India Travel Log 5 Dalai Lama styles

~ OM MANI PADME HUM ~

Hey everyone !

A little update on whats going on here in India.

With the 3rd Khumba Mela day approaching in Haridwar, the amount of people in Laksman Jhula where we were staying began to increase exponentially. At one point it got a bit intense - we were trying to cross the narrow suspension bridge for foot traffic that crosses the Ganga. There were so many people bottle necking to get onto the bridge on the other side, that traffic flowing off the bridge had stopped. crammed on there, with no where to turn back, I was glad there was a nice breeze flowing at least, but the sun was intense. To make matters worse, somehow a large bull-cow had made his way onto the bridge and blocking anyone from coming too close. Eventually people began squeezing by the large cow and getting off the bridge. 40 rupees for a boat across the water suddenly seemed like a bargain.

We decided it was time for a change and headed farther north into the himalayas, where the weather is still hot in the day, but at least cools down nicely in the evening. Perched high upon a mountain pass is the small town of Dharamsala. Originally the town got its name meaning "Inn attached to small temple" and was mostly Buddhist until the 12th century, and then became mostly Hindu. The british used the strategic nature of the easily defendable geography and set up a garrison here. Today, the Indian military also has a base here, but it was not until the Dalai Lamas arrival from Tibet in the 1950s that it became a frequent destination for travelers.

With a large population of Tibetan monks and refugees living here for some time it has become the largest settlement of Tibetans outside of Nepal. The houses and buildings are all built right on the slopes of these mountains, so getting around is a bit tricky. Many narrow passage ways and impossible staircases must be traversed to discover many of the more interesting shops and restaurants here.

The Tibetans brought more than just prayer flags with them here ( and of those there are a LOT ). They also brought a pioneering spirit of settling in a new home, and have planted thousands of trees in the surrounding area. As well as a central water-filtration system which anyone can fill up their bottles from for a small donation. This is a huge deal here because plastic bottles are a major problem in India. With the drinking water being a bit sketching many people especially travelers opt for bottled water. There's no recycling system, there's not really a garbage pick up either for that matter - so things just pile up rather quickly. Some people resort to burning the garbage, but this not a very good solution.

We took today to explore up into the hills and trails surrounding the area. Went to a nice waterfall, meeting many people along the way. Everyone here is so friendly and curious to know where we come from and how we are enjoying India. Above Dharamsala is an ancient Shiva Shrine that was recently restored and made accessable so there some Hindu pilgrims coming this way too.

Further down from there we came upon an old Church, built on the mountain surrounded in old pine trees. Appropriately, it was named after St. John of the Wilderness. The lone voice crying in the wilderness - the church is still active, and people were just coming out from Easter Sunday mass. I was surprised to see many of them were Hindu. In fact the Hindus here, as well as in Kashmir regard Jesus as very important Yogi. There are even stories of the great Yogi "Issa" who came here from the west and performed many miracles in Kashmir and later left after becoming unpopular amongst the Brahmins for preaching against the caste system....... Many believe this was the same person - who knows, fun to think about.

After our little hike we came back to our new area and recharged on some Tibetan MoMos, a very yummy food if ever there was one. The shops around here are also quite enticing... Lorena a beautiful Yak-wool purse bag today, with hand embroidery. I found a nice Nepali-style hoodie, and some very special Tibetan incense, which is formulated for meditation, and these monks dance around the incense and say mantras into it for 4 days straight.....

The most entrancing thing to come out of Tibet has to be the "singing bowl" hand-hammered brass bowls tuned to specific pitches, capable of creating 3 even four tones from a single bowl. The power and effect of these sublime sounds is something quite unusual. The singing bowls actually predate Buddhism in Tibet, and were probably originally a part of the shamanic rituals of the Bon religon which existed there previously. Bon eventually merged with Buddhism and this is where many of the more ritualistic elements of Tibetan Buddhism originate, such as the large dances with elaborate masks.....These singing bowls are said to be able to have many effects of the body. Certain tones can be used corresponding to different Chakras for instance. Also for releasing stress, meditation, recalling memories, and healing of various ailments.
Everyone seems to have a different idea of what the bowls are supposed to be used for and why.

I've signed up for a course on Sound Healing with a well respected Yogi here named SivaDas. I got a good vibe from him and he seemed to very knowledgeable on a number of subjects.
Tomorrow morning Lorena and I are going to check out his Ashtanga Yoga class at 8. I have a couple of small bowls I've been practicing on and learning to release some tones with them. I'm really stoked for learning more about this stuff.
I think tomorrow we are also going to inquire and see if it's possible to see the Dalai Lama's lecture or perhaps even a private audience- who knows.

Well, this email is getting loooong so I'll just leave it at that.

We are having an amazing time here, high up in the mountains..........

Hope your all enjoying a great Easter.
I'm not sure if the Easter Bunny can hop along all the way to the himalayas, so we bought a toblerone bar.

bye for now !