Moksha-Hindu word for Enlightenment

Written over the course of the last three days (3/7 to 3/9)
Day 2
Hot cocoa was served at 6:30 am, followed by our second Art of Living class session.  In this session we did various stretches, practiced breathing techniques again, listened to music and learned some life lessons.  At 8:30 we went to breakfast, which was toast and jam, a crepe-like bread with various sauces, a deep-fried potato and vegetable combination that looked like a donut, and more hot cocoa.  Another tasty Indian meal. 

After breakfast we had another Art of Living sesh for 2 and half hours.  In this course we learned a new breathing technique called Priya and we listened to and followed a tape of the breathing exercise narrated by Shri Shri Ravi Shakar.  I have never concentrated so hard on breathing ever before and it was surprisingly strenuous.  After we repeated this technique for what seemed like a really long time, we were instructed to lie down on our backs.  I was extremely relieved to lie down and relax after exhausting task of breathing.  Once I was lying down, I went into a sort of trance-like state.  I honestly couldn’t tell you where I was for that period of time.  I don’t think I fell asleep because usually I remember the dreams I have in a light sleep.  It was like I didn’t exist for a brief time. I thought nothing, I felt nothing, I was nothing.  It was a really cool feeling. I have never felt that before and don’t know if I will be able to achieve it ever again.  I became aware of my body once again when the tape instructed me to bring my attention to different areas limbs.  I felt heavy.  Then we were told to turn to our right side and finally to slowly sit up from the right side and open our eyes.    Next it was off to lunch.  We all left the yoga studio in a daze, comparing our own experiences. 

After lunch, which was a very similar meal to that of the dinner the night before except there were fries this time, we were given some free time.  I bought various handcrafted trinkets, clothes, and art.  I’m pretty sure I wasn’t overcharged since the prices are regulated and also it always feels better to buy from the actual artist as opposed to buying the mass-produced items in stores.

I had to wrap up my shopping spree so I wouldn’t miss snack time at four.  This time snacks were fries with ketchup and chutney sauce and watermelon juice.  I have never had watermelon juice before and I would say it is darn good.  It was like they just squeezed it right from the watermelon into the cup.  That is, if you could squeeze a watermelon.  I doubt anyone could do that.  More like they drained the juice directly into the cup. Once we finished snacks we had another Art of Living session.  A four-hour session. 

In this session, we practiced all of the breathing exercises again but I didn’t experience the same trance-like state of being.  It could have been because I was more awake than earlier or it could have been because I was anticipating what I had experienced earlier.  Every time I would start to clear my mind and feel this sense of liberation, I would recognize it and be like, “Oh I’m about to have that feeling again,” and once I was aware of it, the feeling was gone.  It was still very relaxing and it allowed me to ponder, but it wasn’t the same as the first time.  Oh also, towards the end of the tape, fireworks started going off outside really loudly and they sounded kind of like gunshots and then dogs started barking like crazy…so if anyone was in a trance they snapped out of it pretty quickly.

We also had a discussion period in this session.  Veda, our teacher, had asked us to consider what makes us happy and what we will need in order to achieve happiness. I believe one thing that makes me happy is creating art and this trip has really helped me discover that.  As for what I need to be happy…I am very happy right now.  There are things I still want out of life, but I am not currently depending on them for happiness. Veda informed us that labeling happiness and the necessary means to achieve it, only postpones happiness.  If I need something in order to be happy, I am denying myself happiness in the present.  How true.  She told us to live in the present. 

One of my favorite things she said was, “This moment is inevitable, you can only choose how to react.”  I like that.  I will undoubtedly experience hardships in my life, but I can choose to see them as obstacles that will positively influence my life instead of dwelling on misery.

Veda imparted so much wisdom on me.  I’m just going to keep writing about all of the life lessons she taught me and then I’ll get back to the actual itinerary that we followed.  So she also asked us all to consider what we are responsible for in life.  I believe that I am responsible for myself, my attitude, my thoughts, my judgments.  I am responsible for me.  Most people said the same thing.  In response to this Veda explained that we take good care of the things we are responsible for, like ourselves, or our education, or our families, or our property.  Thus if we take responsibility for everything we will take care of everything.  Responsibility equals power.  If I say that I am responsible for the world and I treat it as such then I can do great things for the world.  If everyone takes responsibility for the world, think of the power to change it and make it better.  If all of India took responsibility for India they could clean up the mounds of filth, they could feed the hungry, house the homeless.  In turn, Veda told us that inaction is irresponsible.  This stuff blows my mind.

Another nugget of wisdom that Veda told us was to accept everyone, because the only one who is hurt by judgments is you.  By judging others, you miss out on having this unique person in your life.  Even if this person is annoying or mean or whatever, it is an experience that can help you appreciate all the good people in your life.  This statement makes me want to be more open and accepting.  I want to rid myself of judgment and preconceived notions.  I want to just see everyone as a person, like that’s Joe, just Joe.  Not like “oh that guy smells funky” or “he looks nerdy” or “he’s ‘bro’in out”. Just Joe.  So that is my new goal when I meet people. 

Okay…isn’t that intense?  Veda was so wise.  She was also really hard to read, though.  Sometimes she seemed like this grandmotherly character, sweet and kind.  And then at other times she was rather harsh and would scold us for inadvertently doing the practices improperly.  She scolded the class after the second time we did the Priya breathing technique because someone opened their eyes during it and another person didn’t sit up from their right side and other minor changes like that. She said these mistakes defeated the whole purpose.  She told us we were not giving 100% and that one should always give 100% because trying is harder than doing (more wisdom).

Anyways after the four-hour yoga session, we went to dinner, which was outside and we watched the fireworks that startled us out of our peaceful mindsets earlier.  I sat with Disha, Lia, new male friend Taylor, Hussein, Steve, and Keith for dinner.  Hussein, Steve, and Keith were also on my Kagga Kamma trip.  They are good kids. 

We sat around and talked and played silly camp games.  As we finished up our meal this mangy-looking dog came over and lied down near our table.  We decided to name the dog James.  Whenever the fireworks went off, James would run over and bark, protecting us.  Steve wanted to pet James, but James looked a bit flee-infested so Steve scratched James with an empty water bottle.  We all loved our new pet James.  Then the servers told us that James’ real name is Gobel…and Gobel is in fact a female dog.  We still called her James.  James “Gobel” Ubuntu. 

After dinner we played some more games and then went to bed.  I slept better the second night and I actually was cold when I woke up and put on a sweatshirt.  Sweatshirts are unheard of in India, so that was kind of weird.

Day 3
6am wake-up again.  6:30 cocoa.  7 to 8:30 Art of Living sesh.  We did some pretty enjoyable stretches this time.  We pretended to be a rural Indian woman and we stretched out her daily chores. Then we pretended we were monkeys and elephants and other animals and stretched like them.  Lots of silliness ensued.  Then breakfast, then a break, which meant a quick nap for me.  I was too lazy to take off my shoes and socks, which were filthy so I just slept with my feet hanging off the end of my bed.  Then another Art of Living session, then lunch, then a video of Shri Shri Ravi Shakar and his teachings, then more Art of Living. 

Thennnnnn we had another break in which I got my palm and wrist hennaed for 30 Rupees (50 Rupees=1 USD).  I also bought a necklace from a man who carves the emblems out of rock.  Veda had told each of us to buy or make a little gift for someone in the class, but we didn’t know who it would be for.  Lots of people got necklaces with glass-blown Ganeshas or teardrops because there was a glassblower in the village who made them in like 5 minutes for 25 Rupees.  I probably should have gotten one, but there was such a long line of people I kept putting it off and then I didn’t get one.  He was really talented, though.

At the next session we had 5 musicians come in and sing the teachings of Shri Shri blablblalba to us.  The music was all about love and loving everyone and everything.  The group that came was a man and four women.  They all had beautiful voices.  One kept the beat on a drum and another played mini symbols, even Veda played some chimes.  The man would sing one verse and we were instructed to repeat after him.  It was all in Tamil or Hindi or something but they told us it didn’t matter if we sang inaccurately or mispronounced the words as long as we gave 100%.  They sang some slow tempo songs, but then they picked up the tempo and one woman got up and started dancing in between all of us sitting on our mats and pillows.  We got up with her and started swaying and clapping and twirling to the music.  That part was great.  Everyone just let loose and danced. Gotta love the Indian music.

All the while, my henna was drying and I was struggling to not pick it all off.  When class let out, I immediately went to the bathroom to wash all the dried henna off.  Henna tats are beautiful.  The design was so pretty that when I got back into Chennai I found a tattoo place and got it outlined with actual ink.    So I got a real tat in India.  Probs not the safest thing to do, but when in India…

Lie.  No real tats.  Did I trick anyone?

Lia did buy a henna pack though, so I’m going to practice on her and then get really good and then set up a henna stand on the streets of India…or maybe not.

Once I had washed off the caked-on henna, I went back into the village area to get my palm read for 50 Rupees.  The palmist only spoke Tamil, so Veda translated.  She had to read my left palm, which is the one I got hennaed but apparently she could still read it.  Who knows.  The palmist asked for my name, my age, a flower (I picked a rose), and a number between 1 and 12 (I picked 8 my lucky number).  She then informed me that 7 is my lucky number and 8 is not a good number for me….wrong, but she got some things right.  She went on to say that I change my vision a lot (my intended major…), she said that I am artistic but that art will not be a career for me just a hobby (bummer). She said I will travel to all the places I haven’t been, but I will only travel there, I will never stay.  She told me all this without looking at my hand.  Then she took my palm and told me that I am a spendthrift (false), that I have a good life line and a good heart line but I will have some minor illnesses in life, nothing major.  She said that I will marry between the ages of 24 and 27 and that I will like my husband (she said like, not love).  She said that my husband will gain a lot by marrying into my family.  She said that I will help my family.  She said I will have 2 daughters and one son.  And I think that’s all.  Then she asked if I have any questions.  I asked about Nate and his success in life and she said he will be successful and he will always support me.  Thanks Nate.

So there’s my life in a nutshell.  She read pretty much all the SASers palms and she said a lot of the same things, but I found the vision changing and traveling quite pertinent to my actual life.  Most people had pretty happy lives to look forward to according to the palmist, everyone except for Lia.  The palmist said she had a weak heart line and that worrying would cause her headaches and heartburn.  Poor Lia.  Hussein got his future told by a parrot.  That was interesting as well. 

Then we had snacks of Indian-style onion rings dipped in chutney sauce and grape juice.  Again best juice ever.  Fresh-squeezed.

Then we went to our final Art of Living Class.  This was by far my favorite class.  Veda showered us with her wisdom and instructed us to continue our practices everyday and attend sessions in the US because they hold them in every major city.  She said if we do, people will notice a change in us because we will be so enlightened and loving.  I don’t think I will follow up on those instructions but I will use those breathing techniques to relax and relieve stress in the future. 

Then Veda told us to break up into groups of 5, randomly.  My group was Taylor, Keith, Jessie, and Charlotte.  Veda told us that we would each have to tell a story for about 5 to 6 minutes, a story that only the individual herself knows.  Do you know what story that is?  My life story.  Veda told us to be open and share with our circle the things we can’t share with our parents or families.  She told us the importance of friends. So we went around the circle and told our life stories.  It was pretty cool to hear four relative strangers entire past in five minutes.  Once we had finished, Veda told us that we were now bonded as friends forever.  I like that.

Then we played a game where we had to walk as fast as we could around the room as music played and when the music stopped we had to grab whoever was closest to us and compliment them.  We did this for a few minutes and then Veda told us we were playing wrong.  Haha. She said that we were walking to slow.  Her exact words were, “This isn’t a slow-walking competition.”  Can you imagine?  So then we walked faster.  Then she told us we were still playing wrong.  When we partnered up one person would compliment the other person and vice versa. But apparently we were supposed to try and be first to pay the compliment and whoever said it first got 5 points.  We played one more round and then she said we should stop.  I got 5 points.  I don’t know what that means exactly. 

Veda had us play this game to teach us to be generous with compliments.  She told us that people always express disbelief when complimented, and accept criticism without question.  She told us that the mind remembers the negative, so we should recognize that and discard it.  Think positively. 

Then we did another game where we each got a balloon and blew it up and we went outside and played “Don’t touch the ground” with the balloons.  Pretty much the greatest balloon game ever.  As we were blowing up the balloons I was like let’s go play Don’t Touch the Ground Tag with these.  And then we did.  This activity was to teach us to live and act freely as children do.  To live joyfully.  Children have no boundaries, no fears, no worries of what others are thinking.  At least not right away.  Not until they learn to fear, to stick to the norms. So much wisdom. I keep remembering more and more as I write.  This is a crazy long post. 

Let me see, then we did another activity in which we sat across from someone and looked into their eyes and accepted them as who they are, no judgments.  Then we closed our eyes and Veda moved us around so we opened our eyes with a new partner. And we repeated the process.  Then we walked around with our eyes closed for a while, bumping into each other and dancing to the music.  Then we sat down and meditated for a while.  Veda told us to imagine ourselves as babies looking up at our parents, then imagine ourselves at 2, then 5, then 10, then 20, then 30, then 40, then 50, then 80.  She told us to think about what was/is/will be important to us at each of these ages.  It changes.  This made me realize that all my worries and problems are only temporary, which is why I shouldn’t be worried about them.  So cool.  Then we exchanged gifts.  I got a “chunky monkey” candleholder.  It immediately reminded me of Molly for some reason.  So Molly…look forward to an Indian candleholder upon my return.

Then we had our last dinner, we said our goodbyes to the staff, to Veda, to James and James’ partner Cindy Big Balls. Cindy Big Balls was a male dog, who we emasculated with a feminine name just as we had given the female dog Gobel a manly name, but soon we realized Cindy had very large testicles, thus Cindy Big Balls.  Sooo mature right now.

Then we hopped on the bus and drove about a half hour back to Chennai.  I had thought that we were in the middle of nowhere because the village seemed so secluded, but we were surrounded by restaurants and shops and other tourist attractions.  Go figure. There were neon lights everywhere.  We arrived back to the ship at about 10:30 and I took a shower that I desperately DESPERATELY needed.  Kendra was on a trip to the Taj Mahal so I had the room to myself.  It was nice to sleep on an actual mattress and to be clean.

I’ll write about my time in Chennai later.  Digest this post for now.