[claire]Pilgrimage beyond infinity

[Mark Holmes]

Hi everyone,

I'm sitting in Delhi at Visual Technologies India, Pvt. Ltd.  It turns=20=

out that this is the only facility in the country that is authorized to=20=

repair Panasonic professional cameras, and it happened to be 10 km from=20=

the Delhi Sivananda center.  My camera had been acting up during the=20
last week, so it's kind of a miracle that this place is here, as=20
there's much more to shoot in the coming 2 weeks.  Cross your fingers!

I only mention this because by some blessing the camera worked=20
flawlessly during each and every one of the ceremonies that we=20
performed for Tara on the pilgrimage=97and very unreliably the rest of=20=

the time.  It allowed me to capture what was really important, and it=20
'took rest' for the remainder.  I'm grateful it worked when it really=20
needed to.

So this is just a circuitous way of saying that we've finished the main=20=

part of the pilgrimage, and our dear friend Tara is fully at rest at=20
the bottom of the Ganges and at the feet of the Lord.  We left her last=20=

physical remains floating down the Ganges from a boat in the middle of=20=

Varanasi, the holiest city in India.  It's said that if you die in=20
Varanasi you get a one-way ticket to full liberation, so having your=20
remains scatter there gives a similar effect.  The ceremony was simple=20=

and beautiful, and took place entirely on the boat.  Robert and Jessica=20=

performed the ritual (it's been good for me to step back a little bit=20
and let Tara's family step in), and I was free to videotape and capture=20=

more beautiful images of this ever evolving story.  We scattered=20
flowers, a photograph of her from her pilgrimage on this same route=20
last year, and of course her ashes in the clay pot that I received=20
still warm from the cremation, and carried all the way north.  Jessica=20=

took charge in Delhi, and carried her sister the rest of the way.  Tara=20=

stayed afloat for quite a long time, choosing to float closer to the=20
ghats along the shore and further downstream before submerging quietly=20=

below the water.  Lovely.

Next it was on to Bodhgaya, the place of the Buddha's enlightenment,=20
and final pujas in Gaya nearby.  Again Jessica and Robert performed the=20=

Beli puja; but this final ceremony involved 3 separate pujas in=20
different places within the temple, and in many ways was the most=20
elaborate and beautiful of all.  It felt like a fitting final send off=20=

for our friend, sister, niece...  and hopefully Jessica and Robert can=20=

share some of the story from their perspective.

After two more days in Varanasi resting, visiting temples, eating=20
amazing Ras Malai, we're back in Delhi.  We have a free day today and=20
will leave tomorrow early for Haridwar, Rishikesh and Uttarkashi. =20
After that it's trekking up to Gomukh, then back down for the bhandara=20=

(swami feast) on the 18th around midday.  It's looking like 75 or so=20
swamis...... should be lots of orange.  After that we all start going=20
our separate ways to continue our own journeys.

I've booked my own tickets home, after a stopover in Kathmandu and in=20
Penang, in both cases to visit friends.  It was pretty strange to put a=20=

final date on my return, and an end to this part of this story.  It=20
feels as though I've lived lifetimes in these last couple of months,=20
and I know this story will continue for quite a while.  There's a=20
wealth of stories, photographs and video documenting Tara's life and=20
death here; we'll see about putting that into some kind of form after I=20=

return home.

That's it for now.  More stories to come, of course.

Much love,

Mark=