The Narrow Path

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Day five and I am still here in Delhi, my temporary home. I sit here by the pool on a soft Indian evening waiting for the sun to set. Later I will attempt to see if I can drum up some nightlife in Connaght Place, but earlier today I was all about sightseeing.

Yesterday I me a nice taxi driver who drove me to India Gate. When you meet a truly good person you know it. Well this driver from the foothills of the Himalayas was just such a man. He was not a trixter, and I decided that I would hire him to drive me around so I could see a few of the sights that I had missed so far on this trip. I arranged to have him pick me up at 11am. So after my usual breakfast feast at my hotel I was off.

The first place I had chose to see was Humayan's Tomb. It was very impressive. A real Islamic monument with a Persian feel. What I love about Indian monumnets is how they are surrounded by these huge open gardens with expansive lawns. They are Indian with their colors and a touch of the exotic, but in a civilized "Jewel in the Crown" kind of way. As I walked along the base of the giant tomb, I heard from above familiar sounds and giggles. "Kowai". It was two Japanese girls giggling about the scariness of the height they were peering over. During this trip I have been interested in how accustomed I have become to living in Japan. The comfort TV I turn on is not MTV, but NHK with its calm restrained tones of Japanese newsmen and women. Also, I seem to have more interest in and a feel a slight kinship whenever enounter Japanese travelers here in India. An interesting development.

When I was done thinking about Japanese girls I went and found a bodhisatva tree to sit under. I sat under that tree just like Siddhartha Gautama, the original buddha had done years before in India when he had achieved enlightenment. I too was searching for life's meaning. It was a unique experience.

My next port of call was the Lotus Temple. It resembles a great white flower, with its petals pointed upward to the sky. It is surrounded by these peaceful pools of light blue water. I took off my shoes, joined the line, and went inside. The interior is a place of meditation and you are not allowed to speak. Its big open space soars and urges your thoughts ever upward. My soul felt very light in that building.

My final stop of the day was the Gandhi Smitry. It is where Gandhi lived the last few months of his life and includes a museum dedicated to Gandhi's life. There is also a small monument built in rememberance. You can also enter the very room where he spent his final 44 days on Earth. All throughout the complex there are quotes from Gandhi.

I know the path. It is straight and narrow. It is like the edge of a sword and I rejoice to walk on it. I weep when I slip. God's word is 'He who strives never perishes.' I have implicit faith in that promise. Though, therefore, from my weakness I fail a thousand times, I will not lose faith, but hope I shall see the light when the flesh has been brought under perfect subjection, as some day it must

Gandhi

Wise words to live by. Trully he was a gift to the human race. In the garden there are bronze footprints of Gandhi's. You can just picture the great man walking peacefully along his way.

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Photos

Humuyan's Tomb
A day of sightseeing.

Lotus Temple
A place of serenity

Gandhi Simtry
To aspire to walk in the footsteps of great men.