalai Lama, as all refugees get to do when they reach Dharamshala. He said he was crying tears of joy, and of sadness for his family left behind.
The mother fled in 2004, also traveling discretely, hidden away in trucks and wagon’s. She is now trying to make a life for herself and her daughter keeping a shop. She is glad that her daughter will never know the oppression of the Chinese government.
The student fled Tibet in May of this year. He is young, with a lot of anger and hatred. I can’t say I blame him, I would be too. He is determined to learn English so he can someday travel back to Tibet and teach his family, so maybe they can have a better life. He mentioned several times how lucky I was that I get to see my parents in only a few short months. He asked me what I thought about the Tibet situation, and he was glad that I have become well-informed. He specifically asked that I tell as many people as possible about the suffering of those still in Tibet. I promised him I would tell everyone I know, and help gather support for the Tibetan Cause.
It was quite and inspiration to spend time with these people and hear their stories. I know every single member of the group was touched in someway, and it has made a lasting impact upon all of us. Our time here in India is becoming limited, with only two and a half weeks remaining before we fly home to the US. But I think our time here in Dharamshala will stay with us the rest of our lives, with the memories we have made and the lessons we have learned.