2023 India

Mumbai / Kurukshetra / Vrindavan

MUMBAI

21 million people and counting…

01.27.2023 Gateway of India // Mumbai

01.27.2023 Side Entrance // Elephanta Caves

Trimurti
The three-headed Shiva presents the cosmic functioning of the supreme divinity in Hinduism, namely Brahma (The Creator), Vishnu (The Preserver), and Shiva (The Destroyer).

01.28.2023 Pusha Abishek (Flower Festival) // Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir
The deities are showered with endless amount of flower petals, which were hand-plucked earlier in the day. Something like 1,000 kilograms of petals have been gathered for the festivities.







The Calm Before the Storm

Chaos. All in a very positive way. Chaotic, nonetheless.

I think I ate some flower! 🌼🌸🌺

I think I ate some flower! 🌼🌸🌺

Transcending // Kirtan has a life of its own and one must drop all inhibitions in order to ride its wave. In many ways, it is very much like the Korean percussion music, Samulnori (사물놀이). Beneath all the crazy activities of petal bombs, dancing, and chanting, is an ever-present flow of consciousness and the purest sense of just being. Your soul flutters about as the upbeat notes take it to a space of timelessness and something not of this world. It is a spiritual cleansing and an awakening of a kind, where one is completely alive and fully aware of one’s presence and of others. Words are meaningless - one must experience it to understand it.

─•~❉᯽❉~•──•~❉᯽❉~•──•~❉᯽❉~•─

01.29.2023 Bus Ride to GEV // The next morning, with flower petals still coming out of our ears, our bunch hopped on a bus to our next destination, located about 70 miles north of Mumbai. As we leave behind a hectic city with its noise and pollution, I sensed a new level of excitement among the group, eager to start the 200-Hour yoga teacher training. Soon enough though, most of us were in our own world as we gazed out the window, some with earbuds, some drifting away in thoughts of tomorrow and yesteryear, some passed out to the humming lullaby of a diesel engine, until the Prayers to Lord Nrsimha (see below) broke the silence. All we were missing was a twangy banjo guitar on this jolly bus. “Oh, fret not, dear Bhakti Yogi,” as one whips out a set of kartals (metal hand cymbals) and we would chant these verses as a way of asking for protection while hurdling through the unregulated highways of India.

Lord Nrsimha is the incarnation of Lord Krsna that appeared to protect his young devotee Prahlada. He appeared as a half-lion and killed the envious, atheistic demon, Hiranyakashipu who was materialism personified (hiran-gold, kasipu-soft bed). Devotees pray to Lord Nrsimhadeva for protection and to kill their material desires.

Prayers to Lord Nrsimha

namas te narasimhaya
prahladahlada-dayine
hiranyakashipor vaksaha
shila-tanka-nakhalaye

ito nrisimhah parato nrisimho
yato yato yami tato nrisimhah
nrisimham adim sharanam prapadye

tava kara-kamala vare
nakham adbhuta-shringam
dalita-hiranyakashipu-tanu bhrigam
keshava dhrita-narahari-rupa
jaya jagadisha hare

Govardhan Eco Village

"Situated in the beautiful mountain ranges of Sahyadri, Govardhan Eco Village is on a mission to spread the message of Krishna and bring his wisdom to the people. The eco-village is a testament to the powers of Ayurveda, yoga and meditation to bring about transformative change. We are led by the principles of humility and sustainability and our mission is to serve and propagate the benefits of India’s age old traditions to the whole world."

(Click on the image to be directed to GEV’s website).

01.29.2023 Govardhan Eco Village // After three hours of meandering the rural roads of northern Maharashtra, we arrive safely at GEV. While waiting for our rooms and luggages to be sorted out, more buses are arriving, dropping off numerous attendees. The place must be massive to hold all these people, I thought to myself. We would be staying here for the next couple of weeks and were furnished with a bright-green wrist band, sort of like a festival pass for meals and grounds access.

≪ °❈° ≫

Goshala // One of the daily activities I would do while staying at GEV is to visit the cows: Cow-Therapy is the proper term. There are over 108 ox at the Goshala sanctuary in combination of cows, bulls and calfs

and they all have names.Visitors are allowed to go inside the cow pen (pictured above) and socialize with the female ox.

Place I would visit almost on a daily basis. Brings calmness, soothing the heart. There are 108 ox at the sanctuary and they all have names. Visitors are allowed to roam about the cow pen pictured below; and though these cows are docile, their sheer size and muscle power are quite intimidating.

Krishna (the black cow) and the other cow whose name I cannot recall are the two most senior cows at Goshala. They keep each other company, enjoy their senior meals together from the same trough, and are left to their desires and away from the younger cows who might be a bit “too much.” I totally get it, ladies!! ｡.｡:∞♡*♥

Flowers of GEV // Continuing on with the flower theme and old lady stuff; here are more flowers. ─•~❉᯽❉~•─

Dogs of GEV // Just like GEV has given names to all of its oxen, I too decided to name the dogs (Ginger, Nala, Duke, BoBo) that were freely roaming about the center. Unlike many Western and European countries, dogs in India are not particularly treated with adoring hearts and rather chased away like one would with rodents. For someone who grew up with dogs most of my life, it was heart-breaking witnessing these animals go hungry, looking mal-nutritioned, with untreated mange. One dog stood out among the rest with his friendly personality and smarts around the numerous center attendees. Ginger would follow our group during meal times, frequented our sleeping quarters and visited one of our yoga teaching sessions. Funny thing is, another group of attendees called him by a different name that they had given him. On our last day at GEV as we were departing around mid-night, he sprinted after the golf carts which were chauffeuring us to our bus, and then jumped onto the bus, wanting to follow us to wherever we went. This is why I love dogs. No other animal would give so freely, despite the unkindly treatment from human beings. You show a dog a little bit of love and care, and the dog would return his whole world for you. I hope to see you in good health the next time I visit, Gingeroo! 🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾