India Pilgrimage 2011

I leave India tonight and I'm very happy to be going home. This pilgrimage has been harder than I thought it would be. I'd been in India before - Goa in March 2008 but it I realize I was in a bit of a bubble on that trip. We were protected in a large by from realness of experience by staying in one place and travelling minimally. I'm so so very grateful for this experience - it was exactly what needed to happen in my life at this time but it is coming to an end and the next phase of the journey begins.

I thought now would be a good time to make the final entry for his blog.

I want to first thank those of you who have taken the time to slog through reading this...it means a lot to me even if you have just checked out one or two entries or the photos. Your support and encouragement over the last month +++ means so very much to me.

But first the end of the trip.........

Gaya train station was all we were told....the saddest dirtiest station in India. We arrived and joined hundreds of other travellers. Many of whom were camping out on the ground outside the station, in the station in waiting rooms and near the train tracks. Asleep, eating, entertaining their children, begging, etc. The station had minimal seating so this was the only alternative for most of these folks, many of whom had to be at the station for hours or days before/after their train connection.

There was lots of entertainment though. The usual dogs scrounging for food and mating and the odd rat running accross pipes above or popping out of holes in the ground or on the tracks. The most excitement came when a cow was sniffing around for food and woke up a sleeping man in the enclosed 2nd class waiting area. He shouted in suprise which spooked the cow and started a stampede of the cow and people. Most of the travellers had been asleep so they woke with a start and started running, yelling.

The errant cow (who was on of the few black and white holsteins I've seen in India) decided to try for food again, this time near the tracks. Very near where we were, she was caught with her head in the food bag of a family. The young woman and her little boy of the family laughed and got a kick out of it even though they'd lost some of their food and the rest was probably covered in cow slobber. The young man of the family was not so equanimous about it and chased the cow down the platform yelling and twisitng the rebellious animal's tail.

And we said, "this is India...."

We have been back in Delhi again for a couple days staying again at he YMCA where we first started our journey. It seems like we were just here but also a century ago. Time feels very strange....fast and oh so slow.

Yesterday we went to the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort in Agra about 2 hours out of Delhi. Both were excellent products of the Moghul rule. The Taj was built by Emporer Shah Jahan for his beloved third wife and mother of his 14 children Empress Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj is everything it is cracked up to be and more. It is truly magnificent and a brilliant and mysterious piece of architecture.

Later yesterday our bus broke down from a severly over heated engine. As smoke billowed into the cabin of the bus it was a rude awakening for those of us napping! We pulled into a small dusty typical Indian village and numerous eager men came over to help. Some took pictures of us which was very fair since we've been snapping shots of Indian faces all along. Westerners in some parts are still an oddity and our pale skin and weird clothes attracts attention. It was photography karma for sure.

While stranded instead of whipping past the village as we often did on our way to our next destination, we sat still as the village passed us by. As we waited for the replacement bus there was time to reflect on the trip and our many experiences.

As I reflected I realized I am not the same person who embarked on this journey in January of 2010. My life was very, very different when I first decided to go on this journey. So much has changed. Further, I'm not even the same person who arrived in India a month ago. There has been so much letting go and renunciation of parts of me falling away that no longer serve. Some of the letting go with great difficulty. And there has been an aquisition of parts of me not yet fully explored or even known.

This has been a pilgrimage of the very sacred and awe inspiring Buddhist sites and teachings. This has been amazing travel in this chaotic, crazy, ugly, beautiful land. This has also been a journey to the centre of my soul......traversing of the heart, mind and body. Like the beggars on the corner, I'm aware that there are parts of me that beg attention. I'm grateful that some parts have been exposed to the light due to the conditions. Some have arisen without resolution. Some are still simmering under the surface.

I leave India with the intention to never forget this land and its lessons. To let the experiences from this journey to Istanbul and India stay with me and continue to help me change and grow. To let the experiences that have sparked pain, aversion, joy, frustration and compassion give me grace and wisdom and help to inform my decisions as I continue to live my life. A life so priviledged and wonderful.

So the physical journey may be almost over but the pilgrimage of the spirit, the journey of awakening continues......to travel well is hard, harder than I thought, especially in India. I am inspired by the words of the Buddha:

"Travelling well one finds delight and proper understanding of what counts....."

May all beings be blessed with what truly counts, peace and freedom always. Namaste, Moragh

We are in Bodh Gaya, Bihar Province, India with 4 days left in our journey. This town famous for the enlightenment of the Buddha is a fascinating and very magical place. Also similar to the rest of India: very dusty, tons and tons of people, poverty, filth, etc. Packed with all of the endearing and agitating qualities of this ancient country.

This is the ultimate place of Buddhist pilgrimage. The Mahavira Temple complex contains the most beautiful stupas and carvings and statues and the sacred Bodhi tree (under which the Buddha attained enlightenment). The tree was a bit of a let down (reminder to self, watch out for expectations!) as there is absolutely no access to it. It is fenced off with a huge stone structure. It makes sense though, for the health of the tree as hundreds of thousands visit weekly and if everyone walked around, touched the tree and took a piece of bark or leaf, it would not survive. The canopy is so large, that it IS possible to sit under the tree itself. This tree is not the one the Budha sat under, it died or was cut down yeas ago. Legend has it that the existing one is a cutting from a tree in Sri Lanka which is a cutting of the original tree. I was blessed to obtain (without risking life, limb or liberty) a couple leaves from another grandbaby tree of the original - one of these is for you Louis!

The town and temple complex is fascinating and packed with pilgrims from all over the world. Also including monks and nuns from every Buddhist tradition. It interesting to learn about their robe style and colours e.g. the Tibetans wear a colour combo of saffron and a beautiful maroon (like His Holidness the Dalai Lama) and the Theravadans wear a bright orange. Druing the day there are dozens of devotees doing full body prostrations on rented 7' boards. This practice and others prepare the Tibetans to be ready to study the sacred tests and start their education. One only needs to do 100,000 before they can start the studying. It has the air of a sacred gym with sweating yogis doing their prostrations in the full heat of the day, grabbing a few sips of sports water then continuing. You may ask, how do they keep track of the number of prostration? "Was that 38,887 or 38,888????" If you loose count do you start again?? The high tech yogis use counters that automatically click with each prostration. Others do 100,000 mantras or chants using handfuls of crystals or rice poured over a copper pot.

We had the honour of witnessing the ordination of a monk. There were all different sects of Buddhist mnks and nuns present to witness and participate. His head was shaved in front of all (including us) ans he took the precepts and sacred vows. Extraordinary. I ran into him on my own later and wanted to say something to wish him well....what does one say to a new monk?? "Good luck???" "Congratulations??" "Do you know what you are in for????" So I just congratulated and wished him well with a bow. Being Vietnamese, as per his culture , he bowed even lower and then we seemed to have a bowing contest...how low can you go? He appeared to appreciate the good wishes although I'm sure he did dnot understand a word I said. It was such an honour and privalege to witness this pivotoal moment in his life.

So you are wondering when I'm going to get to the enlightenment story, right???? Well, I can honestly say that I'm still on the spiritual human plane but meditating on this sacred land was energetically powerful and unique. There were moments of huge clarity and a peace I had never felt before. There were moments when I thought I was levitating and that all ended as soon as I thought "I'm levitating and this is so cool, I onder if someone will get a picture???" It was probably too much South Indian filtered coffee but it was a very interesting experience. (Bodh Gaya is the 1st place with real coffee other than instant and I've been enjoying it here. Life as a foreigner in India requires some kind of crutch and I figured this one would take the edge off...and not be too destructive......!)

Typical of an insight meditation practice, under the Boidhi tree there were also painful moments that I tried to just be with and view as a teaching...just as my teachers have told me to do. "This too", part of the experience of changing energies and emotional/heart insights about this heart/body/mind. It is all part of this inner pilgrimage and all a blessing (even though it does not feel like it at the time). I'm grateful, so grateful for these "aha" moments of awareness as I continue this spiritual journey. I know I have changed and grown and will never be the same. LIke all of us, these inner transitional and pivotal moments are heart and soul shaking but oh so benefcial in the long run.

One of the highlights of the trip and part of the personal growth was a visit yesterday to a very poor village where we were guests at a meeting of a women's support group and micro finance cooperative. (Di I thought of you when I was there and all your great ideas about this!) We sat as special guests in the home of a woman who is considered middle class although by Western standards the home would be 'substandard'. The 40 or so women, some with babies/toddlers in tow sang us songs about their journey of empowerment and hope. We heard their teaching abou the environment given by community workers. They were told many things including how they can save energy, money and time and the planet by uising a pressure cooker to prepare their meals. Many expressed fears that the food would not taste the same or that the cooker would explode. Funny, many of us Westerens had the same fears! We heard heart moving stories of women who learned about organic farming at a conference and brought it back to their community to teach. They are now successfully making a living selling the rice and vegetables and are now financially secure. These heart wrming stories continued for a while and we were treated to fresh fruit and buicuits. Our guide and the woman in charge was Sister Mary, a South Indian Catholic nun who spear headed this and many other women's groups in order to improve the lives of these women - economically, socially and helping to empower these women. Sister Mary is a modern Bodisathva - simolar to Mother Theresad and the Dalai Lama - a soul who will not become enlightened until all souls are ready to end the wheel of reirth. Bodisathvas devote their lives to liberating all beings. She is truly a gift to this community and these women.

All of them were from the "untouchable caste" which made absolutely no sense as I looked at their beautiful faces full of strength and character. I certainly do not understand the thousand ++ year old Indian caste system that Ghandi tried so hard to banish. It persists and seems to be part of the DNA. I had the honour to address the group and it was a very emotional moment. I thanked them for sharing their lives and their stories with us and to inspire us and encouraged them to do what I've reminded myself to do many times in the last 12 months - believe in yourself, you can do ANYTHING!.

As we left the village we witnessed rice and water chestnut harvesting and a small taste of the on ground poverty we had witnesssed from the bus/train. It really helped me to feel connected to the Indian people. Something that has been hard to feel sometimes as we are confronted with the over zealous beggars and peddlars. There is a much greater sense of the interconnectedness of all spirits. It was a huge gift and blessing that I will old dear in my heart as one of the special moments of this pilgrimage.

Tonight we are off to Delhi by overnight train - we are in sleepers with 3 levels of bunks and Indian train food - then Delhi train station. Lots of opportnities that will amaze, delight, confuse, please, disgust and end up with the only thought that makes sense....."but this is India!

So much has happened since my last entry it is difficult to know where to start....warning this is a long one (my apologies) you might want to grab a cup of chai and settle in.....

From Sarnath we drove via mini bus a few hundred km to Sravasti. It took about 8 hours. My faith was tested many times and is stronger than I thought. Thank goodness for our quick witted driver, Shiba. We rode on the bus sans seat belts amidst the traffic described as a "gong show" (thanks Tiffany for those fitting words they work well here!) There seem to be few if any rules, traffic lights, stop signs, sign posts, speed limits (other than the limit imposed unofficially by the state of the roads). Double lane divided hiways are the usual free for all. One section of the road with 2 lanes (that morph into as many lanes as there are vehicles, pedestrians, motorbikes, bicycles) supposedly going the same way are treated as a regular street with traffic going every which way. The other section of the highway is sometimes used for multi lane and multi directional traffic but more often utilized for cricket games, football (soccer), animals, or storage of sand and gravel (used by dwellers to stop homes from floating away in monsoon season).

So, many hair raising kilometers to Sravasti then into Lumbini, Nepal then to Kushinigar then to Varanasi. Much of this was through rural India with lovely pasture land of millet, rice and sugar cane. Water chestnuts and rice were being harvested as we passed countless towns and villages. We had an intimate view of not only the harvest process but also the personal lives of the villagers. Most people live in what Westerners would call extreme poverty and very much out in the open. India, as my dear friend and yoga teacher Kristin Honey says "is very IN YOUR FACE" and this was proven many times as we saw people working, sleeping, brushing teeth, bathing, shaving, going to school, dressing, undressing, disciplining their children, feeding their animals, relieving themselves......Very hard to miss if the eyes are open. Quite a journey.

Sravasti is significant as the place the Buddha taught at over 25 years of 3 month "rain retreats". It has countless monasteries, some contemporary and many ruins. The most special place for me was ruins of a stupa and monastery on a hill overlooking the rural landscape. I thought of my farmer friends as I saw the harvesting, herds of water buffalo and cows, lambs and goats amidst the fields. It was a magical view and definitely what is known as a "thin place" - a thin veil between earth and another universe, perhaps heaven.

Next over the border to Nepal. I have never experienced a border crossing quite like this one. It involved lengthy paperwork before we left India and after our arrival to Nepal. Other than the usual seemingly inefficient bureaucracy, the crossing involved traveling by foot as we dodged dust, and exhaust, police with serious albeit aged weaponry, vehicles and animals.

Lumbini (Nepal) is the birth place of the Buddha and has dozens of temples, monasteries and stupas (ancient holy sites often containing relics of the Buddha). It is close enough to Mount Everest and Katmandu to see the mountains but they were hidden by the ubiquitous smog. It is disturbing to realize this sky is due mainly to pollution which I certainly have contributed to since coming to India. It warrants a review of my choices and their effect on our delicate atmosphere.

Next to the site of death of the Buddha, back across the border to India. I found the temple containing the reclining Buddha (not often depicted in statues) very moving and energetically magical. It was never quiet though (I've learned quiet is a very rare commodity in India) always the site of hundreds of pilgrims an hour including dueling chant groups!

Varanasi was the next and current stop. With the ancient name of Kashi, meaning City of Life, this city is undoubtedly a place of very public display of life and death in action right in front of you. I struggle for words to describe this city (claimed to be the oldest continually inhabited city in the world) so I will quote the entry in Lonely Planet guide to India:

Brace yourself you are about to enter one of the most blindingly colourful, unrelentlessly chaotic and unapologetically indiscreet places on earth. Varanasi takes no prisoners.....its not for the faint of heart....." -0h how true!

Varanasi is known as the "City of Learning and Burning". "Learning" as there are many universities here including a Sanskrit university. "Burning" for the public cremation sites. Varanasi is also a mecca for Hindus located on the banks of the sacred Ganga (Ganges) River. Millions of Hindus come here on pilgrimage annually to wash away their lifetime of sins by the river goddess "Gangama". If one dies in the city it is considered especially auspicious. Hindus believe cremation at one of the "burning ghats" cremation sites guarantees moksha, (liberation from the cycle of birth and death). A boat ride at sun rise gave us a great view of many of the 80 or so ghats (steps to the river) including both burning ghats and the famous Dasaswamedh Ghat (often seen in movies) where pilgrims and citizens bathe their sins and dirt away.

Our walk through the Old City and the ghats was great training in mindfulness - one has to be on their toes every moment. The Old City of Varanasi makes Old Delhi look like a walk in the park. One is constantly dealing with "friendly" fellows who wish to show you their city and eventually lead you to their family shop, countless beggars, the usual Noah's Ark of the animal kingdom, bicycles, motorcycles and rickshaws. And every variety of feces and garbage imaginable. The day we walked through this area happened to be the birthday of the god Shiva and we encountered a parade led by a huge elephant and her mahoot (driver) followed by hundreds of participants.

This city has provoked a myriad of emotions including extreme pleasure, anxiety, and emotional pain. As always in India, I find it very hard to be in the midst of so much poverty and my emotional response to it. Indeed, part of this spiritual pilgrimage dealing with the arising of unpleasant feelings.....

I regard myself as a pretty cool cat under pressure but the walk yesterday though the Old City provoked anxiety and I fought the tears of vulnerability as we threaded our way along circuitous alleys barely 5-6' wide. These alleys were packed with the regular menagerie of pedestrians, animals, vehicles as well as hundreds of pilgrims lined up to give offerings at the Vishwanath Temple. This famous and very important but controversial temple is only open Hindus and is a place of religious and communal tension. It is surrounded by many police some armed with automatic rifles and bayonets. What did it say, "Varanasi is not for the faint of heart"......

Like the rest of India the poverty, dirt and squalor are adjacent to extreme beauty, elegance and charm. At our temporary home at the Ganges View Hotel at Assi Ghat we are treated as rajees and rajettes (no idea if these are words). There is a sense of Persia in the pre-colonial hotel. My room with my room mate Jane seems to be the old zenana (ladies harem) complete with intricate wooden screens over many of the windows to prevent the ladies from being seen by the public. The mansion is full of marble including marble black and white floors, an area of floor cushions, tables and bolsters, Moghul antiques and amazing artwork. We have a fantastic view of the Assi Ghat and its 24 hour activity.

There have been a number of significant moments including our visit to the cremation ghat known as Harishchandra. It was a very moving and public exposure of the realness of death; a strong contrast to how death and dying is treated in the west. For me, this pragmatic and public yet somehow intimate treatment of death and cremation was together disturbing and oddly liberating. The male members only (the unliberating part - females of the family are excluded to give the departed's soul "the most peaceful transition to heaven") build the funeral pyre with just enough lumber to completely burn the body. The cost of the funeral depends largely on the the type and amount of firewood. After winding on foot bearing the body on a bamboo stretcher through the alleys of the Old City the family members bathe the body in the Ganga River then place it on meticulously placed lumber that has been doused with sandalwood powder, ghee and often gas (for quick combustion). Coals are brought from the on-site temple by the priest (from a sacred fire that has been burning non-stop for thousands of years) and the chosen family member e.g. husband or son lights the fire. All of this is open to the passersby including pedestrians and the water buffalo that somehow live on the ghats.

This experience will no doubt unfold over time in my body/mind as I contemplate my own impermanence and the nature of this collection of skin, bones, muscles, sinew......

Another beautiful experience was Arti the celebration to put Gangama to bed for the night which involved chanting and mystical music and offerings to the river goddess. One of my own offerings to the goddess was the release into the river of a candle in a clay pot surrounded by white and red rose petals....a gift of thanks to the Creator for this precious life and hopes for the wellness and liberty myself and all beings.

I end this entry with the arising of thoughts about this upcoming week which includes our 2nd last stop at Bodh Gaya. This is the site of the enlightenment of the Buddha. It is no mistake that we will be there on 11/11/11 and a full moon (the night of the Buddha's liberation was a full moon). I can't help but believe that amidst all the misery, darkness and suffering in this world that there is shift happening, an emergence of light and compassion and new energies. Best explained by Pam Youngman in her journal for this week coming http://www.northpointastrology.com/ :

The confluence of energies this week involves at least three components: our deep desire for something that will catapult us into a more spiritually-based experience; the mysticism and magic associated with double and triple numbers (known as Master Numbers); and the intentions of our partners in nonphysical realms to assist us in shifting into higher-consciousness, higher-vibrational versions of ourselves.

May all beings everywhere be liberated from suffering......

Well as I write this blog entry I can see the busy little street in Sarnath with its usual merchants trolleys, rickshaws, motorcycles with multiple passengers (I've seen 4 on one motorcycle), bicycles, the odd guru or two, wild dogs, few cars, kittens, goats and cows, cows and a few more cows. And a gecko just crawled up the wall in front of me. That's just in the last 2 minutes!

I really like Sarnath. It is much quieter (relatively) than Delhi and less crowds. Except for the mosquitoes they are prolific. Despite the mosquito net over my bed they seem to find me and like me even more than Canadian bugs...maybe they like the exotic blood! I woke up in the morning with my eye swollen shut.....they like to bite the face. Tonight I use the citronella bug spray see if that helps.

Our pilgrimage started in earnest here. On our first day we walked to the Deer Park where the Buddha gave his first teaching after his enlightenment. This is one of the sacred Buddhist sites and there are many other pilgrims in this little city. The energy is very unique and sacred and it can be felt as one walks or touches one of the many structures including stupas which mark the site of an important event or sacred remains of the Buddha.

Meditation in the park where the Buddha walked almost 2600 years ago had a dream like quality for me. it was very, very moving. It was like the reason I've meditated for 12 years to come to this place and close my eyes and experience the body, in this moment just as it is.

As Norman Feldman, our teacher and leader says, this is where the pilgrimage REALLY begins. The inner and outer pilgrimage. For me, there has been plenty to prompt an internal pilgrimage since getting on the plane in TO.

Sarnath is also thought to be the birth place of Jainism. An Indian religion founded at the same time as Buddhism by another enlightened being, Mahavira. It is very similar to Buddhism and the ethic of non-harming is extremely important to the point that orthodox Jains where face masks so they don't inhale bugs by accident. I found both religions fascinating.

The sounds of the town have been the most remarkable, many poignant and many annoying/frightening. We arrived on Wednesday, the big night of the Diwali Festival when fire crackers and fire works were set off for 24 hours strait - until they were done. We are still hearing the odd one go off three days later! One has to wonder as they go off it is a bomb but one gets used to them...We celebrated Diwali in the home we are staying of Dr. Jain (Jain Guest House highly recommended). We were invited to mark Diwali with his family and other friends and some Buddhist monks and nuns from a local monastery. As the name suggests, the family is Jain hence the ceremony way Jain.

The ceremony included offerings to the father of Jainism, Mahavira and Hindu gods Lakshmi who is the goddess of abundance both material and spiritual, light and wisdom and Ganesha a.k.a. Ganapati who is known as the Remover of Obstacles, intellect and wisdom. We chanted in Pali (ancient oral language of the Buddha and Mahavira who were contemporaries) and sang and listened to the family praying and singing. We were so moved by their generosity in letting us join them. All this was followed by an Indian Feast of dahl, chipaties and pouri (flat and puffed breads), pickle (mmmmm hot I love it!) and subji (vegetable curries including spinach, eggplant, okra, cauliflower and potato). And many, many sweets some made with lentils, honey and wonderful Indian spices of cardamom and coriander. We smudged ourselves with incense and sacred fire; I smiled.

We have visited a number of temples and monasteries - Buddhist Tibetan, Thai, Chinese, Theravaden (south east Asia) and Sri Lanken and have seen countless Buddha statues. One impressive one was the height of about an 8 story builiding. The beauty and opulence of the tmeples is a stark contrast to what surrounds the temples but we are told many of these places do outreach work in the community and run schools.

Indian families have to pay for schooling for their children. Education for each child runs about 7,000 ruppees a year (~$150.00 USD) but the average labourer earns barely more than that a year and then there's health care, dental, food, housing, etc. So many Indian children do not go to school or if they are in school, when a crises happens the first thing to go is schooling; girls' first then the boys'. There are some schools that have been started as I said by temples and some by private philanthropists.

We visited one such school this morning in the village of Sarnath. Started by Dr. Jain, our host about 10 years ago, there are now over 250 sponsored children attending the school. We had a concert put on by the grades KG to 4 today - singing, dancing, harmonium and tabla (drumming). It was so sweet to see them doing their very best to entertain us. We then put on a little show for them and sang "When You're Happy and You Know it...." Some of them must have been thinking at first what are these old white people going to do but we sang it once and were very engaged and demonstrative and then they stood up and did the movements with us for a 2nd time. They loved it! We all had great fun together!

Afterward we met the teachers and a few of the success stories - teachers and students that attended the school and are now graduates and are working or who have gone on to further education. The most striking fact we were told and seems evident is that the teachers and the school experience is changing so many lives - for students and families. No doubt some of these children, girls especially are being given opportunities to end the cycle of poverty and lack of education.

This experience touched the deepest part of my heart. I cried. I cried with joy and with sadness. A memory I will never forget. I plan to do something to help, I'm not sure what but I want to keep this experience alive in me...indeed this gift from those children and teachers is part of my journey of awakening.

So off to Sravasti, Lumbini in Nepal, Kushinagar, Sarnath, and Bodh Gaya. The heart of Buddhist India. Also poorly served by internet...do you think there is a connection?

when you are happy and you know it clap your hands........

India is a land of extremes - and yesterday we experienced some of them. Our little group of pilgrims started the day by going to the largest mosque in the city called Jama Masjid. It was huge! Very impressive and sacred with lots of marble and a lovely fountain around which many gathered to sit and chat and wash hands, feet....

Then to the first extreme, a neighbourhood of Old Delhi. Along winding, crowded alleyways we maneuvered avoiding scooters, cars, bicycles, rickshaws and trying to stay in one piece. The sites were fascinating. People of countless different ethnic backgrounds and dress. Beautiful, rich, vibrant colours. Colours of the wares in the stalls like dried goods, merchants selling street food, lamps for Diwali and ceramic Hindu god statues, jewelry, fruit and vegetables I could not identify, gorgeous women's sari's and men's tunics. EVERYONE was talking and cars honking. Folks doing their shopping and haggling. It was chaos but somehow organized in some organic, ancient way.

Some of it was very hard to see. The street people (who we've been advised not to give money to or you can be mobbed - instead we are making donations to charities that help them establish work and homes - that allays my guilt somewhat). Street children and the physically challenged. Also the animals. Dogs mostly (saw a monkey yesterday!) most of them in very rough shape. For my Veterinarian sister Aunna who loves animals so much I think you would find it intolerable. The dirt and filth and garbage is also hard to take. Those phobic about germs (Rose ) would go nuts. The smells can be overpowering.....some pleasant and many unpleasant. Then there's the ubiquitous aroma of the oil used by he street vendors. Always there. It is very heavy stimulation of the sense doors.

The people are busy, very busy but many stopped to smile and generously helped us. It is not a good idea to interact much with men if you are a single woman so no flirtatious banter like Istanbul but also no harassment (for which I was grateful - I'd read in Lonely Planet that Western women can experience this no doubt a hangover from a reputation established in the '60s and '70s as questionable morals of Western women).

The Imperial Hotel illustrates India's other extreme....this 1911 Art Nouveau hotel was built originally for the ruling colonial British elite, the very rich and royalty. It still caters to same and is truly luxurious, immaculate, beautiful and totally orderly and very organized. A far cry from the market just down the road. We were welcomed to come in and have a look by hotel staff in crisp uniforms and white gloves with hands formed in the traditional "Namaskar" greeting position. Everyone was extremely friendly which is no surprise. Except the guards at the front gate who were more businesslike and had us walk through a metal detector and then use a detector wand on us all. Cars were being inspected for explosives under the hoods and bodies of the cars with mirrors on broomsticks.

I have absolutely no doubt, no feelings anymore of transition, this is in-your-face India....I am definitely here!

In Delhi we visited the Gandhi Smirti which is a memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, the father of liberation of India. The location of his death is now devoted to illuminating the life of Gandhi and his vast contributions to this nation. It was very moving to experience the people come to the Smirti and witness their huge love and devotion. Not without his own demons, he was human like all of us but certainly an exceptional human who showed us that it is better to choose light over darkness and exhibited the fine art of peaceful protest. The picture I've added was taken in his very simple room in the home where the memorial is located.

Today we leave for Sarnath, a small village north of here and the location of among other things the first teaching of the Buddha. We are taking an overnight train to Varanasi. The train should be a interesting experience from all accounts on Indian trains, never a dull moment! At least Norman assures us we will not be hanging out a door or traveling on a roof as seen in so many movies

From here on there will be much less access to internet so you will hear less from me. Know that I will be well as I pray the same for you. I wish you all peace and end with a wonderful quote from the man so loved here in India and called affectionately, "Gandhiji". This quote captures the nature of spiritual quest including this pilgrimage:

In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth. ~ Gandhi