INDIA - Rishikesh

INDIA

RISHIKESH
Arriving in Delhi was a culture shock after 6 months in Asia. My flight from KL to Delhi was fine, arrived in Delhi airport and got into an old Buick type cab called an Ambassador, driven by a man possessed that drove at the speed light to my hostel in the Tibetan quarter. He could not read, write, speak English or read any maps i had. Interesting I thought. Wow, India.

Neither the location nor the hostel were nice, dirty - litter everywhere, flies everywhere and it was so hot, 40C/90% humidity. I remember getting off the plan feeling like someone had placed an industrial strength supercharged hairdryer to my back. This was the first time i experienced hot wind like that - and i hadn't even had a Vindaloo curry yet. ...the monsoons hadn't arrived yet, not they would make things any cooler. A month late this year.

I realised very quickly that I was not going to stay in Delhi long and on that same first day I managed to find out how I could get an AC train ticket to Rishikesh in the north, bought the ticket, leaving the next day. Great. The train journey itself was fine but I arrived at 11pm having had to get a bus from the train station one onwards to Rishikesh. I found out on arrival that the ashram I wanted to stay was closed this month to foreigners due to the Shiva festival. Then some random guy came to my help and I managed to find a room and some food, settling in around midnight.

When i woke up the next day there were tens of 1000's of men in orange, religious tourists, all in Rishikesh for the annual Shiva festival. Oh my God. Full on. Busy busy busy. Well i finally managed to find a nice hostel on the banks of Rishikesh, away from some of the noise so then I could venture into the chaos as and when i liked.

I should tell you before i continue that my time in India was always going to be a spiritual journey of self discovery. I felt this and new this even before i started my journey over a year ago. It was just meant to be, that this time was for me, for me inside and not so much about visiting sites. Of course l'd experience India along the way no doubt, but my priority here is me.

Rishikesh being the world capital of Yoga, had many ashrams offering yoga and i managed to find a very nice ashram, Anand Prakash (www.anandprakashashram.com), where i stayed a week and did yoga twice a day. It was clean and comfortable with very nice people working and studying there. The food was tasty and the teachers very open and helpful, Whilst there i also managed to find a 10 day course in meditation. Vipassana Meditation, whatever that was. I had heard the course was very good but very tough. Well i booked myself in and thought very little of it thereafter. I was just enjoying my yoga and my new friends at the Ashram and a bit of chilledness and the last thing i wanted to do was worry about any difficulty regards meditation course.

Vipassana Meditation Ashram (http://www.dhamma.org/en/bycountry/eu/)
Well, i persuaded Joe an English girl (I met at the yoga ashram) on a months holiday in India to come with me to the meditation course in Dehra Dun, an hour away from Rishikesh. She said she wanted a deep course in meditation and i thought i had found just the ticket. It turns out i had. Blimey. We arrived, settled in and had our first introduction talk and a viewing of the programme. Oh My God. 10hours of meditation a day for 10 days, 24/7 silence (no speaking) and the usual No sex, drugs, alcohol, smoking, meat, reading, writing etc. Well l couldn't even speak to Joe after that point. We both just had a look of shock and horror on our faces and even that wasn't permitted by that time. Going back to my room, pre our first meditation that same evening, i just said to myself, take small steps. Just try and handle each moment of the day as it comes and not to think too far ahead. It helped a little but it was hard.

I got up at 4am the next day (same everyday) for my first 2hr session before breakfast. We were to simply focus our awareness upon our breath. The breath going in and out of our nostrils and each time my mind would wander off on a tangent, from one thought to another i would bring it back to my breath. I noticed actually that my mind usually thought of the past or the future, of pleasant experiences or not so pleasant experiences and rarely was in the NOW. I was to bring my mind back to focus on my breath. My mind didn't like this. To focus only on one single thing. My breath. It may sound simple from an intellectual perspective however doing it is something very different. (Try it at home for 10-15mins and see how you go).

We practised this task for the first three days, its all we did for 30 hours. Can you imagine. I was going insane and just wanted to leave, all the time. Thereafter we were to observe any sensations around the area of the nose, then later only the area between the bottom of the nostrils and the top part of the upper lip. The reason why were doing this was once we had the control of our mind (no more random wanderings) we would then focus the mind single mindedly on the body to feel any sensations that rose and passed away. I can hear you still asking, Why? OK, I will explain what i understand.

I have been taught that to learn how to live harmoniously you have to find the cause of disharmony. The cause(s) always lies within so this is like an exploration of ones mind and body to understand the reality of oneself. I know, you are thinking - Crystal Clear Luke. Thx.

The Technique
This meditation technique, its words and methodology have come directly from Siddhartha Gautama, AKA Buddha, the enlightened one. Buddha discovered (in 600BC) and then later taught that the cause of all human misery and suffering is created by our cravings and aversions, our likes and dislikes. When anger, hatred, delusion, fear, passion arise (often with regard to an external event), tension is created within, one starts tying knots inside. This process is continually repeated throughout our lives, thereafter one starts distributing this negativity to all they come in contact with. Misery is created from within.

The concentration of the mind is not the end goal, however by focusing the mind on the sensations of the body (itching, heat, tinglings, vibrations, pulsing, pain, tension), the sensations being the effects of external causes, I am taught to remain impartial to these sensations. By remaining completely aware, objective and equanomonus to these sensations, by not reacting (not itching or scratching) but by only observing, one notices that the sensations always rise and pass away. After much practise one is able to remain objective to all situations that take place externally. Meaning a difficult situation arises externally with someone and instead of re-acting, one centres/breaths and then with a more balanced (less emotional state) acts to the situation. So the theory is by practising the mediation daily, by living in the Now, by accepting and not reacting to or judging each moment in our lives one starts to live a more peaceful and happier life. Thereby free oneself from misery and suffering. The end goal is the purification of the mind, eradication of all mental defilement's, negatives within and thus attaining liberation from misery and suffering so that you can live peacefully, harmoniously and happily. (I really wonder how many of you this makes sense to. Please do write a comment of the blog or mail me).

I must be honest, i found the course very hard and it did not get any easier each day. Partly because i have never done any serious meditation before, i found it difficult to focus for such long periods of time (10hrs a day) and I didn't feel that connected to my mind or body either to be honest. I did feel some gross sensations but hardly any subtle sensations never mind about sweeping through the body (phase 3). I did at the end of the course speak with others who appear to have made real progress but i appreciate we are all unique individuals progressing on the path towards enlightenment and a higher consciousness at our own pace. So I don't feel disheartened. To the contrary. I was very please that I completed the full 10days and didn't give in although i thought about quiting many many times every single day. This is my first meditation course. I do plan to take some other meditation courses during my time in India and see what is out there and see what suits me.


I must say that something very strong inside me just told me this felt very right, meditation I mean, a natural thing to do in my progression and growth as a human being. I know now that my mind is very powerful, I also know that if directed by me (the self) it serves me better as opposed to my mind being the master and it leading me, which could be disastrous. I am now thinking about making meditation a part of my life. At least to see what practical effects and positive impacts it has on my life. At the experiential level to see what truth lies within through my own actual experiences with my body and mind. I realise I will have to work persistently and only through continued practise of meditation will I be successful and bare the fruits but my hope is that it will get easier as a I practise more. Time will tell.

I am now back in Rishikesh and am staying here for a few days. I met a lady that performs Reiki, i already had a treatment from her before my meditation course and have now decided to do my Level 1 in Reiki this weekend. Thereafter, I am heading north to Dharamsala where the Dalai Lama lives. I am taking a 10-day introductory course in Buddhism. More of out curiosity than anything. It will touch upon the key subjects that Buddha taught during his 40 years of teaching and also includes a daily yoga and meditation session. Of course I will tell you about both when i am done. I am not sure what i am doing after that, we shall what comes across my path.