Hardiwar, Uttaranchal

I arrived in Hardiwar from Delhi last evening. The train station was filled with people ready to celebrate Shivratri - Lord Shiva's birth month is February. People come from all over this area to gather water from the holy Ganges river which seems to spiral all around this small town at the edge of the Himalayan mountains. All day and night men and women carry fancy homemade water containers on their heads all the way from the river to their homes without ever letting the water touch the ground. They will not eat during this process and on Feb. 27th they will offer the water to Shiva.

I met a lovely couple on the train who dropped me at a very nice darmshala, a place that is inexpensive and serves homestyle meals. One example here is a plate that costs 25 rupees, 50 cents, and is all you can eat. The food is delicious.

Today was an amazing day of opening and releasing. I learned more today than a whole week at the beach, not that the beach wasn't a good and necessary experience, it's all good as they say, but sometimes the process is quicker and more powerful. Many things came to me today. I walked away from the darmshala I am currently residing in out onto the street to take photos and just explore. I walked past many temples until I found a very pleasant looking man standing behind a huge steel gate where there was a large temple behind him. Nothing fancy but very old. I bowed to him and he invited me in through the gate. He began speaking Hindi and I tried to tell him I couldn't understand. Others were scurrying about sweeping and cleaning. I asked if I could walk around and see the back of the temple. He didn't understand but lead me in the direction I was pointing. He said, Chai? I said, OK!

We went to a small room where there was a young man sitting on the floor eating some kind of white grainy substance, like cream of wheat, with his fingers. He spoke very little English but did some interpreting for us. The man offered me what I thought was lassie, yogurt. I drank a small amount, sour butter milk. Yuck! He offered me what the boy was eating and it was delicious. Sweet and creamy. He asked me to come with him and he lead me into his room. I sat on the floor and one of the boys that worked there brought us steaming hot chai in metal cups. The man disappeared for a few minutes and then reappeared with another man, younger and English-speaking. He joined us on the floor for tea and said that the older man had come to him while he slept saying that there was a woman that he needed to meet downstairs.

He said the man was very excited to have a guest here at the temple. The second man was very charismatic and spoke very highly of the man I initially met. He said that once he had a family and children but something called to him to leave in search of God. He has lived at this ashram for 30 years. He is now 72. The younger man was never married and came to live here at the age of 20. His eyes sparkled when he spoke of the older man. I could tell there was a very deep bond between them of respect and friendship. They both spoke of Ram - God- and looked to the sky saying that Ram must always be in their mind and heart. I asked him all of the questions I always want to ask swamis but usually there is a communication problem. Like if they could be married. No, just like priests they take a vow of celibacy. And why they have orange paste on the forehead. It helps them to remember Ram always, and also has a cooling effect here in the heat of springtime.

I felt so good when I left, that I had really followed my heart to this place, to these saintly men who treated me with so much kindness out of their love for God. They say that every woman represents the Mother Goddess and should always be treated with respect.

When I return from the ashram I am taken temple-hopping. In Hardiwar there are more temples than would be possible to visit in a week so we just go to three. The first one is traditional Hindi and I am not allowed to take any pictures, except for the first one I took before I was told - hehehe. (See the arch with statue w/ many horses.) This temple is white marble and holy men are chanting mantras twenty four hours a day since 1972 when it was founded. That's non-stop and it sounds beautiful.

The second temple is made of all mirrors. No pics here either but every wall is covered in colored pieces of mirror and the statues of all of the gods and Goddesses are also mirrors. it may sound a bit gaudy but it was amazing and everywhere you look were sparkling images of the Hindi religion. The third temple was made to represent the souls journey through the womb into the world. Many pics here because it so hard to explain. Hope you enjoy these. I love it here and tomorrow am going to stay at a yoga ashram for the Shivrati celebration. After that traveling to Rishikesh for more yoga training.

Love & Blessings!
Lynne