Indian Enlightenment
I opted for another night at LeMeridien, an upscale hotel with amenities like A/C that make a Western traveller feel more civilized in a country where the term ‘amenities’ extends just short of toilet paper. I headed into Kochine to see some of the shops and came across this interesting silk shop where Indian women shops for Saris (click for video).
Hired a taxi to take me 2 hours to Thrissur to chase Amma’s tour of the Indian state of Kerala and meet her followers firsthand. Amma is to India’s Hindu population what the Pope is to the Christian world. I checked into Hotel LuLu, situated next to the Orphanage where Amma would be leading prayers tomorrow morning. After putting down my bags, I came down to the hotel cafe for a bit of lunch.
I felt like I was in a sea of angels. I wasn’t awash in revelation, I was just surrounded by 100 Westerners dressed in white cloaks. In the small cafe which served Palak Paneer and assorted chutneys it felt a bit like misplaced holiness.
I think that it was Maura who invited me to join her table for lunch that afternoon. She was
frocked in white, like the other minions. When I see white people in white robes the effect isn’t the most promising...I think cult or klan, and neither instills much confidence. But Maura was nothing like what I expected. The Californian turned Amma-follower had been staying at Amma’s Ashram in India for a few weeks. My conversation with her was logical, and I sensed that I could trust that she would be a good guide for the next morning’s encounter with “The Mother of India”.Over my 2 days in Thrissur I would share hours of conversation with Maura, visiting a n exhibition in town and talking about signs/omens that she believed she started receiving from Amma beginning after she had received Darshan (a hug and prayer) from Amma.
The stories were warm stories of tests of charity and selflessness that could find their way easily into a Reader’s Digest. They had endings that were happy, but were much different from what I thought they would be. One story began with her mentioning that she had always wanted to fly somewhere on a first-class ticket. A friend had offered her a trip to India with her on a first-class buddy pass. To take the trip, she had to had to decline a previous promise to a friend to travel with her to India. The friend was too weak to travel alone and would not be able to take the trip without Maura. The short story is that she felt Amma’s voice in her head and decided to decline the first-class passage and travel with the sick woman. She earned respect from both wome
n and herself, and she sees all her good fortune as a result of similar decisions.When you believe that you are receiving message from a divine power, be it a woman or g-d, you pay more attention to your gut and judge your own actions by a different measure entirely. You become more much more accountable. You also appreciate your blessings more when you believe they come as a result of those positive decisions. It would be easy for me to make an irreverent joke here, but the truth is I do believe in the power of spirituality and I think it’s wonderful to see people benefit from believing that they are a part of something more than themselves as an individual.
Maura told me that I would be receiving Darshan tomorrow and that I would need to be at the
ceremony early in order to get a token to hug the saintly woman. At 6:30am I dudded-up in my white linen outfit and headed out in the 105+ degree heat to see Amma. The outdoor morning prayer lasted about 7 hours, consisted of heavy-duty repetition of mind-altering mantras, burning of camphor, placing of flower petals and burning oil, complete with the recitation of the 1000 names that the Hindus have for G-d. I was sweating profusely with 15,000 of my closest indian friends, waiting for my most treasured Darshan hug. (Click here for a video I filmed). I also believe G-d has a sense of humor, and this somehow got he and I even in some karmic poker game.
I was queued with the Westerners at the beginning of the line, I handed over my ticket and Amma gave me a big hug, the kind that only a person with some girth in their mid-section can offer. She said something like “My Darling, My Darling, My Darling” into my ear, and then it was done. The thing that make this different from my other encounters with large women is that she also handed me a small bag of ashes that she’d blessed. I’m told that mixing these with water offers some spiritual curing power. I would like to believe that it works as something more than a cure for a hangover.I was assured afterward by a few friendly faces that often the effects of receiving Darshan are not always immediate, but I could feel different at any time. I’ll be sure to keep all apprised of when I feel my Darshan start working. While I am skeptical, I am also hopeful. Why not?
After Amma, I decided to have an Ayuervedic doctor press my spiritual buttons and work on my sore shoulder. He smacked the hell out of my back for an hour, treated me with healing oils and told me that I needed 14 more days of this treatment to be cured. He also recommended yoga. I’ll opt for yoga. Spent a few minutes comparing the US with India with the doc’s son...India has something like 13 languages while we only have 2 main languages (and we bitch like hell when we have to hit 2 for English, can you imagine waiting for your language if it’s the 13th option on the automated service?), and while India is smaller than the US, it’s population is 4 times that of the US. The Indians also believe that audible belching and flatulence is appropriate in public places. Gotta love it. Everyone one of my cab rides had included a few random burps to make things interesting.
The heat was still exhaustive and my stomach had returned to an intolerant state. The first signs of monsoon season were evidenced by the storms of the previous few nights. I booked a flight to Mumbai/Bombay for the next morning. I had no idea where I would go from there, but I knew I needed to get moving.
When I landed in Mumbai, I went to the airport travel agency to book a ticket out of Dodge. Asia was too hot, too wet, or had too much danger, and most of Europe was blocked by a volcanic cloud of ash from Iceland. “Sir, we have a flight to Athens tomorrow morning - Air Qatar through Doha.” I don’t think I’ve ever had such a complex series of self-rationalizing Q&A with myself. As a Jew I had to ask myself whether I would be ok if the clouds shifted and I was stuck in Doha. Would they let me in - I heard that Dubai restricted anyone entering who had an Israeli entry stamp on their passport. I’ve gone skydiving, scuba diving, and I’ve hugged saints, so ok, I’ll take it.
I stayed for one night in Mumbai, which was too much. The Holiday Inn was great, but every hotel had slums literally on their front lawn. The concentration of poverty was too much to bear, children begging on every corner and the worst auto emission problem and traffic I’ve ever encountered. Feelings of clausterphobia and disgust were overwhelming.
Air Qatar is pimp’d...who’d have known. The Doha airport is also pretty amazing. I’d never heard of Doha before, but the skyline has to have the most interesting high-rises I’ve ever seen. The flight to Athens was 10 hours from point to point, including the layover.
I am Sparta
I landed in Athens 4 days ago and fell in love with this city. Maybe it was escaping India that intensified the attraction, but nevertheless, Athens is wonderful. I checked into the Hilton
(where I had a view of the Acropolis) and then hoofed it 10 mins to Syndagma square, just outside the parliament building. Walked through the contemporary shopping section of Plaka and then down to Monosteraki to see the many outdoor coffee shops that beautifully add to the landscape of the city. The weather has been in the 70’s during the day and the 60’s at night...perfect. I dined on fried anchovies and a delicious blended eggplant dish served with fresh bread. It would be the start of what is my gastro-tour of Athens. (Click for video of some bazookie players I filmed in Athens)A full night’s sleep was welcomed after nearly 48 hours on 4 hours of sleep. I woke up and hit the city full-on, lunching in the gardens just south of Kolanaki (which has lots of neat shops and art galleries). I hadn’t sauntered anywhere in 3 weeks, so it was with a sigh of relief that I could comfortably enjoy a good saunter. The park has a turtle pond, a little animal sanctuary with small birds, rabbits and donkeys, I don’t know why the mules. The atmosphere was right for a small bottle of ouzo and some eggplant salad and a little time with the Alchemist (a must read).
I headed to services in Athens’ oldest synagogue, Beth Shalom, and enjoyed meeting a few of the 30 Jews that showed up for services that night.
I decided I would setup camp here for awhile, so I’ve rented a very small modern flat in the Kolanaki area for a week. It has a great view of Athens, with a roof deck that would make most back yards jealous. I can feel like I have a neighborhood and some roots for a week.
Athens is in a state of flux right now, Greece was basically declared bankrupt and the IMF is bailing out the country with billions in funding. Anarchists protest daily and officers in riot gear are in high-alert in every major area of the city. I feel safe, but several Greeks have confessed to me that for the first time they feel insecure in Athens.
Yesterday I made some new friends at a t-shirt shop after I ran out of clean clothes. I befriended Konstas, the shop owner, who introduced me to his group of friends, in particular, his friend Tess who’s very involved in the art world here in Athens. I joined her for lunch - I had another incredible dish of eggplant with toasted goat cheese, and a few glasses of red wine to help enjoy the sunny afternoon in Athens. Tess and I began plotting art projects for Athens. We met up with Konstas and his other friends at a Jazz bar, where we all drank and danced outside with about 20 other people until 3am. The party reached it’s climax of sorts when a group of 10 Parisians started stripping to their skivvies to some French song. It turned the party up a notch.
Today I took a city tour on the open-topped tourist bus. I stopped to see the meat market and buy some fresh olives. Now I’m sitting in a quaint covered outdoor cafe enjoying a glass of wine and some snacks. Tomorrow will be another day that will evolve as it’s supposed to. Planning to leave Athens on Saturday, maybe to Santorini or Milan.
In very good spirits,
Jared
No comments:
Post a Comment