So here we are in the foothills of the Himilayas with an atmosphere that is both one of calm and chaos...
Rishikesh appears to be inundated with the amenties offered of larger cities as well. The opportunity to buy and browse is on many streets that have grown over the years with the ever increasing visits of the foreigners and pilgramages of pilgrams throughout the years.
Rishikesh, the holy city in the Himalayas , is located in the district of Dehradun in the north Indian state of Uttaranchal. The name takes the meaning from Rishi (Sage) and Kesh (Mount), meaning the Mountain of Sages ; or the spiritual abode, the home of spirituality. Rishikesh is supposed to be the starting point for the spiritual journey to the four important pilgrimage centers...
On the night of arrival I was blessed to share a room with Blanca and Renee at Parmath Niketan Ashram, the venue where the International Conference on Ayurveda & Yoga is to be held. Grateful am I to have such lovely friends who generously accomodate me until morning when my room across the hall will be ready. We all stayed up chattering away and shared storied since last meeting at the Ancestral Conference with Mother Maya in Massasschuetts last October.
The following day we are greeted with a lovely cool morning and head out to Rishikesh market but stop at Madras Cafe for a lovely nutritious meal. Then we are off down the road with the cows, the monkeys, the street dogs, the pigs, the three wheel cycle rickshaw, the auto rickshaw, the scooter, the motorbike, the bicycles, the transport trucks, the cars, vans, SUV's and all else in search for a bank that my friends can change currency at. It is a level of busyness and musical dance that begets such respect for the efficiency shown on such a narrow road!
The heat got to us all and therefore the luxury of an auto returning to the Ram Julla bridge is necessary! At this bridge, where we were let off the previous evening, we make our way pass the numerous and unending shops that spill out onto the street and then in crossing the bridge one beholds the Mother in her glory...
The Ganges River is said to be revered and is the sacred physical incarnation of the Divine Mother. Every evening on her banks and all along her journey to the Bay of Bengal, she is honored and worshipped in the ritual of Aarti. This ritual involves prayers, chanting, offerings of flowers, fire (in the form of dipa candles which are actually lit pieces of camphor sometimes sitting in ghee or wax), bhajans (sacred songs)all with deep reverence and honoring for all that a Mother provides. In this case, it is a river that nourishes, nutures and sustains a people and all the lands that rely on her for their survival, their life...
Back at the ranch, I am moved across the hall to my room overlooking the Mother Ganga river...how beautiful. The room itself is sparse, austere and simple in it's offerings but with a generous space for my beloved roommate Ellen and I to share in splendor. Ellen is a lovely woman, also a devotee of Mother Maya and a happy grandmother. Such a blessing to have her presence with me there.
All the Wise Earth Sadhakas (seekers/students) of Mother Maya are in rooms within the same area on the third floor of this building at the ashram. My neighbor is Mother Maya herself! The great Dr. David Frawley and Dr. Robert Svoboda are also a couple of doors away with a few amazing Swami's and Swamini's rounding out this 'dorm mate' situation! It is amazing to think that this opportunity to share space with your guru, along with other Masters of Ayurveda and Yoga, Swami's and Swamini's, Sadhu's and Saints exists to place us all in the remembrance of oneness, equality and understanding of that which is more then 'title', more then 'success in a material aspect'. A great blessing in friendliness and love...
And so we are off to the beginning of the conference for which I share a link describing the keynote speakers (http://www.ayurvedaconference.com/keynotespe.html). The evening begins with Aarti on the bank of Mother Ganga and Puja (blessing ceremony)to commemerate the occasion and honor with reverence this special time and coming together of such great teachers. The sharing that will happen from both sides between teacher and students opens up the possibilities for a deeper understanding and commitment to perserving the sister sciences of Ayurveda & Yoga.
This celebration was amazing and so moving with it's devotional offerings. It is so challenging to find the words to capture how the soul is stirred with these rituals for it is something to experience within oneself, it's own awakening and surrender to the sraddha and believe in the fragility, the preciousness of life...
After the Puja and Aarti we enjoyed a lovely dinner in the dining hall. The venue itself, set on the grounds of the ashram, the largest ashram here in Rishikesh, it clorful in its pure white, gold, yellow and orange drapery throughout the tents that house the Ganga confernce tent for keynote speeches, the dining hall and the Expo of vendors supplying offerings of innumerable ayurvedic and yoga products including sacred study texts and beautiful handloomed shaals to comfort in the evening under Chandra, Mother Moon...
The opening ceremony which included the glorious introduction of all the keynote speakers and how the conference will unfold. It is incredibly moving for me and I feel so tremedously blessed to have this precious opportunity.
The events include morning and evening Homams (fire rituals where 108 special ayurvedic herbs are offered in honor of the ultimate healing power of nature) on the banks of the River Ganga (Ganges), including a Dhanvantari Homam (an oblation ceremony for Lord Dhanvantari – the God of Healing) and a Maha Mrityunjaya Homam (an oblation ceremony to invoke the healing powers of Lord Shiva, Rudra Abhisheka (a special offering to Lord Shiva) on the banks of the Ganga, chanting of devotional songs and mantras on the banks of the Ganga, evening Arathi (worship), where oil lamps are floated on the Ganga, cultural programs in the evening on the banks of Holy Ganga.
The location of this ashram faces the west and as the hot Indian sun sets, Aarti begins with the chanting, the songs, the fire, the oil lamps, the offering in a magnificient ceremony of devotion...a challenge to sum up in words but I do have pictures to share...
The days schedule is a sample of below and includes my awaking at 4am for personal practice, a snenum (a dip in Mother Ganga)...
5 - 7am Homam
6 - 7am Mantra/Pranayama/Dhyana (meditation)
7 - 8am Patanjali Yoga Sutras & Ayurveda, Modern Concept of Ancient Indian Knowledge, Shri. Mukunda Stiles, Dr. N. Gopalakrishnan
7 - 930am Registration
930 - 1030am Inaugural Session
1045 - 1215pm Wise Earth Ayurveda's Inner Medicine Healing, Sri Swamini Mayatitananda
1215 - 115pm Re-Awakening Intelligence in the Consciousness Era : Value of Traditional Knowledge Systems, Dr. J. M. Sampath
230 - 330pm Ayurveda and Yoga Psychology, Dr. David Frawley & Ms. Shambhavi Chopra
345 - 445pm Ayurveda and Yoga Psychology - cont:,Dr. David Frawley & Ms. Shambhavi Chopra
500 - 600pm Asana classes - Shri. Mukunda Stiles, Ms. Shakta Kaur, Ms. Sama Fabian
600 - 630pm Ganga Aarti
800 - 900pm Cultural Programme - Sant Venu Gopal Goswami
So that gives a sample of my days and hopefully clarifies why I hadn't ventured to update my blog during that week and the coming days!
The information and the presentation was wonderful from the speakers. Their sharing and wisdom, profound...
During our breaks we would venture to the expo, take some needed rest in our dorm rooms and enjoy a cup of masala chai tea...
The presentations had not only us as international delegates and participants as the monkeys always seemed to know the important parts of the speech and made their presence known with their little heads popping out from the roottop to take in the view! Always to the roar of laughter and the understanding from the speaker that patience and concentration would get us through it!
The time flew by in moments of deep insight and community sharing and I loved every minute of it... The speakers were gracious and so incredibly respectful of the Sastra, the scripture, and each other, for which they had shared in such a powerful way...
Rishikesh is amazing in it's manner of meeting another. Always the greeting conveys such respect and love from the heart. The hand is brought up and rests on the heart with a 'Hari Om', 'Om' or a prayer in Anjali Mudra (hands in prayer at the heart) with the gentle 'Namaste'...it is deeply touching to me and holds my heart so...
And so the moments, the days unfolded and soon it was time to pack up our things for the next faze of the journey here with our beloved Guruji Mother Maya at her Guruji's ashram, Dayananda Vedanta Ashram. This would be another journey that blesses one's heart and mind with such clarity for the practice of Ahimsa, nonviolence, and the beauty of life...
With love and blessings always...xo
Om Om Om
Shanti Shanti Shanti
Jennifer
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