Blogs from Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India, Asia - page 19

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Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh April 12th 2008

hey friends and family! just updating on the past bit of time... arriving into rishikesh fresh off the train. stopping to sip some chai as we are first introduced to the himalayas. with the sunrise reflecting on mama ganga, i take a deep breath of fresh air and enjoy the peace and quiet that was longed for since i set foot in this country. as the morning approaches, musical chanting of mantras and ringing bells emanate through the breeze. indulging in the tranquility of fresh water and mountain air, we make ourselves at home in our temporary abode. after a few days we venture off to phool chatti ashram. set in the foot of the himalayas, in the valley of the gods, this 120 year old ashram served and still serves as a resting point for ... read more

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh April 12th 2008

Namaste from India! We arrived in Delhi almost a month ago in the 'warm season' and headed out on the golden triangle of Rajhastan - going to Agra - home of the Taj Mahal before moving onto Jaipur, Pushkar, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaiselmer the pink, the Holy Hindu, the blue and the sand cities. All with incredible hill top forts - chaotic bazaars selling everything from spices, Hindu mantra cds, saris to sweets, bindis, and miniature hindu gods.... As we travelled around and neared the desert, temperatures hotted up approaching the pre-monsoon 'hot season' By the time we arrived in Jaiselmer a week ago it was topping 40 degrees and we sat in a candle lit roof top cafe at dusk underneath an incredibly angry sky throwing sheet and fork lightening and biblical rain down on us!! ... read more

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh April 10th 2008

A lot has been moving and shifting for me in the month I have been staying at Anand Prakash Ashram (www.anandprakashashram.com). Yes, I have been strengthening my physical yoga practice, but what is more important, I have only now begun to understand what Yoga really means. Through practising Akhanda Yoga, a holistic, integral form of yoga with an emphasis on the balanced sequencing of asana (postures), pranayama (breath control/retention), relaxation, mantra and meditation, I have come to realize that the postures are only a small part of what constitutes the Yogic lifestyle. What's been really groundbreaking for me was to fully feel and experience the power of the Vaidika mantras which we chant every day as part of the classes, during the daily fire puja, and the thrice-weekly kiirtan sessions. In fact, the fire rituals have ... read more
The pujari administers puja
Praying to the fire
Feeding the fire

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh April 4th 2008

Hello all. It's been a few weeks since you've received any blogs of my travels. It's b/c I've been stationary for nearly a month in rishikesh. What a beautiful city! 1 of the 4 holy cities of Indian pilgrimages. anyhow, I've been running around hiking up to small villages, waterfalls, swimming in the ganges, meditating, reading, etc. It's been absolutely perfect & divine. But sadly to say, there was a young Turkish boy that checked out of the ashram the day before. And later that day, he was taken by mother Gange....pulled under the current & never came up. A neighbor witnessed it, but too late to do anything. All of his supposed friends refused to go w/farid (my extremely handsome iranian neighbor) to the police station b/c they wanted to have dinner. =( He is ... read more

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh March 22nd 2008

It's Holi today. Holi is one of North India's most exuberant and playful festivals; Hindus celebrate the beginning of spring by throwing gulal (coloured powder) and coloured water at anyone within range. This sounds fun, I think, and despite the doubtful looks of my fellow ashramites, I decide to throw on some old clothes and brave the mayhem. 'Put some oil on your hair and body before you go out', advises a concerned Yogi Vishvketu in this morning's yoga class, during which he falls in with the festival's joyful spirit by having us perform a whole lot of loud 'mieuws' during cat pose, whilst laughing uncontrollably. I dutifully borrow some coconut oil from Ram Ji, our long-haired and equally long-bearded, robed receptionist and slap a handful onto my hair. So far, so good. I go out ... read more
Mata Ji and Uma play Holi
It's Ma Kali!
Celebrating the spring equinox after the Kali masque has been shed

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh March 14th 2008

After 2 weeks of sedentarity, it is time for a new adventure! Tomorrow, I leave Rishikesh and by the end of the next day, I should be in Lumbini, Nepal, on my way to Kathmandu. I will be joining a group of trekkers as an assistant-guide for a canadian company. I really look forward to seeing this country again, after 12 years... I am sure a lot of things changed. It will be great to see the Himalayas again. Around Manaslu is the trek. Leaving India.... It sounds very strange, as everything feels so familiar now, like I always lived here. As I was eating a thali on a roof top overlooking the Ganges yesterday, I was thinking this is probably the last thali I eat for a while! 2.5 months went by very fast but ... read more

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh March 14th 2008

I finally have some free time to update my blog. I am now in Risikesh, aka yoga capital of india - thanks to an 8-page spread by vanity fair & currently, a 7-day international yoga festival (which consisted of mostly LA'ers). But it's been great! I've been doing yoga everyday, either with an instructor or in the outdoor pavilion @ the Ved Niketan Ashram (where I'm staying). The ashram is great - very quiet. & I've met some amazing people who are on this path of personal evolution. Many amazing swamis pass through Rishikesh. I've been lucky enough to attend 2 sat-sungs (spiritual talks) of Swami Muktananda, a disciple of Swami Chidananda, a guru of Sivananda Ashram . He's a 6'5 Canadian gentleman that realized at an early age that life was nothing but suffering. Long ... read more
Holi..Moly! - 2
Gange
Me lounging @ freedom cafe

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh March 12th 2008

After several weeks of rest, shanti, and a certain amount of hesitation, I have finally moved to an ashram. 'Have fun in your nice prison', says Hee, as she helps me move my belongings to my new abode. My room is sparse but comfortable, with two single beds, a concrete shelving unit, a bedside table, and two plastic chairs. I have a private bathroom, too, and a sunny balcony with a(somewhat restricted) view to the mountains. The ashram is a bright, new building with a big roof terrace, two yoga halls, a garden with a ritual space, a lovely dining room, and many beautiful paintings and statues of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. So, what is ashram life like? It's great. I love it, although of course, there are challenges, too. Our typical day goes like this: ... read more
Celebrations in the Shiva lingam temple
Moses heats up the crowd
A young guest honours Shiva

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh March 10th 2008

Rishikesh, grad joge, meditacije i masaza! Mali gradic gore na obromcima Himalaje, kroz koji opet protice Ganaga, samo sad mnogo brza i cistija. Rishikesh su posebno proslavili The Beatles-i , posto su ovde blejali u jednom Asrhamu i napisali vecinu pesama sa White Album-a. Asram je sada napusten vec 10 godina i nalazi se na granici grda i sume. Inace zabranjen ulaz, usli smo uz pomoc malog baksisa. Unutra, pomalo izolovano od velikog broja turista, puno lepo sredjenih kucica, mali trgic i hala gde su radili jogu, i sve to zaraslo u biljke. Totalna tisina osim ponekog cvrkuta mnogobrojnih ptica i pogled na reku, sredina koja definitivno budi inspiraciju kako Beatlesima tako i nama. Posle silazimo na reku na jednu od mnogobrojnih pescanih plazica igledamo na dva viseca mosta sto spajaju dva dela grada. Cekamo sumrak, ... read more
Vodopadi
Kuypanje u svetoj, chistoj, i hladnoj Gangi

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh March 9th 2008

Time flies when you are having fun, right? So not surprisingly, I can't believe that in a week I will be leaving India for Nepal... Where did all this time go? After I finished exploring Ram Jhula and Laxman Jhula, the two most popular areas of Rishikesh (for Westerners), I spent a couple days doing very little. It was really great, relaxing, peaceful, rejuvenating would also be a good word to describe it. Focussing on yoga, and on sitting on my balcony, smiling at the hills. Then I got back into my old habit of wanting to do more... And signed up for hindi lessons. It felt like all of a sudden INdia got a lot hotter! I was sweating bullets! The teacher is a wonderful man, and he is very good too, but it is ... read more




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