Posting Irregularities

I have been really bad about posting on this blog lately, I know. I still haven't finished my Tamil Nadu posts though the pictures are up. And being in Delhi/Gujarat/Kerala with Mary hasn't made getting a regular chance to post any easier. I wish I could say that I would be able to post with more regularity, but I can't.

As luck would have it, they VERY day (and within 2 hours of when) Mary left for Nepal, I picked up another Rice Owl, Kim Swanson, at the Delhi airport. She's on a Watson Fellowship studying Women and Microfinance (yes, she's quite smart) and has come to India for a few months. She has also decided to grace me with her presence as a travel buddy through Rajasthan. Talk about luck!

So we'll be heading out relatively soon, but I will do my damndest to get my thoughts and whatnot of the rest of Tamil Nadu, and Mary's visit ASAP - along with some pictures.

Take care everyone,

TNB - End of India @ Kanyakumari

Our trip to Kanyakumari was filled with high expectations of a nice beach area, beautiful sunrise and sunsets and lovely museums.

There were no real beaches (except for the ones flooded with pilgrims bathing), only a mediocre sunset, and museums closed for renovation. The funniest part of the visit was JM and I figuring out what the hell we were going to do for two days...

There was the Kanyakumari Devi temple - a temple where newlywed couples prayed to the Virgin Goddess for luck and fertility (didn't really want to pray for that!), and the hundreds of "dollar shops" (anything for Rs. 40/-) where we were not going to do any shopping anyway.

And an overpriced hotel room - and overpriced (and really slooooow) internet access.

And not a lot else.

TNB - Rameswaram and Rama's Bridge

After the puja with the family, JM and I hunted down some lunch and then headed toward Dhanuskodi - the very tip of the island upon which Rameswaram is located. I wanted to see Adam's Bridge, the (now) underwater landbridge connecting India and Sri Lanka - the bridge built by the army of Lord Rama to allow his troops to cross to Lanka to rescue his wife, Sita, from the 10-headed demon Ravana. This is the story of the Ramayana and of such importance in Hindu lore that I really wanted to see it.

The controversy rages between believers and scientists about the origin of this bridge. Scientists argue that it is a natural phenomenon but struggle to explain how nature made it because it does not conform to conventional ideas of how landmasses separate. Believers are content to just believe, and so the debate rages on.

We didn't realize how long a walk it was going to be from the drop-off point at Dhanuskodi to the very end. Along the way we were joined by some real Tamil characters who found JM to be VERY interesting. One tried to kiss a crab - we thought they were weird then - and only had our suspicions confirmed by the next hour of walking with them. By the time we reached the end, they were exhausted, we were annoyed, and so both parties amiably went separate ways. We made it to the very end, saw what little of the landbridge we could, and walked all the way back.

Our driver found it very strange that despite paying for a car, we insisted on walking for hours at a time.

Pictures!!

New pictures are up! Check 'em out here.

TNB - Rameswaram

We made a daytrip to Rameswaram to see the apex of "pillared-hall Pallava" architectural design. The four famous corridors of Rameswaram are really marvelous. They are huge, long, and the ceilings are decorated with beautiful friezes.

But they're not original. The remnants of the original pillars lie next to the ones currently standing. But that's what makes Rameswaram so amazing. Actually spending some of the money that comes into the temple to renovate it has brought back to life the splendor and magnificence of the temple. It becomes very easy to imagine the original grandeur of the temple. Walking down the 200 meter long corridors is like walking back in time...

The Ramnathswamy lingam is one of India's 12 jyotirlingas - natural shivalingas that are believed to be imbued naturally with the deity (as opposed to invigorated via ritual). I bought the "special darshan" ticket (which I still find weird), but oddly enough, it wasn't really any faster than the normal darshan. And that was a problem because it was getting time for the temple to close for the afternoon. Right in front of me was a family from Delhi. And because I was talking to them, as we finally made it to the front, I was brought in along with them because the priest assumed I was part of the family. We were the last group in before the afternoon closure of the temple. And because we were the last, got to sit in front of the shivalingam and enjoy our darshan. The family did a puja and I got to join in.

More on Rameswaram later. My internet cafe time is running out. Enjoy the pictures! Mary comes tomorrow!

TNB - Madurai's Meenakshi City

We headed down from Tanjore to Madurai to set up camp for the next few days. I will let Madurai's pictures do the talking. The entry ways are extraordinary - in the four cardinal directions are ornately carved and painted gopurams - each one massive and incredibly beautiful. The complex itself was quite big and it was really easy to get lost, but that's a good thing. There was so much to see - Meenakshi, or "the fish-eyed-one" (supposed to mean gorgeous but She was a bit far away to really tell...), and the elaborate wall and ceiling friezes, but describing them all would be difficult - that's where a trusty camera comes into play, I guess.

Even still, walking around and hearing the chants, the rustle of raffia from the flower vendors furiously making garlands for Meenakshi, and the excited conversation as people who had pilgrimaged from far away approached the inner sanctum for darshan was really an incredible experience. From a spiritual standpoint, you realize that people are here as more of a fulfillment of spiritual duty and not because it's something they do regularly like we go for darshan in the USA. From an economic standpoint, I'm simply floored by the number of people that make their livelihood from the goings on of the temple. From security to prasad-vendors to pujaris to peddlers, Meenakshi is like a small city in and of itself. It's alive constantly with the hustle and bustle of all types of life.

What got me though is all the pushing and shoving that goes on in the lines for darshan. I find it very odd that people who should be very excited and happy to be at Madurai for Meenakshi's darshan can be so angry and abusive to each other. Seriously, in line a good 20m from the murti darshan, a guy is literally shoving people in front of him telling them to hurry up. And when he gets in front of Meenakshi's murti, he stands there for 30 seconds having his darshan and when people tell him to move along he gets mad and starts yelling at the people around him in Tamil - right in front of Meenakshi herself! Now, clearly this is the exception, and not the rule, but I'm bothered that it happens at all. I understand that the concept of a "queue" in India is not understood so people just mosh together, but there really isn't any need for pushing and shoving. If you can't let someone have darshan for a peaceful 20 seconds, then don't expect to let other people let you do the same.

Sigh. Anyway.

TNB - Tanjore's Big (and excellent) Temple

We continued from Chidambaram to Tanjore (or Thanjavur - sounds like Tanjore if you say it fast enough) to halt for the night. But since it was still sort of light out, we went ahead and visited the "Big Temple" - the Brihadishwar Temple. Our visit highlighted to me the stark difference between many temples of India.

I can gauge how a visit to a temple is going to turn out by looking at the ground. I have had the best experiences (not necessarily spiritual) at the temples that are the cleanest. And it makes sense: If you treat a place like the house of God, you wouldn't want to mistreat people there - God's watching! Akshardham - spotless. The Krishna Mandir, Naggar - spotless. The Brihadishwar Temple, Tanjore - spotless.

The temple guide, from the getgo was very obviously proud to show people around the temple. He wasn't a priest but he knew a lot. But he did one thing that I've been hoping guides would do all around the world. He told a story. He placed the Brihadishwar temple into the context of the Pallavas and Cholas - how Rajaraja built this temple in a revisionist style that rejected the idea that the entry gate should be taller than the main sanctum spire. He also weaved the story of the sociological evolution of Hindu Gods in India into the tale. And on top of that he only asked for Rs. 150/- not to be paid until we were satisfied. He even stopped his tour midsentence as we approached the sanctum sanctorum (his favorite phrase) to bow and pray to the Shivalingam within - that he forgot what he was saying made me believe it wasn't just for show. Then he made sure the Pujari waited till JM and I had taken aarti and gotten prasad. Then at the end, he sat with us for 20 minutes because he wanted to make sure we stayed to see the sun set over the temple and explained how all the deities - Vishnu, Murugan, Subramanian, Shiva, Ganesha, Parvati, and Durga all fit together into the jigsaw framework of Hinduism. Really spectacular.

As he left, I had to remind him that I hadn't paid him yet.

TNB - Chidambaram

We headed to Chidambaram to see the famed Nataraja - Shiva as the Lord of Dance. Representing His role as the controller of time, the crusher of ignorance, and the infinite prowess of the Supreme, Nataraja of Chidambaram has become an international icon. In fact, most everyone has seen a murti of Nataraja at some point in time:

Since this was one temple that let non-Hindus in, too, I thought a small puja was in order - especially since apparently the temple is self-funded. So I approached a pujari, who, to my surprise, spoke excellent English. He said that it was possible to do the abhishek puja of Nataraja - for only Rs. 750. Well I didn't have Rs. 750/- so he asked how much I had. I smelled fish. I replied that I had only Rs. 300/- (which was honest) but I would really like to do the abhishek puja. No problem, he said, that's why it's called a donation. He then handed over some chandan in a small plastic cup and said to go over to the main sanctum and show them the cup - they will know what to do. Of course, everybody in the entire temple was walking around with the little cup of chandan. So I told him to come with me and said I'd give the money after he showed me where to go. He escorted me to the huge crowd where everybody was doing darshan and said wait here. So I asked does EVERYBODY at the temple give Rs. 300/-?

And suddenly he forgot his English - all except Three hundred rupees, please. Hallo sir? Three hundred rupees. And whenever I would ask about the abhishek, all I would get is that crazy Indian Headbobble that means some combination of yes, no, fine, okay, and I don't know. So I said, no abhishek, no money, and then ignored him - he eventually left. But I had promised Nataraja Rs. 300/- and I found a donation box - so I left it there.

No abhishek, but at least I wasn't cheating God!

TNB - Pondicherry and STREET SIGNS!

I still contend that the most amazing part of Pondicherry were the street signs on every corner. Honestly, in every other town in India, I could turn left 5 times and still not get back to where I started. We stayed in an overpriced room, but really just enjoyed being able to turn left 4 times and get back to square one. I'm not kidding - it was really that great not getting lost by walking straight.

So we walked around - a lot. Up, down, left, right, and just enjoyed the order. Miraculously, we found a 24-hour food joint (Salt 'n' Pepa - at 1:30 in the morning) and had ourselves a late dinner. The next day we headed to the beach... make that rock-wall-next-to-ocean. With our beach plans shot, we decided to go to Auroville, the utopian society founded on Sri Aurobindo's principles and set up by a French lady they call "The Mother." It's hard to explain what Auroville is or is trying to be. It's doing some pretty cool sustainable energy research, but it's Matrimandir is really a piece of art. The only way I can describe it is a mutant golf-ball that Snoop Dogg would play with. Then you read about it and find out how cool it is. The large, round, all-white-carpeted inner sanctum contains no murti - just a crystal ball upon which sunlight shines throughout the day, reflected into the sanctum by electronically controlled mirrors. A light-focuser kicks in on cloudy days to ensure a constant beam of light on the ball. It's a sanctum where one supposedly can fee the presence of Brahman in all of His attribute-less glory.

Then we found out we couldn't go in. Or visit any of the people of Auroville. So after 2 stale pieces of cake at their cafe we left.

Back at Pondicherry, we hit up a place that promised wood-fired pizza. We got two delicious wood-fired pizzas and then headed to the rooftop bar nearby for a couple of drinks. There we met a Canadian and a Swiss girl. Both were travelling in India by themselves, for which I have the utmost respect. This is not a country that can be very friendly to single female travellers. Both were there to study yoga. It's no surprise people come to India looking for spirituality or yoga and just come away confused. Both girls came to India looking for Hatha Yoga - Human-Pretzel-Yoga as I call it, and popularized in the West - and were surprised to find that most of India doesn't really take Hatha Yoga all that seriously. They were very interested in finding a proper yoga ashram to study hatha yoga, but weren't having much luck. Also no surprise - only in the west can you START with Hatha Yoga. The Ashrams here were telling them to master meditation for 15 minutes before even thinking about hatha yoga.

You mean I came all the way to India and now you're telling me I just have to sit still?! Hehe.

TNB - Blissfully Unaware in Mahabalipuram

Mahabalipuram's famed World-Heritage Shore Temples were interesting and uninteresting at the same time. Their 7th-century architecture was, of course, showing significant wear from being beaten by the ocean breeze for 1300 years. They looked a bit like old sandcastles, and the closest thing to a priest is the occassional niche-market vendor in a lungi. But I was amazed to see designs I remembered from Akshardham. I guess that validates the claim in the Making and Experience book that Akshardham combines elements from some of the oldest temples in India. Other than that, though, there wasn't much to say about the temples...

... So Jean-Marc and I headed toward the beach like proper tourists with nothing better to do. Our walk up and down the beach took us through a maze of fishing boats beached on the sand and toward what looked like the only resort on this stretch of beach. Out front sat a very odd mix of people, most of whom were taking LP's suggestion to kick-back-and-relax a bit too seriously, blissfully unaware of their own state for one reason or another.

1) There was the solo (amazing!) Japanese (male) tourist - but with high-tech camera - who was blissfully unaware that the "Indian Hammer Pants" he wore were really the bottoms to a lady's salwar-kameez. 2) Slightly further down the beach was the lone dread-locked, rudraksha-mala-bearing, aum-necklaced, tie-dyed-shirt-wearing 25-year-old-who-forgot-it's-2006 who was blissfully unaware that it was probably 100%-authentic garden-grass that she was smoking. 3) And then there was the middle-aged-midlife-crisis solo woman traveller who was blissfully unaware that the middle-aged Indian man with the thick mustache giving her company wasn't just doing it to be nice...

Then JM and I headed toward the 5 rathas - temples that were made to look like chariots. The information board said these temples were, get this, never used as temples; they were built to show people what a temple looked like... I find that odd considering that less than 500 yards away was a real temple in the same style. VASTLY more interesting was the carvers' market. The entire street resonated with the sounds of hammers plinking away at the chisels. Artisans of all ages, from probably 10 years old to a 100 years old were sitting on little wooden blocks with a piece of stone, hammering out the details on a gorgeous statue that would become part of a temple or a beautiful decoration at someone's home. The statue gardens in front of their shops (pieces that hadn't sold) were amazing. They had carved everything, from your personal ishtadev here, to a granite replica of the Pieta. After gaping at the plethora of statues, we decided we were done with Mahabalipuram and its blissfully unaware residents and headed out to Pondicherry.

Tamil Nadu Blitz - Kanchipuram and Non-Hindus

Our driver showed up at 7 AM as promised. Jean-Marc and I were going to RACE through Tamil Nadu over the course of 11 days - a trip that, if all went according to plan, would take us from Chennai to Kanyakumari and back.

Our first stop was Kanchipuram, one of the major pilgrimage and temple-rich sites of Tamil Nadu. We stopped by the Kailasnath, Kamakshi Amman, Devarajaswami, and Vaikunth Perumal temples - and realized that we REALLY needed to pick and choose which temples we were going to visit or be templed-out by day 2. I found it amusing that every priest said their temple was the oldest temple in Kanchipuram.

At the Devarajaswami temple we had our first encounter with the "No non-Hindus" policy. It seems that at many South Indian temples, non-Hindus are not allowed to enter the temple premises. I will go on the record to say that I think the rule is short-sighted, impossible to enforce, and just plain not Hindu-like. First of all, seeing how the devotees act in a temple - understanding the reason for darshan, aarti, etc. - is EXTRAORDINARILY instructive on what it means to live the life of a Hindu. Second, non-Hindus then just assume that ALL temples are like that and never go visit any - seriously, I met a tourist who was leaving India and hadn't set foot inside a temple after 2 weeks. Unbelieveable. And third, from a purely monetary standpoint, if you even just welcome a non-Hindu to the home of God and teach him something, maybe he will WANT to leave a donation - why stop a revenue source at the door?

But my bigger problem is with the enforcibility of such a policy. Frankly, there's no standard description of a Hindu. So when the priest pointed to Jean-Marc and said no non-Hindus, I asked, "How do you know he's not a Hindu?" Flustered, he just said "No non-Hindus allowed" and walked away. But I wasn't going to let it go just yet. So I lied and said, "He IS a Hindu." The following back-and-forth ensued:

Priest (in Hindi): Does he speak Hindi?
Me (in English): No, but neither do I. But you don't have to speak Hindi to be Hindu.
P: Well if he's not Indian he's not allowed in.
Me: So what about all the non-Indian Hindus like the Hari Krishnas?
P: Well where is his mala, his tilak, his dhoti?
Me: Where is MY mala, tilak, and dhoti?

At which point JM, sensing I was getting angry, stopped me and just said forget it. It became clear to me that they employed an arbitrarily shifting standard that revolved around the only easily-discernible characteristic - skin color. It made me sick to think that, in a sense, it was a manifestation of racism. Too dramatic a statement you think?

I don't think so. I have no issue with a religious organization requesting non-adherents to remain outside the premises. It is simply a matter of respect. But the standard should then be that any adherent of the religious tradition should be allowed in. I think that the fear that a non-believer "pollutes" the place is bogus. If a non-believer can successfully masquerade as a believer- no one is any the wiser to the "pollution." But even that's a weak description of the underlying idea. The underlying problem is one of trust. There is simply no trust that non-believers will remain outside on their own cognizance. So instead, we sacrifice the essentials of our religious faith by definining it with arbitrary standards - like skin color.

Making race into an -ism is called racism.

What I REALLY don't get though, is that a temple claiming to belong to a religion like Hinduism - one that is so accepting of all paths to Brahman - could even think to sponsor such an idea as keeping non-Hindus out in the first place! In this life we may be born into a Hindu family, but in the next life, there's no guarantee. On top of that, if we believe that all avatars are just manifestations of the same supreme Brahman, it seems stupid to say that any person who believes in God should not be able to have His darshan. Bah. It all just seems so horribly... non-Hindu.

The Swaminarayan Network

After our return from Tirupati, Jean Marc (the poor guy) slept for more or less two days straight. I used the time to get together our excursion through Tamil Nadu. Not having any travel agent connections, I called up the Swaminarayan Mandir in Chennai to see if they knew of any good cab companies. Lo and behold, it's about a 5 minute walk from where we were staying - Radhika's House! Talk about convenient!

I tell you - far beyond the spiritual benefits, being Swaminarayan sure has its perks. It's such an amazing network of people linked together by their devotion to Lord Swaminarayan and Pramukh Swami Maharaj. Show up at a Swaminarayan Temple, and the locals are ever-ready to help a fellow devotee. I called asking about information for a car-hire - I got an invitation to the Sunday sabha, dinner, prasad, AND a car-hire... arranged for me - and no one asks for a paise. It's really amazing.

Sometimes I wonder why this network doesn't exist in every religious sect or organization. I'm guessing it has something to do with the fact that BAPS is still very small in comparison to other religious organizations around the world. But I think that even if BAPS reached every country on the face of the planet, I could still stumble into a BAPS temple and be helped out if I really needed it. I also think it has something to do with the fact that I'm from America and that I'm a youth. I would guess that an Indian wouldn't get the same treatment in India, but I do know that if they show up in the USA, they do get the red-carpet roll-out. But I think it's that tie everyone has to Lord Swaminarayan, and the even closer connection to Pramukh Swami Maharaj really makes it work, I think. Even when the organization grows, it stays small.

I like it that way.