I was on an 8 hour and 10 hour train, both jam packed over capacity without a seat. Should have been taking pictures along the way when it was day, but only snapped a bunch of shots over the course of about 10 minutes. Here are a few from the door of the train in India (between Lucknow and Haridwar)
Finally made it to Rishikesh, India. It is at the foothills of the Himalayas along the Ganges river and is one of the 4 holy cities for Hindus. There is no meat or alcohol here (in the real world there is, but it is not out the open).
This is the view from where I a stayed, more on that in a minute
waterfall nearby
View of Rishikesh
Rishikesh is also called "the yoga capital of the world" and is where the Beatles went when they came to India. I checked myself into a Hindu Ashram, which is a place to study religion, yoga, meditation etc. It is a real nice quiet location over looking the Ganga. I stayed for 12 days. My schedule looked like the following (Sundays off)
5:30 to 6:30 meditation
7:00 to 8:00 yoga
8:15 breakfast
9:00 to 11:00 library
noon is lunch
2:00 to 3:00 library
3:15 to 4:00 lecture (basically question and answer with the swami)
4:30 to 5:30 yoga
6:00 to 7:00 meditation
7:30 dinner
Meditation Hall
My room, bottom left
The experience was fantastic. Did meditation and yoga for an hour each in the morning before breakfast, then yoga (hour 20) and meditation (hour) before dinner. Middle of the day was mostly time to read and study though I did leave the ashram to play poker several of the days during that time. I also read very spiritual material on concentration and meditation which I found to be most beneficial.
Yoga feels like the perfect way to start a morning. Since the experience I have already drifted from the yoga but it is something I would love to get back to once in more of a regular routine at home.
Meditation requires far more commitment and hard work but it is clear to me the results are powerful. The demands of meditation are not something I ever expect to meet or a practice I plan to master. The ultimate goals in meditation are spiritual and a lot of what is asked of you I have zero desire to attain. In the ashram if you ask what you should think of as a beginner during meditation the answer will likely be an image of God (Jesus, Buddha, Vishnu etc. it doesn't matter who). I did knowingly sign up to a Hindu ashram and the experience was remarkable, but devoting my life to God and the sacrifices asked of you do not appeal to me in the slightest. I enjoy "temptations", they are not something I want to eliminate from my life, it is not my perspective on what living a good life entails. However, the concepts of improved focus and concentration do appeal to me. The skill of lessening your thoughts and not allowing the mind to stray is a powerful tool. In brief, they preach that once you train the mind to perfectly concentrate and focus on a single task only then will you be able to master it--in an efficient manner at that. For example, if you are writing a paper for school, only think of the paper. When you catch your mind drifting, bring it back. Over time through repetition it will drift less and less until you have gained complete control over your mind and it does exactly what you ask of it. This is something I am working on, but in a half ass manner...I am very far from an expert on the issue and equally far from being capable of controlling my mind in this fashion. But I will say that anybody who is doing yoga and not working on controlling the mind during their asanas (postures) is missing out on the greatest strength of the yoga session. Concentrate on the posture. When your mind strays to thinking of what you want for lunch bring it back. Yoga is a time to train the mind. Then when you want to work on a complex idea, challenging decision etc. your mind will be better prepared to handle it. If you are not doing this in yoga you are missing the main purpose it is designed for
I have a lot more to say on my stay in the ashram, learned a tremendous amount about Hinduism and Indian mentality. A glimpse into ashram life and its teachings have definitely enhanced both my understanding of and appreciation of India and for Ghandi . But in a nutshell the above is what I personally took that I can see applying to my own life. The student I was closest with took will power as her main message, we have different flaws, histories, and spiritual beliefs. A valuable experience it was and is for many. It is something I need to work on and a lesson I hope doesn't slip away.
selling offerings
Offerings floating down river
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