A Well-Spent Youth

As I lifted the last clean serving pot into place after lunch, one of the sisters came up to me and said with a warm smile, “we are enjoying your company, you are intelligent, learn fast and other sister says you make the work very beautiful”.  I was so thrilled that I almost skipped out of the kitchen because I have made no significant effort to do the several hours a day of chores here, I just find it really easy to muck-in, do them well and always with a smile.

Before the rather more misspent portion of my youth I had a very well spent one; I really enjoyed Guiding and Venture Scouts and was subsequently a Cub-Scout Leader in my 20s.  I have realised this afternoon that my ability to get involved in an unknown community or kitchen and do a job well is probably thanks to Scouting.  One of Vinobaji’s main facets of community from a non-violence perspective was that no matter what your skillset or background, you should do a share of the manual tasks required to keep you fed, warm and safe …and Scouting (especially camps and putting on gangshows) provides that balancing gift to youngsters everywhere and they don’t even notice.

Out of the prayer closet!

Alongside and partly thanks to my studies I have dealt with my discomfort with the word prayer.  I always thought that you had to believe in a recognised God-figure in order to pray.  I didn’t have a God-figure and so I thought that even crossing my fingers or saying “oh my god” was hypocritical.  Praying was out of the question for me.

Since being at the Ashram, it has dawned on me that I have actually been praying since I went to Gaia House for the first 5 days of December 2011.  Loving Kindness meditation is prayer because in order to send peace, love and compassion to others I am communing with a greater force …the atomic vibrations (bear with me) which constitute the common consciousness (The force of Nature).

So there we have it, for me at least, God is Nature (something I was reliably informed of years ago on a flight to Dubai) and regardless of religion we  are all capeable of being thankful and compassionate …and that is all there really is to it!



Give us this day our daily bread! ;)

NB – If anyone reading this used to sweat their nights out with me at the H@cienda in the 90s …did you ever think you’d see the day that I publically extoled the virtues of prayer? …she’s still full of surprises! ;) x

“Living Room” …the beginning of my manual for life

Gentle focus and study facilitated by this place has quenched my mental thirst.  When not meditating, mopping with a bamboo and old rag, sweeping with a bunch of twigs or washing up with wood ash and coconut fibre,I have spent several hours a day in my room under the fan with spiritual books I have gathered from Ashrams and Amazon (they weigh less on the kindle!).  I have now created a higgledy-piggledy manual on how I want to lead my life when I get home.  There are scribbled pages in my notebook which now contain (in no particular order)…

• Wonderful quotes from all of the books I have read.
• Big things to ponder/consider …like ongoing vegetarianism
• Ways I can immediately start to serve others
• Ideas about the right kind of work to facilitate happiness

• Notes and suggestions as to how to simplify my UK life
• Situations that I have found hard to deal with and how to accomplish them better
• Things to look up when I get back
• Lists of what is important now …and what isn’t
• A page or so on the meditation space I am going to create
• Techniques for starting/coping with/ending the day properly

Earthenware ...unbelievably cool!

Living at Brahmavidya Mandir Ashram

The Ashram where I am staying was founded in 1959 by Vinoba Bhave (see subsequent post) who set it up for women to run on a self-sufficiency basis without central leadership.  All decisions here are made unanimously by the group.  I have watched this taking place, it is laid back, anyone can have their say and everyone is heard, whether they are on a plastic chair at the back or sat on the floor in the middle of the group.  I observed no edge whatsoever …for all I know, they might have been deciding what jobs I was going to be allocated the next day but I expect that most things are agreed this convivially because nobody here is constrained by money or ownership and everyone here is aiming to be selfless, as a result what is best for the community and the Ashram should be clear to all.  The day begins at 4am and involves manual service, community prayer (the ladies chant and sing together in Hindi and I sit doing loving-kindness mediation), daily silence and three organic meals eaten with hands whilst sat cross legged on the floor …I am fit to drop by 8.30pm.

I feel fortunate to be the only guest in this community of 28 sisters who have made me feel truly welcome.  They live here because they have chosen to lead a spiritual life of devotion, service, celibacy and self-realisation.  Vinobaji spent his last 12 years here (he died in 1982) with the sisters and some of his closest brothers (only one now remains) and he said of this place…

“We are not exclusively attached to any country.

We give no special emphasis on any religion

We are not bound to any community or cast.

Our field of study is to soar in the region of the noble thoughts spread all over the world, to assimilate noble thoughts is our sacred duty.

To establish understanding in various specialities and to develop “world-attitude” is our discipline of thought.”

…Unlike the over-populated and slickly produced Amma ashram, I adored this place from the moment I stepped out of my rickshaw.  The simple buildings form a quadrangle around a 2 acre organic allotment housing occasional shrines made from ancient temple carvings excavated here in the early years of the Ashram.  Its Gerald Durrell meets River Cottage at the Buddha Lounge, the perfect retreat for someone who grew up loving Scout camps, The Levellers and stone circles.  Outside of the main courtyard there is a temple/shrine, an arable farm and a dairy (with gorgeous calves).  In my mind at least, this place is what an ashram should be; peaceful, reflective, selfless and in wholly in touch with its environment.

Making God Laugh!

I arranged to stay at this consensus-run women’s ashram in baking hot central Maharashtra to study all of the reading matter I have bought on the trip.  I planned to study this material and find realistic ways of applying a more spiritual way of being to the life and relationship I expected to return to.  What I hadn’t expected was Steve’s departure from India being Steve’s departure from my life at home too.

“If you really want to make God laugh, all you have to do is tell him about all the plans you have made for the future”

Swami Dayananda Saraswati

Just to clear up some of your queries… I was seeing Steve on and off before the trip but came away (partly) to get some perspective on whether I could commit myself to another age-gap relationship.  I invited Steve to join me on the trip when I felt that I could commit, but despite a lot of love, it became clear to us both that a solid future together was not going to happen.

“If you want to find the sacred space in your life, then you must want to ‘walk without blemish’.  You will of course fail to live without blemish; but failing is quite different from not even trying”

Abbot Christopher Jamison

So what I have actually done here is used my new guidelines to ensure that I didn’t slump into depression¹ and improve my understanding of what happiness is² ready for an unknown future that I am not going to (over!) plan.  Perhaps this is Ganesh giving me his grace and allowing me to see my future as a host of opportunities³, something I have not been able to do for decades.

“Remembering the past and giving thought to the future are important but only to the extent that they help one to deal with the present”

SN Goenka

1 - Emotions are sensations which rise and fall, nothing is permanent …anicca (See Vipassana Posts from late Jan 2011)

2 - Achieved by leading the most noble/blemish free/gracious life possible, free of cravings and aversions

3 – The Elephantine Hindu God of opportunity to whom I gave devotion in Tamil Nadu (See “Being present …Trichy” post from mid Feb 2011)

Monkeys …A Sociological Study

Monkey Subculture 1 - Railway Monkeys

Railway Monkeys sustain themselves by hanging from the rafters of train stations where they scan the thronging masses for colourful little plastic bags of bananas, apples and guava which they regularly drop down and dispossess innocent passengers of.  It is unfortunate that they don't have such a keen eye and taste for rats as if this were the case they would become the most revered Monkeys Subculture of all.  Railway Monkeys share characteristics beyond just mugging with western inner-city youth; once full of passenger picnics, they sit around all day on the rooves of unused trains throwing litter around and experimenting sexually in the full light of day which is shocking in India of all prim and proper places!  They also get into some serious scraps and a theory I plan to explore is that there may be further segregation going on at the Railway Stations ...gang-related monkey violence.

Monkey Subculture 2 – Spiritual Monkeys

Spiritual Monkeys sustain themselves by leading a natural life in the forest, eating fruit and working as a team to ensure that everyone has access to a good healthy diet.  They are largely uninterrupted by any human life that borders their own but will occasionally approach a passing safari jeep on the off-chance that some of their precious food may have fallen into the jeep.  These gentle types are best viewed at dusk and dawn during their ground level group meditations.  The low sun casts long shadows behind their perfectly poised bodies and they seem so deeply in meditation that the ever-present danger of a large carnivore washes over them completely.  This subculture seems only to exist within the Langur population so further investigation may well lead me to conclude that forest dwelling Langur monkeys are indeed the ancient derivation of the word “Monk”.

Monkey Subculture 3 – Temple Monkeys

Temple monkeys sustain themselves by hanging out at Hanuman (The Hindu Monkey God) temples where they are constantly fed by merit-making pilgrims.  Although this way of life is perfectly acceptable to them, I feel that it is the epitome of monkey-laziness.  I can’t help but draw a comparison with people who live their whole lives on the UK benefit system.  A good work ethic, a wholesome diet, and team work are not being passed down to the next generations and before we know it these monkeys will be calling all of the shots and the hard-working pilgrims will not be able to sustain themselves for all of the providing that is expected of them as the monkey population swells.  I expect  further research will prove that many misguided offspring of Temple Monkeys migrate to the Railway Monkey subculture dietary diversity of theft becomes more tempting than handouts.

Monkey Subculture 4 – Monument Monkeys

Nobody seems entirely sure how the monument monkeys survive but we are certain that at least some of their diet is attributable to tourist picnics.  As in the rest of Indian society, everything has a price and tourists just love to photograph monkeys as they perch on the ancient architectural highlights of India.  Human currency is of no value to a Monument Monkey so instead of demanding ten rupees after they have posed for a photo, they feel quite comfortable with purloining whatever is edible and accessible.  What is more, Indian tourists pay about 25 times less to access the monuments than western tourists and they carry more robustly protected picnics meaning that western tourists lose out two-fold in this mandatory exchange.  As a word of caution, I have witnessed Monument Monkeys meditating but do not be fooled, closer examination would certainly prove that these are not Spiritual Monkeys and the pose is just a ploy to get themselves photographed so that they can eat your lunch.

Palace Estate

Where the rainforest retreat taught us about the flora and fauna of Kodagu, the Palace Estate introduced us to the Kodovan people.  Prasad and Vinsie are the fourth generation to run their 26 acre family plantation and share the main house with generations 3 and 5 (albeit he’s only about 8).  All of the delicious home cooked (wheat free no problem!) meals were served up in the main house with proceedings carefully managed by Vincie as her family and guests chewed the fat about coffee cartels, the cardamon market and monsoon-proofing banana trees.

The rooms at Palace Estate are adjacent to the main house and have been uniquely designed by Vincie using the beautiful old wood from an old silk-worm barn that used to be on the plantation.  They have the most incredible view over about 40km of forest canopy and our huge balcony was perfect for snapping sunrises and whiling away the pleasantly warm hours that scattered themselves between mealtimes and walks.

When Steve landed in India, I think my whole body sensed the arrival of a support network and packed up having to look after itself.  Following internet research and antibiotics we now believe that I either have Giardia or my tummy has been so assaulted that it is now highly sensitised.  The culprits are dairy, spice and fat so I am on a pretty boring diet right now but it seems to be working.  Anyway, I digress …the tummy has had somewhat hampered our trekking plans since reaching the plantations but whilst at Palace, we managed to achieve our aim of climbing Kodagu’s highest peak …Tadiyendamol.  The walk was only as challenging as a day’s summit-bagging in the lakes but we had the whole range almost to ourselves, the rain held-off and we didn’t come face to face with wild tigers or elephants …although we did see wild elephant poo in a rather enclosed corner of the reserve!

“Don’t Panic, its Organic”

Rainforest Retreat at Mojo Plantation has a communal daily program much like an Ashram although there are no compulsory early mornings and the optional activities are based around nature walks and talks on the Kodagu (Coorg) environment, conservation and organic plantation farming.  Elective early mornings tend to take hold the first time you are woken at dawn by the whistling thrush and rush outside to hear it again along with its vast array of backing signers.  Tasty, healthy and locally-sourced buffets are served in an open pavilion beside the stream which we cross a couple of times on the path that winds between the lush green plants from our cottage.  Log burners in the outer walls of each cottage (and the shared bathrooms for the bunkhouse and tents) are lit morning and evening for steaming hot water.  There is no phone signal and no internet access.  Lights operate on batteries charged through solar units during the long sunny days.  Meals are cooked using the biogas generated from the cow and goat manure which is digested anaerobically in a tank right beside the livestock area, creating combustible methane and organic fertiliser slurry.  Everything here in this (Indian) temperate paradise is done beautifully, from the “eco-chic” cottage decor to the delicate carrot and beetroot salad.

  

Papaya

Pepper ready for Harvest

Steve (Irwin) and the 7ft Rat Snake Skin!

Our fellow guests were originally a couple of charming Lithuanian orienteerers, a Swedish ecologist rock climber and an Indian biodiversity research student, however, we were then joined by seven, twenty-something “conservation and lifeskills” students and their lovely teacher, a botanist who runs a botanical reserve in the Wayanad area of the Western Ghats.  Their fascinating course to date has seen them building and living communally in a shelter within the botanical reserve and experiencing first-hand the impact of uncontrolled mining in the Goan foothills of the Ghats.  The camaraderie between their group has been heartening to watch and a pleasure to reside amongst.  The arrival of the students was fortuitous for those of us who were already here because we have been able to tag onto their educational program which has facilitated walks with three naturalist experts and some very interesting supplementary talks in addition to the basic educational talks about the plantation and its organic operation.  Last night, Maya the owners’ daughter, gave a passionate and insightful presentation on the full suite of local fauna without reading a single word from her powerpoint slides (…a fine example from a 14 year old for many a UK business presenter!!!).  Maya’s presentation was followed by an impromptu talk on the Indian Elephant by one of the world’s few female Elephant Mahoots, who runs a nearby sanctuary and had been invited for dinner.  This evening, Chamika the research student (who Osa the Swede had spent the day bagging soil samples with) gave us an overview of her findings to date and with the ever-present “Collins challenge” and all of the other scientific opinion interjecting around the place she was brave indeed!

The main crops grown in the plantation are coffee (a blend of Arabica and Robusta is brewed morning and afternoon), cardamom (apparently you can also “pop a pod” to help you get over a nicotine craving), vanilla and pepper - although the planting by no means stops with the crops.  Biodiversity has been groomed here using lure plants and barrier plants to encourage the beneficial bugs to thrive and inhibit the hostile ones from surviving. There are also a lot of useful herbs, flowers (hibiscus juice is delicious!), fruit trees (even a fat and cholesterol and busting one!) and of course hundreds of orchids! 

Tarrantula Nest

Our walks have taken us from fish watching in pretty valley bottoms to bone dry ridges topped with unique “Shola” grasslands and we have wandered steep sided forest tracks that place you right in the rainforest canopy and areas that the Indian Government calls “forest” but which actually represent a spread of non-indigenous fast-growing trees which look “foresty” quite quickly but do not support the delicate local ecosystems. 

Ants eating larvae petrified by a wasp for its babies

For the first time ever I have been shown bird calls and images and gone away able to identify them for myself, I have viewed creatures that would normally have made me squirm with absolute fascination and my itch for scientific learning has been well and truly scratched.

Tenderized Passengers in a coach infused exhaustion fry ...a recipe

·         After sunset, take a tiny, 15 year old Micra-like Tata car with no padding left on the seat and tenderize the passengers in a four hour taxi ride over mainly unpaved roads.

·         During the tenderization, create an even coating of grime by opening all windows and injecting wood-smoke, dust and acrid burning plastic fumes at regular intervals to ensure consistency of discomfort

·         Fold the passengers into their second night on the train in under a week ensuring that the route out of Guntakal is insufficient for a real night’s sleep

·         Marinade the tiredness in the fact that both passengers have precarious stomachs

·         Flash fry in a highspeed minivan, whilst Bangalore is strirring

·         Very Quickly add all of the ingredients to a Premium AC Coach and allow to infuse gently for six hours via Mysore and up into the Western Ghats

·         Drizzle with a taxi through single track lanes and garnish with a sprinkling of hilltops

…and you’re ready to be served up as the new arrivals at Rainforest Retreat, a fascinating organic spice and coffee plantation which nestles in three forested valleys at 1100m.

Lovely Little Hampi

I was not prepared to come face to face with the gap-yearer’s Calangute in the beautiful boulder and ruin strewn landscape of Hampi.  The village is crammed with general stores that have ditched their Indian mainstays of paan (betel nut derivative), chana (split pea) packets and Pantene sachets and replaced them with Nutella Jars, Rizzla and a respectable range of L’Oreal Paris shampoos.  On the quiet side of the River where we chose to stay, it is easier to buy an excellent Pizza straight from a wood fired oven than it is to buy a Dosa and despite signs everywhere requesting that people dress respectfully I have seen as much western flesh here as I did on the Goan beaches albeit more pert here!

[here lies the inevitable “however”]

…For all its laid back, hippy-kid commercialisation, Hampi and her surrounding villages really do deserve to be seen.  The uniquely confounding scenery is scattered with tenderly maintained temple and palace ruins which are pleasantly under-visited by the tourist circuit hoards.  The sheer spread of the ruins and the undulating landscape provide ceaseless potential for bicycle voyages of discovery and there are a plethora of enchanting sunset viewing locations.  Our sweet circular cottage was fronted by a swing bed terrace wrapped in sweet smelling honey-suckle-like climbers.  And just in case that was not relaxing enough, the terraces sit just above acres of emerald paddy fields which step gently down to the river which nestles below the boulders some 300m away.

Hyderabad ...its not all Biriyani and IT