This morning, Kaita and Jackie join me for breakfast at the hotel. Then we hop in our taxi, and ride about 45 minutes out of town to visit the Kirti Hermitage and meet Maa Gyaan Suveera, a teacher that Jackie met on one of her previous visits. Maa’s home and ashram is built on the side of the mountain, overlooking the Ganga, with a lovely garden and several rooms for her students, who stay for 2 – 5 days with her, depending on what is their course of study. She is a lovely woman and we all chat, enjoy some yummy tea, and I seize the opportunity to ask her the question that I did not yet get to ask Mooji.
She smiles and explains in way more detail than interests you, about some teachers who explain the duality, and choose to live in it and others who choose to live in a state of consciousness at all times, realizing that what we’re experiencing in this human life isn’t really real. I definitely need better words, an easier tool for writing, and much more time to get into further detail, but would be happy to discuss with anyone who’s interested. Like I said, I am finding more people speaking the language of my thoughts and interest than I have ever.
J & K (just like MIB!) schedule sessions with her on the 10th and 11th, and I pretend to burst into tears. Ha! Guess I will have to save that for another visit. I’m intrigued, as she has explained that she sits with each person to understand the proper path for them to take on each of the 4 pillars she believes are critical to living in the state of higher consciousness on a more regular or even continual basis. Those are meditation, chanting, study and service (giving of one’s self in some way). All seems very reasonable – I suppose my singing around the house, meditating once each month and learning bridge don’t quite cut it!
After about an hour, a woman and her guide show up; Maa has an appointment for a Reiki session with her (she’s a Reiki master, among other things). We hug goodbye and drive another 15 minutes up the road to The Glass House. They have a sign that says they’re a non-hotel hotel and I totally forget to ask them what the heck that means! Anup recommended we have lunch here and we do, although are shocked at the price of $15 each (usually more like $2.50). Lunch isn’t quite ready to be served, so we have a tour of the grounds, which includes a lovely garden:
a small temple,
and of course, ringside seats for listening to and bathing in the Ganga.
I sit on the outside ledge of the temple to listen to one of my guided meditations (which seems a little weak at the moment) and then join J&K riverside. The sun is out (it’s been raining off and on today) and it’s time to head up for lunch. It’s a lovely buffet and we seem to be the only folks around. Yummy yummy. We enjoy fresh chapati, masala eggplant (got the recipe from the chef himself!), paneer and CHICKEN! So happy to have some meat protein.
We indulge, and as usual, overindulge, and it’s time to depart. But first, a trip to the potty and I spot one of the cutest signs I’ve ever seen:
We return to the taxi for about another hour of driving. I listen to (which I haven’t done in so long) the White Album and watch the changing countryside as if it’s a prize-winning documentary. Another hour or so in the car and we arrive at Devprayag.
Traditionally, it is considered to be the place where sage Devasharma led his ascetic life, giving rise to its name. We are here to visit the Triveni Sangam, one of 5 sacred spots where two rivers converge (hence, confluence) to create the holy river of the Ganges, or Ganga. This particular spot is where the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers come together (thank you, George). According to mythology, there is an invisible river named Saraswati that originates from Mana Village in Badrinath, and is the 3rd river of each of the 5 confluence spots. Kaita buys a plastic container to takeaway some of the holy Ganga:
We head down 134 steps to the banks of the Ganga and I turn into Jimmy Olsen, with a lens in each pocket of my jacket. We cross another in a series of swinging bridges that line the Ganga and walk through town. The river runs fast and is more than ever the color of a pale green emerald. As we head down down down the steps to get to the river itself, an Indian man, whose forehead is painted yellow, motions and speaks about the Holy Ganga, and we know, as usual, he wants to perform a minimal service to then ask us for money. A bit more evolved than the people who come up and put their hands to their mouth to signal they want something to eat, or the children who sometimes tug on a sleeve to ask for money. We smile, say “Namaste” (the way to say hello here) and keep moving. The confluence is beautiful – perhaps because of the rain or not – the brown Yamuna moving into the pale green Ganga…and thinking of what this place means to so many people; well, it creates a beautiful energy in which to pause and meditate for a bit.
and Kaita collects her holy water:
I have already snapped so many pictures – from every level – that I don’t pull my camera out once during the trip back across the river and up those stairs. Another Beatlefest on the long drive back, and some how it fits. Maybe it’s knowing that some of this music was influenced by their visit here, and maybe just cuz. I’m dropped off at the hotel and have about 15 minutes to walk up the alley about a block and arrive for my hot oil Ayurvedic treatment. The women are great, the room is kinda funky and the massage/treatment is a horse of a different color for sure. The masseuse holds what looks like a large piece of cloth that’s been filled with about 4 cups of herbs and then dipped into a bowl of hot oil. She pats the bottom of the herb-infused packet and then pats a spot on my body. The warm/hot oil feels great. She does this all over one side of my body, then dabs it all over with the actual packet of herbs. Then rubs me down with the almost-but-not-quite-too-hot over-sized sachet. Dip and repeat in each quadrant and on each side. And yes, when it’s all done, she dries me off with a clean towel. Mmmmmm…Very different than the usual deep muscle work.
I chat and then head back to the hotel for a quiet night of relaxation and writing. A couple of bananas and almonds for dinner. That’s enough.