[claire]Happy Onam

[Mark Holmes]

Well, I spent the entire day of Onam (the biggest festival day in=20
Kerala each year) in bed with some kind of food poisoning.  Nothing=20
really notable, as this sort of thing just happens when you travel; but=20=

it was kind of a shame to miss a few of the local celebrations and=20
ceremonies.  Fortunately like all Indian festivals this one seems to go=20=

on for days and days, so ultimately I won't have missed much.  And=20
thanks to the care I've been receiving from Harilal and his gracious=20
family, I was only down for a day.

Harilal and I are hoping to leave later today for a 3+ hour journey by=20=

car to visit his land up in the mountains of central Kerala.  His=20
vision is to build a small yoga/ayurveda center there, and teach people=20=

about natural living, sustainable agriculture, yoga, vedanta and=20
ayurveda.  He's one of those rare people who have traveled both inside=20=

and outside his own country and yet finds the value in his local=20
customs, preserving traditional ways of living, and generally=20
remembering how to be in harmony with place, time and culture.  We need=20=

more people like him in this world.

I've got a few moments to write as Harilal has taken his 'matchbox car'=20=

(his term) to the shop for some work.  It barely got us home yesterday=20=

from a visit to a huge local waterfall, and we'll need it working for=20
the next couple of days if I'm going to make it to the train north to=20
Delhi.  I've been staying in his family's home here in central Kerala=20
(near Trissur for those of you into maps) for the last few days, and=20
it's been wonderful to be immersed in the warmth and hospitality of a=20
big Keralan family.  I've grown particularly fond Harilal's 7-year old=20=

niece Saranya who I've taken to affectionately calling 'spunky monkey',=20=

as she is just that.  She in turn calls me 'spunky monkey Mark uncle',=20=

as all the younger kids call me uncle by tradition.  It's very sweet.

The sunburn I got from the day in the sun at Rameshwaram is just about=20=

gone, and I expect the peeling to begin soon.  I guess I'll leave more=20=

than just my heart and my friend's bones here in India this trip, and=20
perhaps re-define the phrase 'no skin off my back'.  That day began=20
with an overnight train ride from Trivandrum that was pretty=20
comfortable and uneventful.  I'd stayed a few days with my friend Swami=20=

Tattvarupananda, a sanskrit, Baghavad Gita and Upanishads scholar I met=20=

while staying at the ashram.  I taught him how to make popcorn and use=20=

Photoshop, and he taught me a lot about how to live simply and laugh=20
very deeply at life.

I arrived in Madurai in Tamil Nadu (the neighboring southern state) and=20=

hopped in a rickshaw to make my way over to the Sivananda Center in=20
town.  Everyone was waiting as a arrived (about 6am), and this included=20=

Swami Govinda, Harilal, Balachandra (who was Tara's friend from=20
previous visits, and had helped a lot during our stay), and about 10=20
other swamis and visitors from some previous day's pujas there.  We=20
packed like sardines into 2 vehicles and drove about 3 hours=20
east-southeast to Rameshwaram, one of the 4 'compass rose' temples of=20
India=97this being the southern most of the 4.

If you look on a map, Sri Lanka lies just of the south-eastern coast of=20=

India, and if it's a good map (and your eyes are equally good) you can=20=

see that there is a partial land bridge that extends out from India=20
toward this large island nation.  For those of you yogis out there this=20=

is THE setu-bhanda from which the pose derives it's name; it's a bridge=20=

that was built so that Hanuman could lead his monkey army over to Lanka=20=

to rescue Sita, if I remember the Mahabarata story correctly.  Or was=20
that Parvati?  Anyway, Rameshwaram is a very large, very sacred Siva=20
temple located out on this bridge of land.

We'd come to place the first of Tara's bones here, perform another Beli=20=

puja (or puja for the departed) and to bath in Rameshwaram's 22=20
fresh-water wells.  The first of these acts was pretty simple; we had=20
previously put a small number of bones in a simple clay pot, and I=20
waded into the sea with Swami Govinda, faced east, thought of Tara and=20=

her liberation from this life, and tossed the pot in the water.  Next=20
it was a smaller, shorter version of the Beli puja we did on the end of=20=

the 16th mourning day after she died, but this one involved 36 ritual=20
dunks in the ocean, plus one or two extra for good luck.  I think it=20
was during this time that I burned my shoulders, as conservative ashram=20=

dress had left me whiter and more sensitive to sunlight as I'd normally=20=

be during this time of year.  This puja involves invoking the spirit of=20=

the departed soul and offering it blessings, food, flowers, water; also=20=

during the process you make balls of rice mixed with banana and sesame=20=

seeds which are fed to the crows and cows.  By the way, the crows are=20
called Beli Kaka, or Beli Crow; the crow posture in yoga is called=20
kakatasana, or sometimes bakasana.  Feeding these crows returns the=20
person to the earth and moves them further along their journey.

Inside the sprawling complex of the Rameshwaram temple the 12 or so of=20=

us followed a path worn by millions of pilgrims as they bathed in each=20=

of the 22 fresh-water wells located there.  Each is said to have a=20
different taste and temperature, and I definitely notices some=20
difference in some.  They're remarkably fresh for being so close to the=20=

ocean.  The process is literally quite cleansing, and of course is=20
supposed to be working on much more subtle levels as well.  After=20
drying off we took darshan (or viewing of the deities, the divine=20
presence of the gods) of the various deities installed in the temple,=20
and had pujas done in Tara's honor.  There are two main Siva lingams=20
here, which is unusual; this is explained in the Mahabarata, though=20
honestly I didn't entirely understand the story.  This is a very=20
powerful temple, and pilgrims come from all over India to worship here.=20=

  It was quite interesting to see turbaned Rajasthanis from that norther=20=

state way down here in the south; I could easily recognize the dress of=20=

both the men and women from one of my previous trips to this bafflingly=20=

wonderful country.

After this visit we had a typical south-Indian lunch on a banana leaf=20
(it is SO much fun eating with you hand), and headed out to the very=20
tip of the bridge toward Sri Lanka that is accessible by car.  We also=20=

visited some temples along the way, and bathed in the ocean.  More=20
sunburn for me!  The drive back was rushed, bumpy, and our driver was=20
clearly trying out for some local F-1 racing gig.  Ultimately it got us=20=

home on time, in mostly one piece, just in time to eat a hurried dinner=20=

of dosa and rush off to catch the night train back to Harilal's place.

So that brings us up to date for the most part.  We leave the south=20
tomorrow night on the Rajadhani Express to Delhi where we will meet up=20=

with Jessica, Robert, Kimbo, Vishvaa and Robin who are all coming from=20=

overseas to make the pilgrimage along the Ganga.  We leave Delhi the=20
evening of the 2nd, and our first stop will be in Prayaga (also known=20
as Allabad I think), then Varanasi, and finally Gaya.  We will leave=20
bones in each of these places, and I will send details as they emerge.

Much love to you all,

Mark