Hi guys
I was planning a long post but having trawled through my emails and all the latest HP threads I'm sort of computered out for now.
But I just wanted to say hi and let you know that I am unjetlagged and happy to be back in Tiruvannamalai, the temple town in Tamil Nadu which is my Indian home from home.
Goodness, though, the place is growing - it's like a spiritual Club Med nowadays with 'seekers' from all over the world. Prices are going up and so are places to stay, as the locals have finally worked out how much money they can make out of us westerners.
I usually come for six months but am only squeezing in six weeks or so this year, owing to having moved house in UK recently and ongoing family commitments. Still better a short time than no time at all. One major improvement is that all the internet cafes have broadband now so no more frustration and learning to cultivate patience.
I had the interesting experience this morning of eating my breakfast in the garden of a restaurant while a water diviner divined around my table, searching for the best place to site a new borewell.:D
Tiruvannamalai is a holy place, location of a holy mountain (Arunachala) and the ashram of Sri Bhagwan Ramana Maharshi, who left the body in 1950. Consequently there are many Indian sadhus and pilgrims. But their numbers are rapidly being overtaken by western seekers and the numbers of western 'teachers' is amazing. All around town there are posters advertising satsangs with these 'gurujis'. Each one has his (or her) own followers ('my guru's better than your guru' is a catchy little number composed by one of the American residents) and, basically they all say the same thing! Flavour of the month is a British/West Indian guy called Muji - I'm sure he has a website but I can't be bothered to look it up. He's just one of many former devotees of Papaji who seems to have been licensed to teach by his master. You may have heard of some of the others, such as Gangaji and Isaac Shapiro. In the past we have had visits from Eckhart Tolle and John de Ruiter - I will make no comment except to say that it was difficult for me to write both those names in the same sentence, as IMHO Eckhart Tolle is the bee's knees and JdR simply isn't. But that's judgement!!!
Enough for now....more later.
Sending you all big hugs.
Much love
Sunanda xxx
RE: A big namaste from India
My hugs, Sunanda.
This constant increase in tourism everywhere worldwide (to out of the way places)is so awful to me, though I realise I might be counted amongst the same of course.
It used to be that it was a pilgrimage, so you were duty-bound to go overland. Now people fly in, in a few hours. [&:]People used to look down on people who flew to places, really!
In 1990 in Crete I found a one and a half mile beach with only 2 gays on it. I actually walked it to get somewhere else. Next year there were some bulldozers. Understand that there was no electricity, no roads there, etc. Next year there were half-completed buildings. 2 years later whenI walked there, it was a small town full of Westerners, with lights, seedy eating places, tours, etc! Just 5 years before, it was unbroken beach, with nothing there.
I think what gets me is that like you I am not a "tourist". I travel. But people in the thousands who are not of like-mind, and that's the key thing, just fly in for "holidays" to these places now.
I plan to avoid such places like the plague in India. Goa will be a place my train passes through :D.
Thanks for your post to us.
Looks like I may meet up with my friends in Jaiselmer. I had planned to go some small dunes for the night there by camel - but guess what? I just found a blog by people recently there. About 70 tourists all arrived in the evening and camped on the same dune! So that's out for me too. :DI might find a remote place to take camels to.
So where you are, they advertise gurus for Westerners? Boy. Why not set ourselves up in the trade? 😉
What a pity. I was going to give the link to this person's photo online where 60-70 people end up on one dune overnight to get away from it all! They must have seen that it looked ridiculous, and edited it off the net. [&:]
But you know how there is "Indianese" or "Indglish" - that they don't see how funny things can be to us? MayI share these? :D:D:D
[link= http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomm/92051028/in/set-72057594055045409/ ]http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomm/92051028/in/set-72057594055045409/[/link]
Typical Brit humour. 😀
[link= http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomm/109217434/in/set-72057594055045409/ ]http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomm/109217434/in/set-72057594055045409/[/link]
[link= http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomm/95275797/in/set-72057594055045409/ ]http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomm/95275797/in/set-72057594055045409/[/link]
[link= http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomm/109217433/in/set-72057594055045409/ ]http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomm/109217433/in/set-72057594055045409/[/link]
Last but not least:
[link= http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomm/95267255/in/set-72057594055045409/ ]http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomm/95267255/in/set-72057594055045409/[/link]
V xxxxx
RE: A big namaste from India
Venetian, quite miffed, said:
In 1990 in Crete I found a one and a half mile beach with only 2 gays on it.
how outrageous, V!! did you complain and tell them you had expected a few more?? 😀
oh come on, V! thanks to quick air travel all us tourists get to see parts of the world we'd never have encountered... seeing as some of us worked from an early age and couldnt afford to take months off to back pack!! 😉 i am very grateful for the opportunities i have had to "holiday" in many places and i dont think i impacted on any purist "non tourists" [8D], so there!!
location location location remember... there are always "off the beaten" tracks to be found. 🙂
glad to hear you got there safely sunanda and have the beauty of broadband at your fingertips... makes all things meditational so much the better!! 😀
x
RE: A big namaste from India
ORIGINAL: ro§ie
seeing as some of us worked from an early age
Er! My own money didn't fall out of the sky! Not that it took much.
Yeah, 2 on the beach wasn't nearly enough. 😉
RE: A big namaste from India
Hi Sunanda,
Glad you arrived safely. Have a wonderful time and use those internet cafes often to keep us posted!
Love and light
reikiangel
xxx