I N D I A

Yoga, Kerala, And Dharamsala

India is a country I love to be in.  The people are friendly and curious, the food is delicious, and every spice, scent and scene differs region to region.  Returning to the country after 9 years, I found myself as exhilarated landing in Bangalore this past November, as I was back in 2008, when I arrived in Calcutta.  I anticipate that gripping sensation when I travel to Asia, and I welcome it willingly.  On that first trip I had no interest in seeking out yoga.  My intention was to meet people, get a feel for what I'd read about in books by Rohinton Mistry and Amitav Ghosh, and see landscapes I knew I'd be rapt by.  As a professional yoga teacher now,  I'm glad I did love India.   With its philosophies, history and spiritual insights a primary focus, the work genuinely feels complemented by my affinity for the country.  When teaching, I try to convey elements of what I have learned while studying in India, Nepal, and Indonesia, and as a traveller and student, I continually strive to discover more, as the scope for experience and knowledge is infinite.  Some of those discoveries are what follows, my tiny glimpse of India from a few different perspectives, and whether keen on history, culture, yoga or otherwise, this country categorically fascinates.

India 2008
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T H E   N O R T H E A S T 

Bokar Ngedon Chokhor Ling Monastery, Mirk, West Bengal

​​Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Jain are the main religions represented in the districts and cities of the northeast states I first visited.  You may hear adhan, the rhythmical Islamic call to worship in one city, and then find yourself elsewhere, sharing a walk along a tea plantation-lined road with Buddhist monks, mesmerised by the deep, devotional chanting, Tibetan horns, dung dkar (conch shell) and drums emanating from a nearby monastery.  I met some astonishingly generous locals in the region, always eager to offer assistance, tell you about the area, or invite you into their home for a meal with their families.  Those moments get me every time, unforgettable impressions that contributed to my pursuing  yoga study in India all these years later.   

Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh

In 1959, the Dalai Lama and his caravan of guards and officials escaped from Lhasa, Tibet, arriving safely in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.  West of Ziro, they moved through the border towns of Tawang and Bomdila to finally reach Mussoorie, where he and his party were welcomed and ensured protection by the Indian government.  As one of the first places I travelled to, along with a visit to the Tibetan Refugee Self Help Centre in Darjeeling, it seems appropriate to share a few a bits from this time, as I ended my second trip to India in Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama and thousands of Tibetans have been settled in exile for the last 60 years.

Tibetan Refugee Self Help Centre, Darjeeling

​​The centre opened in 1959 to accommodate those newly arrived Tibetans who came in refuge with almost nothing.  It was founded by Mrs. Deky Dolkar, wife of Gyalo Thondup, a brother of the Dalai Lama.  Tenzing Norgay, who first summited Everest along with Edmund Hillary, was also one of its founding members.  The current president is Deky and Gyalo's son Khedroob Thondup, grandson of Diki Tsering, the Dalai Lama's mother.  Khedroob, whom I met at the centre, released her autobiography, Dalai Lama, My Son, a compelling account of her struggles and strengths, the integrity of Tibetan Buddhism, and her steadfast compassion for all living beings.  Along with being a rehabilitation and medical facility, traditional handcrafted goods and intricate carpets are manufactured here and available for purchase worldwide, an endeavour to sustain Tibetan livelihood and spirt.

India 2017
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K A R N A T A K A

Mysore Palace of the Wadiyar Dynasty 1399-1947

Lightening, fire, destruction and politics have lead to many rebuilds of this magnificent structure.  Established as part of a wooden fortress in the 14th century by the Royal family of Mysore,  its current design was completed in 1912 by an English architect.  In the 1930's, King Wadiyar IV, who had a propensity for physical exercise, appointed the legendary yoga scholar and professor Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya to teach at the palace, leading to the opening of a designated yoga school.  He began to instruct the King and other students on what he had learned over 7 years from his guru in a Himalayan cave near Mount Kailash, Tibet.  The King died in 1940, and in 1947, at the end of the colonial period, the mayor of Mysore ordered the school to be closed and Krishnamacharya moved to Madras (now Chennai) to continue lecturing.  His students would go on to become some of the most notable yoga educators in India and the world, especially his own son, T.K.V. Desikachar, who became a great spiritual guide, yoga therapist and healer.  Sri T. Krishnamacharya, now revered as the father of modern yoga, lived to be 101 years old, and Desikachar died at the age of 78, in 2016, leaving behind an equally profound legacy.

​S T R E E T S   O F   M Y S O R E 

Drawn on the forehead with holy ash, these three white horizontal lines, tripundra, are a symbol, tilak, representing worship of the deity Shiva, the destroyer, one of the most significant gods of the Hindu trinity.  The others are Brahma, the creator (not to be confused with Brahman, the Supreme Being or God), and Vishnu, the preserver, which also have their own tilak, often applied with sandalwood paste. 

Hindu tradition holds that a 3rd eye (Ajna Chakra) exists to maintain an inward focus on God for the purpose of self-realization.  The red bindi, meaning point or dot, over the 3rd eye signifies marriage and prosperity, and is often replaced by a jewel or used as a fashion accessory.  The traditional red point was made of cow blood and dirt, which has now been changed to sandalwood, saffron, turmeric, ash or flowers.

D E V A R A J A   M A R K E T 

These colourful powders, a common and attractive sight in this 100+ year old market, are used to create rangoli, decorative hand-drawn patterns on the ground outside homes or in courtyards for celebrations and ​puja, prayer, as below. 

G O K U L A M 

Top row, centre is Sri T. Krishnamacharya.  He is surrounded by some of the world's great spiritual leaders, philosophers, writers and teachers of the current and past centuries, calm and welcoming images on the wall of a café I frequented.  People from all over the world studying various yoga traditions or healing modalities can be found in the café's and shops of Gokulam, home to dozens of yoga schools; over 40 such centres are located in the whole of Mysore District.  If you have ever been here, or if you should visit in the future, you will know this café and this dazzling goat.

A S H R A M 

Considered to be the cultural heart and yoga capital of southern India, it was here in Mysore that I chose to attend a 300 hour advanced yoga teacher training with AyurYoga Eco Ashram, a non-profit centre run by spiritual seekers, scholars and monks.  An hour's drive out of the city, it is quietly settled along the Kabini River on its own 18 acre organic farm attended to by locals. Although I had enjoyed a month-long internship at a yoga academy in Nepal 6 years earlier in the traditional one-on-one teacher/student custom, as well as other outstanding trainings, this was to date the most significant education on yoga I have received.

The school, whose wise and kind director Krishna (far right) does not promise Nirvana, surpassed my expectations.  The teachers, whose educations, monastic and yogic studies were clearly exceptional, refused to call themselves gurus, and transmitted their vast knowledge in a humble, gracious manner.  For 30 days we awoke to the sound of a hand-rung bell at 5:15am.  We began our mornings with neti pot cleansing, tea, and then a 3 hour yoga class that took us through breathing exercises, meditation, advanced postures, and chanting.  By 9pm, we would retire to our cabins in silence after a day of lectures, along with another extensive yoga class through sunset.  It was astutely presented, transformational, and challenging in every aspect of study, and I am reminded of these remarkable teachers and friends each day.                                       
​                                                                                                                                              (photo credit as shown:  Ayuryoga Eco Ashram)

 
On returning home to New Zealand, fully inspired by my philosophy and Sanskrit teacher Swami Prabodh Chaitanya, I immersed myself in Sanskrit and the Yoga Sutras by transcribing them in that ancient script - 196 aphorisms on the theory and practice of  raja (royal) yoga, codified by the sage Patañjali some 2000 years ago.

I did have a head-start as I took a year to learn basic Nepalese in Devanagari on my own before going to Nepal, however this was my first experience with the script in the context of yoga philosophy, something I am now able to share with my current and future students.

Swami Prabodh, a yoga Vedanta Scholar, began each philosophy lecture chanting a sacred prayer, and we closed them by chanting together from the Bhagavad Gita (an epic from Hindu scripture).  

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A S H R A M   V I L L A G E   J P  H U N D I 

K E R A L A 

In Hinduism there are said to be 330 million gods, however it is a henotheistic religion, and these deities are avatars, aspects and reflections of the one Supreme Being, Brahman, traditionally believed in.  After a month at the ashram, myself and a few new friends enjoyed some time in God's Own Country, walking along the quiet streets of Fort Kochi, eating chocolate cake, drinking ice-cold coconut lattes, wandering in and out of bookstores and shops, and relishing the green lushness and decaying Portuguese, Dutch and British (in that order of colonial rule) architecture of the area.

Chai wallah cyclists deliver sweet, hot chai, an aromatic and delicious concoction of black tea, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, ginger, peppercorn, nutmeg, milk and sugar, to the neighbouring businesses and pedestrians.

Each sunset we enjoyed the vibrancy of families and friends that would gather along the Mahatma Gandhi Beach on the Arabian Sea, an area famous for its cantilevered cheena vala, Chinese fishing nets brought in by the Portuguese from Macau.  More a tourist attraction now due to poor catch, these nets were installed between 1350AD and 1450 by traders from the court of Kublai Khan, but other theories have been implied.

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D H A R A M S A L A 

The Dhauladhar Range, part of the Lesser Himalaya, welcomes arrivals into Dharamsala in Western Himachal Pradesh.  Being close to the mountains, strolling through streets filled with Tibetans, and spending time in the temples of the Dalai Lama was how I wanted to end this trip.  On my own, no plans, lots of momos, the occasional cold and gold Kingfisher, and minimal wifi.  Perfect after a month of intense study, and exactly how I prefer to experience Asia.

​3 kilometres north of Dharamsala and sitting at 2,082m, McLeod Ganj is a small town that has been the residence of the Dalai Lama since 1960, when he left Arunachal Pradesh.  Here he established the Central Tibetan Secretariat, his government-in-exile, along with monasteries and temple complexes for the nearly 10,000 Tibetan refugees, nuns and monks who live in here.  Often this area is referred to as Little Lhasa, but for the Tibetans, it is Dhasa, Dharamsala and Lhasa combined.  Nearly 100,000 Tibetans have fled to India since 1959.

T S U G L A G K A N G   T E M P LE   C O M P L E X 

The Dalai Lama's Residence, which is not open to the public, is located near the communal courtyard and adjacent to his administrative offices.

N A M G Y A L   G O M P A 

​​This personal temple of the Dalai Lama also serves as a monastery.  The courtyard (below left) is where he gives talks for the public when he is in residence, and where monks hold their weekly philosophical debates that visitors are welcome to observe.  A Tibetan woman spins prayer wheels that surround the exterior of the sunlit Buddhist temple.

L I N G K O R   M E D I T A T I O N   T R A I L 

Monks and pilgrims make a kora, circumambulation, of the Lingkor path, a clockwise ritual circuit around Tsuglagkhang Complex, which encompasses the temple, monastery, residence of the Dalai Lama, and museum.  Each day I joined many Tibetans along the path, some in silence, some quietly chatting in groups, all softly chanting Om Mani Padme Hum, ​the mantra of Buddhist Compassion, while spinning prayer wheels or turning the mala beads in their hand.  Besides feeling like one of the most sublime and quiet places in India, it offered spectacular Himalayan views.

Om Mani Padme Hum does not translate easily, however its essence is the jewel is in the lotus, or pray to the jewel in the lotus. The Dalai Lama explains that the significance of repeating the mantra is to 'use human intelligence in the maximum way, to transform our emotions...a practice for love, compassion, forgiveness, tolerance and self-discipline.' This mantra is carved into the walls surrounding the complex and residence, as well as on the many prayer wheels installed along the circuit.

T I B E T   M U S E U M 

A confronting look at the Chinese occupation of Tibet, Tibetan resistance, escape, and often, self-immolation - images of whom, along with their final words and reasons for doing so, are displayed here.  Posters of Enforced Disappearances, those who have gone missing, such as monks, writers or others labelled as 'unknown' who appeared as threats to, or were in opposition of, the Chinese government, are on the exteriors of buildings throughout McLeod Ganj.

N A M G Y A L M A   S T U P A 

Located amongst the shops and vendors on Temple Road, in the very busy heart of McLeod Ganj, this 3-storied Buddhist temple is a memorial to all those Tibetans who lost their lives fighting to keep their country free.  On the top level is an enshrined statue of Sakyamuni Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) and the entire ground floor of the temple is surrounded by prayer wheels that seem to never stop spinning.

His Holiness was not in McLeod Ganj while I was in town, but I spent some time with his memoir and his people, witnessing the incredible work of the NGO's in the area, mostly operated by ethnic Tibetans.  I admire their resilience and perseverance over the last 60 years, their excellent craftsmanship and graceful presence, all reflections of an endurance to preserve their culture, language, traditions and religion.  Buddhism is deeply rooted in Indian soil, though less than 1% of the country is Buddhist; nearly 80% are Hindus, as was the Buddha himself.  Both belief systems emphasize karma and compassion, attitudes that can be felt throughout India, and helpful sentiments to adopt while travelling here, whether studying yoga in an ashram, eating coconut ice cream while watching the sun set on the Arabian Sea, or walking with Buddhist pilgrims in the foothills of the Himalaya.

Since 2006, I have returned to Asia nearly every year, travelling to 20 of its countries over that time; a few repeats of course, as I have my treasured places. On leaving these destinations I am always filled with hope, even when witnessing struggle, despair and inequality, because most humans truly are kind and helpful.  For me travel is a discipline for living, to have experiences where I  can observe, enquire, and interact with people who prove every day what it means to value most the simplest things in life.