Our lives
for the past two weeks have been completely overwhelmed with life. At the
Gurukula, life happens and, how we spend our days is all about life!
Cows need
to be milked. Food needs to be prepared. People come and go and the constant
activity is vibrant and lively. Here, all people are welcome. It is about
inclusion and love and personal safety. It is also about responsibility and
giving and community. Learning occurs always. When the sunrise so quickly turns
to sunset, I am amazed at how fully the day has been passed.
Time and
life are interwoven and when night time comes, I wonder how it all happened so
fast. How come I never put together the slide show presentation from yesterday’s
Guru Pooja celebration? Why did I miss the opportunity to prepare paisam with
Manju? What about the book I was going to finish reading? Why am I still
dressed for Yoga practise and I still haven’t made it as far as the yoga platform? I hardly even spent time with Mah today!
Important
and simple things happen at the Gurukula.
Everyday routines are the default, and some days pass with nothing out of the
ordinary. I have come to love the simplicity of our daily existence. I relish
the time talking with others, the breadth of conversation we have, and the
deepening of genuine relationships. There is time for that.
And very
important things happen here too! Today a woman and her 12-year-old daughter come
for refuge from the nearby village of Kagliapura. They are running from Lakshmi’s
husband who beat, then hung her from a tree. Neighbours came and freed her and
she was able to escape.
The two
women arrive at the Gurukula shaken and frightened. We are available to help. The
husband comes almost immediately to ‘reclaim’ his wife. There is a constant and
very loud battle that lasts for hours. Saraswathi, the young child, benefits
from distractions. I take her out of earshot. The Bangalore police are
contacted. These are all actions that most village people are not aware are even
options. There is learning happening here in India. “The world is watching.” is
the message I try to share. We, as a universal community can help bring
awareness right here to villages like Kagliapura!
I
realize I should not get involved. Mah and Manju understand the mentality of
the villagers. I understand the ultimate need for compassion and love and basic
civil rights. But how that is realized in India is too different from what I
have to offer. Sometimes ‘helping’ is knowing when to stay back. I reach over to embrace young Saraswathi,
I kiss her forehead, and say “Don’t worry, dear one. The world is watching.” I want
to make that sentence true! I want to return to North America and do something to help.
Oblish
is a 30 something year old man who is completely deaf and dumb. He has a wife
and child living in the village of Kagliapura. He is extremely poor. Oblish has
been working at the Gurukula for several years now. He lives here too, and
carries on all the day-to-day care that is necessary now that Mah is aging a
bit and needs extra hands. There is a sign language that they use that is nothing
like ASL. Everyone here learns to communicate with Oblish, and his smile and occasional
grunt of laughter, makes his happiness evident. He works from early morning to
after dark. He is fed and housed, and once in a while he returns to his family
to bring them cash and have a visit. I don’t even know what would happen to
Oblish and his family if it weren’t for the Gurukula.
The
celebration of the Guru, called Guru Pooja, is a weekend event that takes
several days of preparation. Villagers come to share meals and teachings and
the members of the Gurukula welcome all and host the event. There are musicians
playing during the night and friends of the Gurukala gather together. Villagers
come as guests and, seated all along the walls of the prayer hall, are served a
complete, sumptuous meal. Tents scatter around the land accommodating space for
rest. The all night cooking sessions, when residents and members of the family
prepare the meals for everyone, are fun and celebratory. Great conversations
happen throughout the night. Underneath large awnings, gas stoves heat enormous
vats of rice, curries, dahl, choles and paisam. The tandori oven is on for
hours baking fresh chapatti and naan. We gather for days and share the chores
necessary to ensure everyone who comes is fed and happy. Learning is the
objective! This is a yearly event that is anticipated and revered.
People
come and go. Swamis, travellers and ordinary people from all over India are
confident that they will receive good food here and a comfortable place to lay
their head for the night any time of the year. Most days are simple…very
simple. And many important things happen here too! I suppose that is a clear
reflection of real life after all! What a blessing to be a part of it all!
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