The guru of Kulu and filling my belly in Delhi

Hello, friends!

I've just returned to my new "real life" in Mumbai from a mini-vacation in Kulu and Delhi. I had some wonderful adventures and was really lucky to be able to remotely get all the work done that I needed to--I'm still amazed by modern technology. And even though my flight to Delhi from Mumbai AND my flight to Kulu from Delhi were both cancelled, I was able to make it, thanks to some scrambling and a lot of help from others. It was a good introduction to traveling in India.

Guru Shyam, Nina and I enjoying tea before satsang

Kulu is a small-for-Indian-standards village nestled in a lush river valley of the jaw-droppingly majestic Himalayas. (A note for those of you who have never seen the Himalayas: see the Himalayas.) My first cousin once removed on my mother's side (or my maternal "aunt," if that's easier), Nina, has lived in Kulu for the last 40 years. In 1973 she followed her Guru, Swami Shyam, to India to learn his teachings and live a yogic lifestyle. Despite the fact that Swami is now 89, the community of followers is still going strong with about 150 disciples living in the town and attending satsang, the guru's daily classes. From the outside, it looks like a very comfortable, pleasant lifestyle: wake up, do some yoga, go to satsang, have lunch with friends, teach a class, take a class, go to the hotel down the road for a swim in the pool, discuss the guru's philosophies, meditate, bake some cookies, go for a hike, have dinner with friends, read a good book, basically do whatever you feel is right and try to live an aware lifestyle. But as Nina pointed out, and as I noticed in my conversations with Swami Shyam's followers, it's not as easy and care-free as it looks. Meditation can be very difficult and attempting to find the "inner knower" and "formless space" that is the focal point of Swami's teachings can take a lifetime of trying and failing and trying again.

Swami enjoying early morning sunshine, philosophy and puri bhaji at the riverside restaurant of Manali's Span Resort

While I was staying in Kulu, I was lucky enough to not only attend satsang every day, but also have teas and breakfasts with Swami. It was fascinating to hear his perspective on life and the universe and many of his ideas seemed to have strong similarities to beliefs I already hold. For example, he tells his students that many objects we see and associate with certain labels or uses are entirely made up out of our own imagination. Though he takes this thought a step further than I have and says that perhaps these forms do not even exist in the ways we see them, I can relate to the initial thought. As a sociology major, it's hard not to start seeing everything as a social construct. I do believe that most things are more a reflection of the way humans see them than a reflection of the object itself. Also, one of Swami's teachings is that we are all connected on some inner level--one of reconstructionist Judaism's teachings is that everyone has a bit of "god" within themselves. I like to see this "god" as "godly qualities"; everyone has kindness, loving and goodness inside them and this is what connects all of humanity. So the Swami's perspective, again, was quite similar to my own.

Nina and I at the Buddhist monastery.

There were, however, aspects of the teachings I couldn't quite follow or see as truth. But Nina and many of the others have been following these lessons for decades and they still ask questions. I think it would be very interesting to devote a longer amount of time to really understanding the way Guru thinks. Plus, living in Kulu doesn't seem too bad! In addition to the natural beauty of the area, the people I met were all very kind and welcoming. Most of them are also Jewish, so I could see not only what Indian Jews are like, but what Western Jews who have relocated to India to live nearer to their guru are like as well! Also, the vast majority of the followers are from Western countries like Canada, the US, the UK, etc. so many times it felt more comfortable to be in Kulu than it has felt to be in Mumbai, since they've "trained" some of the local restaurants and shops to do things in a Western manner and stock Western products.

Now that's a Buddha.

In the afternoons, I explored the area a bit. Nina and two of her dear friends took me to see an exquisite Buddhist monastery on a mountain top nearby. We had lunch at a hotel overlooking the river and walked through mountain paths and fields to get home. There is tons of cannibis growing everywhere as well, which was pretty funny to just stumble upon. Apparently this part of India is commonly and unofficially known as the "Amsterdam of India," though I did not find nor take part in this aspect of the culture. Another day I got completely lost wandering through a pine forest alone and somehow found myself on top of a mountain, in the middle of a grassy field, with no paths in sight, I scrambled through bramble, climbed down a few boulders, hopped a few streams, and found the path about 90 minutes later, just as the sun was setting. I also went for a long run up a mountain road, passing villagers' homes and fields, all of the people I passed stopping to look at the strange white girl running for no particular reason. I found a small road leading down to the river and strolled along the boulder wall, built to keep the cows and horses grazing in the small patches of grass away from the river and, more importantly, to protect the houses nearby from flash floods in monsoon season.

View from the top of the Buddhist monastery

Women carrying hay from the fields to their homes down a mountain road.

At night, we had dinners with Nina's friends and it felt wonderfully comfortable to find myself in a group of lovely people, ready to have meaningful conversations and eat delicious, delicious food. Two of Nina's friends had visited Samoa in the past, and one of them had been a few times when her son was living in American Samoa. We had a great time comparing Indian and Samoan culture, religion, and food. I got a couple North Indian recipes I'm excited to try, including a "daal croquette" served with a creamy yogurt sauce and a tangy sweet-and-sour smooth chutney. Plus, one of the younger guys who lives in the town is a wonderfully experimental and, from what I've heard, excellent cook. He makes pastas, bagels, chocolates, and a million other things I would never be brave enough to try in India. The night before I left Kulu for Delhi, he gave me a recommendation for a restaurant that is rated number one in India and in the top 50 in Asia, as well as the top 100 worldwide, according to different rating systems.

Way too excited by this meal.

On my last day in Delhi, Rachel (my friend from my semester abroad in Samoa) and I went to that amazing restaurant, which is called Indian Accent (a clever name for an Indian fusion place) and it was fantastic. The "fusion" part was genius--think blue cheese naan, bacon naan, and duck naan. And imagine eating the seven course chef's tasting menu in a quiet, impeccably manicured, private backyard with plumerias blooming all around you--and the bathroom even had toilet paper! We spent a long last afternoon soaking in the beauty of our secret paradise and the deliciousness of this rare, wonderful food. It was a nice way to cap off the weekend we'd had so far-- a weekend of pampering with heavily-oiled massages and shopping at Dilli Haat, a lively and colorful, bargaining-necessary crafts marketplace in Delhi with dozens of stalls overflowing with handmade goods.

Outside Dilli Haat.

There were frustrating parts of the trip as well, mostly stemming from the fact that I'm not yet entirely used to India. I got pretty fed up with people trying to take pictures of me just walking out of the bathroom or sitting in a park. I also didn't appreciate the man who groped me when I was walking down a busy sidewalk in the spice market. This however, did have one redeeming aspect, which was that after I spun around, screamed "NO!" and shoved him hard into the street, two muslim women wearing chadors came up to me and excitedly congratulated me on showing this disrespectful man that treating a woman in such a fashion is NOT ok.

Other than the groping and situations that likewise actually matter, I know I need to learn to just laugh off the small things. The fact that people want to take pictures of me like I'm a zoo animal is actually pretty funny. And the fact that when something is an inconvenience to you (taking off shoes and checking them before entering a building because you can't even hold them in your hand or put them in a backpack, a taxi driver arriving 30 minutes late, etc.) people try to make it a positive by saying "don't worry; no charge!" as if money was the issue. Then there's the fact that no gym allows you to do more than 20 minutes of cardio "because it's bad for you and cardio does not help you lose weight." These are the little things I need to adjust to, learn to laugh my way through, accept, or be willing to stand out like an idiot (as long as I'm not a disrespectful idiot!).

My first group of volunteers arrives early next week and I can't wait to meet them all in person! Stay tuned for more updates.

Love from India,
Leah

Oh also, just for my dad: they do have rafting in India!


Rafts, paddles, lifejackets and all!