Satsang in Rishikesh

It seems as if we’ve landed again. What I mean by that is we have found another place where we feel content and ‘at home’. We are in Rishikesh. The Ganges River begins here.

The Ganges is considered by Hindus to be the holiest of waters with healing powers and religious magic. Hindus come from all over the world to tip their toes into the waters so that the magic of the flow will take away their sins forever. At any time of the day you can see people bathing at the shores or simply touching the waters with their fingertips. Many people fill small decanters with the waters to bring to their homes for healing the sick and ridding family members of sins, bringing good health and prosperity to their households.

There is an emphasis on spiritual energy here. People who love being in Rishikesh, love it because of what the city has to offer. Everywhere you look there is evidence of Yoga, meditation, music, devotion, inward pursuit and understanding.

Life happens here as it does in other cities, and yet, there is something extra that I feel when I observe my surroundings. People of all cultures wander the narrow streets seemingly on their way to somewhere. As I look I notice crowds of people walking in one direction. That might be because there is only one road in Rishikesh. It is like a main artery to and from the heart. There are veins that connect, but the veins are narrow and lead in alternate directions. Ultimately, you must return to the original source. So people generally walk to where they’re going by using the main artery.

Down the narrow pathways are hundreds of temples or shrines offering opportunity to gather with others in conversation or prayer. Today we even found a Chabad House and, of course, we chose to meander down that narrow pathway. It turns out there is no one there anymore and the place is closed. That was a disappointment for me because, ultimately I find my complete spiritual place grounded in my Judaism and I’m really comfortable there. It would have been nice for me to take the joy I am feeling and connect with other Jews.

For me, that joyful spirituality is significant. We had just participated in a satsang gathering with a Guru, Prem Baba. This blog post is an attempt to describe that experience.

The room we entered at his Ashram is a large white walled auditorium like house with open walls and large doorways that lead out to various scenes. One such scene is a courtyard that inviting sitting and relaxation amongst flowers and plants and natural pottery and simple décor. Another direction overlooks the incredible spectacle of the flowing Ganges River. Along the shores I could see people bathing and enjoying the freshness of the clean clear waters that is available here because this is the primary source of the Ganges, which flows through Northern India.

Cows gather there too because they know when scraps of food will be tossed along the roadways that boarder the River flow.

On the ceilings and along the walls of the room are simple creations of stain glass art. The ceiling ones are exactly like the stain glass design that Seyna made for Darchei Noam when Julia and Lindsay had their Bat Mitzvah in 2001. I wondered if she had seen these because they are truly just like the one she did, right down to the representation of the Magen David symbol. Right along the border where the wall meets the ceiling there are stain glass tulips. That’s all that is in the room. It was simple, colourful and perfect.

The real energy comes from the people who are there. I would say there were about 200 of us. Live gentle music, (Paul calls it the Enya music of India) plays amongst the crowd.

While the music and chanting continued, Prem Baba entered the room. The crowd stood in reverence. He sat without saying a word. And stayed like that for about 10 minutes. With his hands in prayer, he scanned the room with his eyes and offered a gentle smile. It seemed as if he made eye contact with each and everyone of us.

He had my complete attention. I was smiling and felt exhilarated.

In Portuguese, and with an English translator, he then spent the next hour teaching. It was a talk that addressed a specific query from one of his followers. And the response that he gave was beautiful.

I was truly wowed! When his talk finished, many people lined up to say thank you. In India, generally, people prostrate themselves before the Guru and, while bowing, put their hands on the Gurus feet in devotion and gratitude. I have to say that is not my style, and I didn’t want to be disrespectful by being unique. I am grappling with the Guru concept, preferring instead to remember that the Guru is within each of us. Maybe I will send him an email of thanks.

Instead, I stayed amongst the crowd. There was festive singing and dancing and honest and sincere joy. People with loving smiles and welcoming gestures just gathered to celebrate each other and the simplicity of the day. People were partying! And it went on for about an hour. By the time we left it had been 2/12 hours.

I can hardly believe that this happens everyday, but I will certainly be there tomorrow to find out! What a fantastic way to energize and approach the day.

Walking back home towards our room, the markets gave us more opportunity to experience the people. We ate warm peanuts bought from a street vendor and picked up some basic items for our room.

Yoga class today at 4:00 will be a trial for us. Our first Yoga experience in Rishikesh! If it’s as good as the satsang was, we might just be here for a while! Life is good!