Northern India

I am still alive and well in India. I arrived in Darjeeling a couple of days ago to escape the overwhelming heat of the rest of India. It’s lovely here, cool and refreshing. I’ve finally got my energy back instead of melting into the heat of the land.

I last left you as I was about to begin my 10-day Vipassana Retreat, otherwise known as Meditation Boot Camp. Imagine sitting in meditation for TEN hours each day from 4:30 A.M. to 9 P.M., plus sitting for meals, and an additional hour and a half of video instruction from “Guruji.” We were also silent for the entire time, not even being allowed to have eye contact with anyone. It was difficult, to say the least. There was audible silence, but not inside my very active mind. During that active mind time, I composed many a brilliant entry to this blog, but by the time the retreat was over and my mind had gradually settled down, I went more inward and felt less inclined to share my experience with you all. Maybe some day I’ll resurrect it and write about the experience. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed both watching the mind activity and the silence when it finally came to me. And I can now easily sit totally still for an hour or more at a time!

By the time we were allowed to talk again, all the women immediately connected with each other based on our shared experience, comparing impressions. I made an especially good connection with my roommate, a lovely French/Spanish woman named Mathilde. Many of us from the retreat all went to Rishikesh together at the end of the retreat. I was thrilled to fill up on fresh raw fruits and vegetables there after the mush that was our fare for the past 10 days.

Very briefly... after a few days in Rishikesh, "the Yoga Capital of the World," I headed to the hill station of Musoori with Stanley, a friend I had met in Auroville. It was freezing there, but a refreshing change. From there I went to Haridwar, a holy pilgrimage city which I hated because of the noise, congestion and filth. So I retreated to Aurovalley, another Sri Aurobindo and Mother Ashram half way between Rishikesh and Haridwar. What an oasis of quiet, calm, beauty, peacefulness! I did yoga and meditation twice a day and read and rested, worked in the garden and met some very good people.

As Passover approached, I realized that I was near a Jewish (Chabad) community in Rishikesh, so I left the peace and quiet of Aurovalley to try to join their seder. By the time I got there, it was pouring rain, not just outside, but all over the seder tables -- no place to sit, all Israelis, chaos. So I left and had a good palak paneer in a restaurant nearby. So much for my attempt to connect with the Jewish holiday.

I got sick in Rishikesh, so ended up staying in my hotel room there for several days while I recovered. Then back to the haven of Aurovalley. I was planning to spend about 4 days in Varanasi, but because I got sick, I changed my plans and ended up with only 4 hours there in between trains on the way to Darjeeling. Boy, was I glad I made that decision. Four hours was plenty in that congested, steamy holy city. And the temperature there was over 42 degrees Celsius!

Just today, I arranged to go on a trek to Sikkim, leaving tomorrow morning. I'll be trekking with a nice Spanish man, a guide, a porter, a cook, and a yak for 9 days from Yuksom at over 1,800 meters to Dzongri at 4,550 meters/13,221 feet, and hopefully up to Gocha La at 4,940 meters, over 16,000 feet! Himalayas, here comes Araya! Wish me luck!