What a deep and profound pilgrimage my trip to India was; it touched and inspired me in so many ways. It is a land of so much color and culture, richness of spirit and vastness of experience. Life is raw and real, and in your face with life, death and poignant beauty in each moment. It is an on going reminder of the preciousness of life within the impermanence of form, as everything keeps moving and changing… and somehow life works within the madness and impossibility of it all. Everything is complete chaos according to our western minds’ preference for order and cleanliness, yet it all works. With a billion people, cows and dogs, life moves in its own crazy way.
My experience in India gives me a trust in the fact that there is something so much bigger that is orchestrating and holding us all… whether you call that God, Grace, Creator or Spirit; no where else in the world do I know a place where this is so evident. Something is taking care, and somehow the people of these lands know it in their hearts. Even though so many have so little, there is the spirit of care and kindness, generosity and love and laughter. No one here has a retirement plan (often they have no idea where their next meal is coming from) and yet there is a basic trust that somehow things work out. It has restored to me my trust in life and the basic goodness of the human heart. It is natural to see a beggar and want to give what one can, or to feed a hungry dog…and what one gets back is the sense of caring for each other in our interconnectedness within the circle of life.
My last stop was in Rishikesh on the banks of the river Ganges, where millions of devotees of this holy river gather from all over the world to honor the sacred within and without. Spiritual teachers and seekers abound, Satsang happens with many western and Indian gurus, every other building is either an ashram or a yoga school. Nowhere is more filled with throngs of people who come seeking Truth. I was blessed to sit every day there with Mooji Baba, an enlightened Jamaican/English mystic, along with 2000 others every day (Mooji.tv)
Each day I was brought into a direct experience of True Nature, beyond the mind and beyond concepts, just simple peace, love, joy and immense gratitude. It was a blessing indeed to be so showered by Grace, remembering who I AM in consciousness.
I stayed at the orphanage and school of my long time friend Dwabha. What touched and opened my heart the most is what this one woman is doing to make a difference in the lives of so many children. Since 1995 she has been taking in orphaned untouchable children, whose lives otherwise would be destined for extreme poverty, begging and servitude. Instead they have an opportunity in life to know that they are loved and are valuable and can make something of themselves. They get three healthy nourishing meals a day, and a good education. She has singlehandedly, with nothing but the conviction in her heart and a passion to serve these children, built and grown the orphanage and school. Now, because everyone’s hearts are touched when they see what she is doing here, many come to volunteer and support her work. The organic cafe on the property serves the most delicious healthy food and all who come here fall in love. It made me so happy to be around healthy happy thriving children who are so mature, responsible, kind and generous, and who know they matter. It gave me hope for the world that if we each just do what we can and give where we care, the world really can be transformed. If you would like to contribute to this very worthy cause (it costs just a dollar a day to support a child) please go to https://www.ramanas.org.
Thank you for caring!
