Taj and Bodhi Tree

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Here are some photos of that Morning at the real Taj Mahal, along with of the Bodhi Tree Bookstore...acrosss the street from the chiropractic office where I've worked for more than 12 years in LA.

Anybody who has worked at the Bodhi Tree for more than a few years deserves a PHd in comparitive religion and in the Humanities, at least!

If you can do the Bodhi Tree Bookstore, you can do India. Most say that India takes you by surprise and whacks you side of the head, mentally, emotionally, physically, economically. Itcan do this, no matter your preparation. After "James" got off the river at the Taj Mahal,
right on the riverbank there was a gong sounding. Mr Don invited him into a small one story building with chipped blue paint on stucco. Inside were people bowing down to an image of a goddess with many arms, riding on a tiger. (or lion) It was an image of Durga, the goddess who overcame the demons and devils when no other God or Goddess could. There were people practically in rags chanting to Durga along with the Gong. Mr Don asked if James would bow down too...James did. Then James was taken across the room and asked to acknowledge Lakshmi, adn give a small donation. Lakshmi is the Goddess of Prosperity.

To the Indians, these statues are not symbols or statues,but the Gods and Goddesses themselves. It is suggested to catch the eye of the stature, just in the corner of the eye (and the eyes are ofen quite lifelike) and to see if the God or Goddess looks back at you.

Mr. Don was a Hindu, but Salim, recall, the fellow with the postcards, was a Muslim. Salim did not enter the small temple. I took one last photo of the Taj, and there was some crud on the riverbank, but I can't say the area around the Taj was a ghetto, after all. There was great inner richness in the people around it.

I walked with Mr. Don and Salim up the path back toward the Taj, and Salim stopped at a wall there precious to the Muslims and Kissed it. He invited James to do the same. James kissed the wall with Salim of the Muslims, just as he had bowed to the images of Durga and Lakshmi in the small temple.

It was like walking through the book sections of the Bodhi Tree Bookstore. The Bodhi Tree has sections on every form of Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. Also, books on Astrology and so on. If those book sections came to life, and were peopled, it would be very much the experience of India.

After this, I went to the Taj. There I was guided by an Imam and James acknowleged Allah. Later, it was the altar Krishna.

There are so many Gods in India that after awhile, we can understand that I am not a thing.

There is also a photo of the bodhi tree, that is in back of the bookstore in LA, and that was taken from a cutting of a "bodhi" tree in India. The Bodhi Tree is actually called a Peples Tree. It is regarded as the tree the Buddha sat under when he attaintained the five kinds of insight and enlightment.

Of course, the Buddha was to be a day or so following. For now, it was to ge a good guest among the Hindus and Muslims.

With the Buddha, we can perhaps understand that there is no YOU. And that there only is YOU.

(PS None of this important--hope it's at least interesting)

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Photos

Leaves
Peples Tree (Bodhi Leaves)

Mr Don
Local Guide

Bodhi Tree
The Bookstore

YUMUNA Riverbank
"Ghetto??"

YUMUNA Riverbank
Local Kids

At the Bookstore
May Peace Prevail

At the Bookstore
Peples Tree (Bodhi Tree)