Movin' On Up, to the East Side

Technically, I will be moving southeast (http://maps.google.co.in/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&q=Puri,+India&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Puri,+Orissa&ll=21.820708,81.870117&spn=18.249868,28.256836&z=5 , I'm currently about 3 hours south of Delhi). On the 16th I will be leaving for Jagannatha Puri to spend the month with one of the most highly renowned disciples of Gurudeva. It's sad to leave Vrindavan again, especially since I was just getting settled, but I am beyond excited to visit Puri. Everyone says it is one of the most beautiful places. The temple there used to be a hotel that someone gave to Gurudeva. It is located right on the beach. Most people describe it as a "Beach Palace." Mainly the trip is special because of the Vaishnava that will be leading the trip. It's hard to explain the extent that spirituality permeates everything here (especially because I haven't really done it yet), but people say that this disciple can see in to your heart, and thus can help you grow and clean it out. Perhaps I will fulfill my promise once I get there and take some time to explain in more detail what spiritual life really means here.

In the meantime, I forgot to mention some important points about my trip to Delhi over a week ago. On the bus ride there I was fortunate enough to have the breakfast of my dreams. Two slabs of white bread with about 2-3 tablespoons of butter slathered on and topped off with fried wanton-esque noodles. I'm not proud of it, but in a strange way, I enjoyed it. The other very important event that occurred on the bus was that Luxembourg was described by someone as a "popcorn fart." Please begin to use this phrase widely.

Well, my days in Vrindavan are coming to a close again. The days have been full, but peaceful. I've finally been getting up a little after 4am to be ready for morning arati, which is defined by a random website as "the ceremony of offering articles to a Deity, such as incense, fire, flowers, and a fan, accompanied by the chanting of devotional hymns." Basically, it is greeting the Deities and showing appreciation and respect. This takes about thirty minutes and is followed by a bit of free time, during which most people chant the Holy names of Radha-Krishna on beads, a tradition I believe the Catholic Rosary initiated from. At 6:30 there is singing followed by a class and then breakfast prasadam (the term used for meals). During class I usually help one of the bramacharis string garlands, which is a lovely activity. After breakfast, I usually help clean up and then sometimes help cut vegetables for lunch. There is a lunch arati at 12:30 followed by the most delicious meal ever, EVERY DAY. Singing, class, and dinner repeats around 4:30 in the afternoon, with a longer break between class and dinner. Since dinner is so late, you really have to take a nap at some point in the day to be able to maintain the schedule. I'm not so good at this part, so I usually just end up passed out at various times during the day, but I'm working on that. In the spare hours of the day, I end up wandering through the market looking for random items, cleaning, doing laundry, doing a little reading, things of that sort. A wonderful older woman who lives in the Ashram has taken a liking to me and enjoys teaching me Hindi words, upon my request. So far I've learned some numbers, colors, foods and...that's about it.

So the 16th I'll be on a train for around 20 hours and then will arrive at the beach palace. I've heard so many magical things about the program there, so be excited!!! Visuals should also follow.

Much love and respect,
Kayleigh