Feb 28
Travel to Bangalore and sending this email to you all.

Hello everyone.
Well things are going well.  The train down to Trivandrum was a bit longer than I remembered, it took 16 hours.
We actually arrived in Bangalore by 1:30 PM on the 28th and everyone went to either a bank or Thomas Cook and changed money.  There had not been much use for money prior to that, although quite a few Tibetan carpets were purchased at the monastery.
The story there is worth sharing.  On Monday, about Feb 25th we went to the Tibetan carpet factory affiliated with Dzongkar Choede.  We had asked to see what that had in stock.  The manager for the factory (which at its biggest employs 14 people) was shy to say they had anything.  Once we were inside the office he pointed at a pile of 12 carpets (3'X6') and a smaller pile of 40 mini chair carpets (18"X18") and said that was all the stock they had.   We soon had them all spread over the floor and everyone was reviewing them and picking the ones they liked out.  This carried on for about 2 hours and at the end they were all gone!   We had purchased everything they had in stock.  There were even some rather modern designs with the four elements and such in them.  I'm personally bringing home 3 large carpets as part of my luggage allowance.
Back to Bangalore.  We arrived in the early afternoon and did our banking.  That was the first opportunity I had to send in the first check in.  I wish I could have included some of the photos from the Belur temples.  The images are unbelievable.  Tenzin and I decided that the next tour in 2002 will include these.  The quality is just incrediable.  Anyway, most of us checked our emails and then had a snack in the local fast food restaurants.  About 6 of us went to a "Pizza Corner" fast food.  Their ice cream banana splits were great.  
Interestingly two of the more senior individuals (who will remain nameless) purchased Viagra over the counter.  The cost was $2.50 for 4 pills.  In Canada it costs $12 a pill.  If anyone would like me to get them some, I'm taking orders.  (I'm joking, but then again will keep individual requests private!)
In the late afternoon we went to the "Silver Wok" restaurant again and had a wonderful buffet meal.  From there we were off to the train.
I will admit some of the people went into a form of mild shock with the train station.  Its just like any other Indian train station except they had never experienced that, so it stretched comfort zones a bit.  
Once we were settled then things fell into place.  We had two ends of a 72 seat/bed sleeper car.   There are 28 of us including the Tibetans, so we took up 1/3 of the carriage.  Most slept well that night and we didn't have any trouble with losing luggage or any other mishaps.  The following morning our particular compartment had a delightful little East Indian Catholic Nun.  She was the head mistress of a school in South India and had   been on pilgrimage for 2 weeks.  She spoke fluent French, English and Tamil Nadu.  She was full of Christian enthusiasm, which was refreshing.  It was from her we discovered the train trip was going to be a bit longer than anticipated.  I thought we arrived in Trivandrum at noon, she informed me it would be closer to 4 PM.  
The morning and early afternoon was very very hot in the train.  The further south we got the more short stops it made.  By 10:30 AM we were in Cochin, a major city just north of Trivandrum, but it still took 5 hours to go the last little bit.  What was pleasant was the wonderful snacks and tea/coffee we had available at each station.  We arrived hot, but happy in Trivandrum at 3:30.   From there we took two small buses to Kovalum beach and the "Hotel Seaweeds".    Interesting use of names.
Today everyone is blissfully happy eating in the excellent restaurants on the beach and shopping at all the shops that are interspersed between them.  In the evening on has a choice of the catch of the day, which can include everything from Sunfish to Marlin.  Most people are vegetarian, but for those that do enjoy fish there are many choices.  To help attract people to the restaurants there are bootleg versions of the most recent movies.  This includes "Cast Away" "Unbreakable" and the like.  
This evening we are having a group swim in the warm Arabian Sea and then an evening party at the "Santana" restaurant.  Most of us are a bit sun burnt from the bright sun, but we still should have a bit of fun together.
Well, its just about time to go down to the beach again.  This includes sending this email to you all.  Tomorrow we go on a "back water" trip until lunch time.  Kerela has a whole series of channels and villages built up on these waterways.  Tomorrow evening we have the parting party and then on the 4th everyone scatters across India.  Some are heading up North to attend His Holiness Dalai Lama's teachings, some to ashrams, some to Nepal and I will be traveling with 8 people to several religious cities and then the ashram of Shri Ramana Maharishi.   
I think the next email you will get is coming on March 7th when I arrive at the ashram.  
Wishing you were all here!   Have over 700 images taken with our digital camera.  Its been a great tool to have, as one tends to take more pictures than normal.  
Love to you all.
Jhampa and Maria. 
Hi,
Checkin #3
March 4th
On March 3rd most people were suffering from sun burns!  A few of the smart ones had put on sun screen early and were spared the pain, but the rest of us all had difficult nights with pain rolling over.  One has to take into consideration the equator is only a few hundred miles south of our beach.   Last night we had our good bye party in the "Rockholm" hotel.  This was a buffet for 200Rps each.  We all toasted Tenzin and Clear Path tours for the excellent help they supplied.  Several of the people on the tour sponsored a child in the monastery and the tour raised a nice profit for the monastery.  Everyone said staying at the Tibetan community was a nice safety zone for the ventures out into India.  Not that India is uncomfortable, but that one did not have to be too continuously exposed to Indian culture.  The monastery was like a home.
On the 4th 10 of us were the early birds to depart.  This included Jhampa, John, Michael, Judith, Lyn, Lyn, Lois, Jennifer, Ann and Dianne.  We drove to the southern tip of India (which we did not quite realize until it was over) and then back up north to Madurai.  The total trip was 8 hours with two nice breaks for tea and lunch.  We were all in high spirits together and chatted and took photos out the windows.  A large portion of the southern tip has wind turbines for electricity.  We drove for quite a few minutes through a valley with hundreds of them spinning slowly and majestically in the heat.   The land was cooler and less humid than the coast.  Most times the heat was in the 90's each day.  Our bus got to 100 during the lunch stop over, but cooled down as soon as we started driving again.  At 4 pm we arrived in Madurai and all got air conditioned rooms.  After a shower and fresh cloths everyone felt much better.
In the early evening I gave a few short stories about Shiva and Pravati, who are the central deities of the Madurai temples, and then we went for an evening stroll.  India comes alive with people and light as the darkness descends and we all enjoyed the first real India city.  Not to say Bangalore or Kovalum are not totally Indian, but they are quite modern compared to Madurai.  One gets a much better sense of what India is all about in Madurai. We really enjoyed the temple scene and evening festivities.  We all got an elephant blessing at one entrance to the temple.  This involved giving the elephant some coins or paper money and the elephant then placing his trunk on your head as a blessing.  He does it with great dignity.   We circumambulated the two temple complexes and continued outside.  This particular temple complex covers about 4 square city blocks.  It is ringed with a wall that is about 30 feet high and has four entrances to each cardinal direction.  Wonderful artistry, colour and figurines are on each carved entrance, which stand about 140 feet high.  Again, pictures will tell you the real story.   In the later evening Ann Redwood, Jennifer and I returned to the hotel for a vegetarian meal and sleep.
The following morning we all tried to take care of business.  At about 11 am Michael Johnson and I went to a "Bank of Baroda" to get cash advances on our credit cards.  This involved first finding the bank, which took a few minutes walking around in 90 degree weather.  Once we were there and were directed to the 2nd floor, the lady manager took our passports and credit cards and had to telex the central branch for authority to give the money.  This took 20 minutes.  Then we watched her place the papers and passports on a second desk and walk away.  The man at that desk (there were lots of desks and clerks everywhere) finished his tea which had just been served and proceeded to hand write all our details out on various pieces of paper.  He then discovered he did not have withdrawal slips for MC, only Visa.  This required another few minutes searching for the MC slips, and then we had to sign those repeatedly at different points to confirm who we were.  This in total had taken 60 minutes.   At that point the lady phoned another man to come and collect the papers and we were escorted downstairs to the main banking area.  Michael thought she was expediting the process by calling the man upstairs, but he soon discovered we were in another line with little metal number tags awaiting the 'payment clerk' to do his paper work and give us the money.  This was not as bad as it sounds and within 10 minutes we were out of the bank and on the streets again.  Total time to get a $200 advance, 75 minutes.
The rest of today we went shopping and wandering around.  I purchased some small bells and bangles, while Judith and Lois looked at jewelry.  By 3 PM I was exhausted and so came home to type this out.  A little later I will go out and send this email to you all.  One has to do things in India in small increments.  Trying to accomplish too much at one time is exhausting.  Better a few small activities each day to maintain a happy temperament.
Tomorrow we all go to Trichi for one day and night.  This is only 3 hours away.  Once there we will shower, have lunch and carry on to the various temples in the area.  The next morning we drive for about 5 hours to Tiruvanamali.  Here John and I will stay on and meditate and pay homage to the various shrines.  Judith, Lyn, Lyn, Lois, Dianne, Jennifer and Ann will all depart shortly after our arrival for either home or cities north.  Jennifer and Ann are having a good time together and will fly on to Vanarasi and Nepal.  
As I am not sure when I will see the next email café, I thought to send this before I arrive at the ashram.
Wishing you all health and happiness.
Jhampa (on his own)
 

Hi Guys,
Well life in India carries on.  Today was full moon day and that means serious circumabulation of the mountain.  As some of you may know, Arunachala is the Lingam of Lord Shiva.  It was manifest when Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma were discussing the beginning or end of the universe.  As they discussed and argued who was the superior god and knew of the most about the universe, a towering flaming Lingam appeared beside them.  As the lingam is the symbol of creation (yada/yoni or yab/yum) this one appeared to go high into the sky and deep into the earth.  Brahma and Vishnu agreed if someone found the beginning or end of the lingam, surely it would show the beginning or end of time and creation.  Thus Brahma turned into a swan and Vishnu into a boar and they respectively went above and below the lingam to find its end or beginning.
Vishnu as the boar dug deeper and deeper into the earth and could not discover the beginning of the lingam.  He became tired and quit the search.  Brahma flew higher and higher searching for the end of it.  As Brahma got tired he came across a flower floating down from the sky above.  He asked the flower if it would do him a favor, to which the flower agreed.  They returned together to the earth and asked Vishnu what he had found.  Vishnu said there was no beginning to the lingam and so he admitted defeat.  Brahma puffed up with pride and said he had found the end of the lingam and was definitely the superior god among the two of them.  He presented the flower to Vishnu to further add confidence to his boast.  
At this point Lord Shiva stepped forth from his lingam and said Brahma was telling a falsehood.  Shiva stated there was no beginning or end at any time to his lingam.  Brahma had claimed a victory under false pretences and Vishnu was truthfully the superior divinity.  It was said that because of the falsehood Brahma uttered, he has no temples and little worship in India to this day.  The flower also suffered ill consequences.  It is never used in offerings on altars.  
Anyway, this long story is merely to tell you that Mt. Arunachala in Tiruvanamalai is the Lingam that Lord Shiva manifested before Vishnu and Brahma.  Therefore anyone who visits, offers a prayer or circumambulates the mountain receives great blessings.   
Last night, the 9th evening, I awoke very early and walked up to the ashram.  I awoke partly due to all the noise outside on the street and assumed it was dawn.  I actually did not know, but it was 3 AM.  On the street in front of the ashram I discovered hundreds and thousands of pilgrims (truthfully) walking along the road barefoot.  They were the early walkers for the full moon day.  It was not until I arrived at the ashram temple I found it was 3 AM.   I meditated for an hour and when I was walking back to the room the road was not as populated, but still there were about 4 or 6 people walking abreast down the road.   This procession was as far as you could see in either direction!  I returned to the room and slept until 6 AM and then returned with John to the ashram.  The road was still slightly full of people, but not as many.  The pilgrims slowed to a trickle during the hot hours of the day.
During the hot hours we meditated, visited an interesting swami and puttered about in Tiruvanamalai.  The interesting swami was a professor of divinity and gave an afternoon talk in an evasive manner about seeing the seer, or directly seeing consciousness.  He would stare off into space for a few moments as if seeing something and then continue talking.  We had to leave part way through his discourse as we were due to walk around the mountain.  All I can say is that I more deeply appreciate Buddhism by attending these talks.
At 6 PM Steven and Diana Fairclough, Lyn Harasym, John, my brother, and I started our pilgrimage around Mt Arunachala.  All the roads that intersect this one road that circles the mountain are closed.  The crowding play of colours and noise had started up at 4 PM and by 6 PM it was 10 people wide and again as far as the eye could see.  I included a small jpg image for you to see.  This road is 17 kilometers long, and it was crowded in the same manner at all points!   We were told that 500,000 people were involved in this procession.  It happens every full moon day each month.  It was unbelievable!   The 5 of us just merged into the crowd and started walking at a brisk rate with everyone else.  The atmosphere was both spiritually focused, but also festive like a carnival.  People had set up booths all along the 17 kms with soft drinks, soda water, food, in fact everything you could possibly imagine.  Sadhus (Indian holy men) and the poor lined the road begging.  Everyone was either chanting "OM NAMO SHIVAYA" or quiet or chatting amongst each other. At some points along the road were music tables with huge loud speakers blaring out chants to Lord Shiva or devotional songs.  They were selling tape cassettes of famous singers and temple chanting.  
You need to envision this as an endless line!  It is 6 to 10 people wide, fills the whole road and goes backwards and forwards beyond sight.  There are the young, the old and everything inbetween.  The women are gorgeous with their saris of many colours, long black hair with jasmine woven into it and beautiful smiling faces.  The men are in white sarongs, some bare chested but all comfortable in the dark evening warmth.  The full moon was brilliant with its soft white like high in the sky.  It was magical.  
Think of it, no one drunk, all with faith in their hearts and all happy.  Half a million people walking around Lord Shiva.  
We walked until 10:30 without ever being alone.  John had a pedometer that told him we had taken 20,000 steps and covered 15.99 kms during our prayerful walk.  And to think this happens every full moon 12 times a year.   I have a small video clip of the trip also that I will share with you all when I return to Canada in April.
Anyway, that was quite unexpected, especially as I was going to be more contemplative during this time.  
Today is the 10th of March and we took some tuk-tuks (small passenger 3 wheelers) to visit a swami.  This Guru was a simple farmer who had a vision one day when plowing his field and then just sat down in a chair and has not moved since.  It has been 35 years.  (I'm sure he goes to the bathroom)
He has dread locks that are 10 feet long and his finger nails are about 4 inches long.  He lives out in the country in a small concrete house and gives blessings to whoever comes by.  He is a sweet 75 year old man.  He gave us a mantra of Arunachala and Lord Shiva and said that spiritual realization is wherever you focus the mind.  It was an extremely pleasant visit with someone who was very authentic about their practice.   
I am quite exhausted today from all the endeavors we have been on.  I am going to nap today and slowly start up my sessions of prayer and meditation.
As for the group, there was a bit of excitement in the last two days.  Judith Gordon had her wallet, passport, air ticket and money stolen while she was meditating.  She put her bag down beside her in the meditation room of Shri Ramana and did about 30 minutes sitting.  When she stopped, all these things were gone from her bag.  It was a bit upsetting but with help from the ashram and the police things worked out.  She is now in Madras with 4 other tour members and will fly out on Sunday morning.  Ann and Jennifer are well and will leave tomorrow for Pondicherry, and Lyn Harasym will fly out on Sunday for Canada.  Michael Johnson is the last of the tour members to leave, and that will be on Tuesday, next week.   
John and I will stay on and have a quiet (we hope) 18 days of life at the ashram.
Well, those are the stories for the last few days.  Quite busy, eh?
That's all for now.  I will send another email in about 5 days with thoughts and reflections.  
Wishing you all well.
Jhampa in south India.
Checkin 6
Hi there,
Well, it's been a few days since Michael Johnson left for the coast and then home.  He should be flying as you receive this.  He was the last of the tour members to leave south India.  Now there is John and I here doing sadhana.
Thought to give you a day in the ashram.  I never realized it, but ashrams are for lay people to do retreat and prayer.  Interesting difference between this and a Buddhist monastery.  The closest thing is Lama Yeshe's Tushita Retreat Center in Dharmsala, North India.  Tushita caters to Buddhist monks, nuns and lay people.  The Tibetans don't strictly speaking have anything equivalent to this.  In the west we have mostly lay organizations, but then again not for free or by donation.  I think the Catholic Church has retreats for the laity.  Anyway, it is very nice to be here and have access to the meditation hall, assembly hall and the holy mountain of Arunachala.
Some of you who have been to India will know how busy and populated the country is.  For example, the ashram is never quiet.  It always has people arriving to offer prayers to Shri Ramana and do meditation.  The smaller meditation room is about 20 feet by 40 feet, and open at all hours of the day and night.  It always has people in it meditating.  This includes an assortment of westerners and a large number of Hindu men and women.  They come in, do a bow or prostration to the large picture of Bhagwan on the couch where he used to sit, and then they sit down and meditate quietly for about 30 minutes to an hour.  If people are not there, they are in the adjacent assembly hall with is quite large.  It is about 60 feet wide and 120 feet long.  The floor is all marble, huge vaulted ceiling and a big altar and Shiva Lingam at the far end.  One is able to walk around this, which is a nice form of walking meditation.  At the very back, but inside the stone fence around the altar is a life size bronze casting of Shri Ramana Maharshi.  He sits facing the Lingam in quiet contemplation.  Sometimes it looks as if he is real and staring at you.  The dark color of the casting works to this advantage.
Now back to a day at the ashram.   Life starts at about 5 AM for most here.  I get up to the main ashram shortly after that, as our rooms are about 5 minutes walk down a side road.  As one enters the gate to a large car park area you have to go over and leave your sandals or shoes at a little room with a nice old man who basically lives there looking after the shoes.  I got into the habit of leaving my sandals just outside the door for a few days as it was easier than opening the door and placing them on shelves behind this man.   Well, I paid the price and now am shoeless.  I was saved by good old Canadian Duct tape though.  I got a pair of old socks and taped the bottoms with duct tape for when I walk home in the middle of the day.  Mornings and evenings its okay, as the road is cool.  In the middle of the day the road, even the sand, is far too hot to walk on.   The last few days are really hot too, as there have been no clouds in the sky at all.  
The early morning schedule continues.  Meditation is from dawn till 6:45 AM.  That depends on individual preference, but most people either go to the meditation room or the large assembly hall early to either meditate, pray or walk around the Shiva Lingam.   At 6:45 the Brahmins start prayers invoking Shiva, which takes about 15 minutes.   We then all line up for ash or red verbuti on the forehead and a small spoonful of nectar from the altar puja.  About this time the bell for breakfast rings and off we go to eat. 
Breakfast consists of iddli and sambha.  This is little white steamed rice pancakes and spiced curry vegetables poured onto them.  These are served on either a  banana leaf or small leafs stitched together with slivers of wood.  The meal is concluded with coffee or hot milk.
Breakfast is finished by 7:20 and I personally check my email and then walk up to Skanda Ashram.  It's the cave that Shri Ramana lived in from 1915 till 1922.  The walk takes about 30 minutes along the side of the mountain slowly rising upwards.  As the weather is already in the high 80's, even this early in the morning, one tends to sweat profusely.  The landscape is quite dry and covered with small trees and dry grass.  One quickly heats up and so I take a piece of cloth to wipe myself off when I reach the cave.  One needs to drink a minimum of 2 liters of water a day just to keep hydrated.  The morning is spent in meditation and prayer in one of three little stone rooms.  One can also walk down the mountain about 5 minutes to a second cave where Ramana lived from 1904 till 1915.  It is very simple and has just one room, the cave, and an outside area for cooking.  This is all a national heritage site now and protected.  About 10:30 I walk back down to the main ashram, have a small sit in the meditation room of Shri Ramana and then at 11:30 the lunch bell rings. 
Lunch is served on banana leaves.  When you take your seat cross-legged on the concrete floor of the dining hall (which is nice and cool in the heat of the day) you have to open the folded banana leaf, sprinkle water from a stainless steel cup beside it, and wipe it off.  This is to remove dust.  The leaf is about 2 feet long and 16 inches wide.   Then the servers run up and down the aisles dishing food out of stainless steel buckets.  This comprises of rice, two curried vegetables, sambha, chutney, a cup of yogurt and a cup of sweet drink.  The sweet drink is either tapioca in coconut sauce or some similar thing like milk rice pudding.  When you have finished lunch the sun is really really hot, so John and I retire to our room and nap.  The ashram shuts down at this time anyway, so there is not much to do anywhere.  After a noon shower and nap we both return at 2:30 to the ashram to pray, meditate and hang out.  By 5 PM the afternoon pujas start.  This is 2 or 3 Brahmins chanting from the Vedas and making offerings to the Lingam.  From 6 to 7 the lay devotees, mostly Hindu, all sit with men and women on each side of the assembly hall and chant in Tamil Nadi prayers to Ramana, Shiva, or Mt. Arunachala.  This is very melodic to listen to.
At 7:30 PM the dinner bell rings and we have a simple dinner of rice, vegetables and hot milk.  John and I normally walk home and read, write and then sleep by 9 PM.  Quite a contemplative day ashram life.
Today, Friday March 16, 2001 is the annual fire ritual to Shri Chakra.  She is a female deity, considered to be the Shakti and Prajna of Shiva.  The ritual will start at 7:30 AM and run the whole day.  (I am actually writing this the evening before, details to follow tomorrow night)
Well, Fire Ritual day is over.  Very interesting.
This morning arrived at the ashram as usual and right after breakfast took a seat for the day's events.  Had a nice opportunity to sit and chat with a Hindu from Delhi, one of the few people that speak Hindi.  I took advantage and chatted to him to refresh myself and then discuss the fire ritual.  
The ritual itself involved two sections.  First section was purifying the altar where Shri Chakra was to be invoked, and the second was doing the fire ritual for her.  The purification took until lunch time, 11:30 AM.  This was long sessions of chanting the Vedas in Sanskrit.  Right after lunch the actual fire ritual started, but differs slightly from the Tibetan Buddhist fire rituals I've worked with.  Here they invoke Agni, the fire god and flow right into the offerings for the goddess, Shri Chakra.  They also don't repeat a single mantra, nor offer each item separately.  In their case 11 Brahmins sit around the fire pit, which is quite deep, and each one offers one ingredient each at the same time.  The mantras are 1008 names for the gods.  Therefore they go through the 1008 names in succession, and it appears to cover everyone from Vishnu, Shiva to Agni and then the goddess.  I could have this wrong, as no one really says much about what is going on, but my little familiarity with Sanskrit helps understand some of the names, etc.
What is exactly the same are the ingredients and the final offering of cloth and special items.  It was a refreshing experience to attend a service fully conducted by Brahmins.   In Tibet or in Canada we do the fire offering with whomever knows the ritual.  It still works, so no great difference.  It is nice to hear it in Sanskrit though.
Well, that ends another day.  We have 12 days left before the bus ride to Chenai and home!   Hope to take advantage, see you all very soon.
Jhampa
 

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