I was looking for images of the mrdunga and came across this nice description.
http://www.mayapuris.com/416-about-us
If you read it, you also get bits and pieces of what I've been immersed in while I've been here. If I had read it three months ago, I wouldn't have understood much, but now the names and philosophy are comfortingly familiar. Enjoy! And definitely try to find some sound clips or videos - this computer has no flash player, so I can't do it myself.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Long time no see
Aho! Happy New Year friends! Here in Mathura we ushered in the new year with some masalagna. What is masalagna you ask? Well, it is what happens when you put way too much masala spices in the lasagna tomato sauce. I thought it was delicious! Others did not share this sentiment.
As I predicted, I am very much under-utilizing the wonders of modern communication. It was actually a nice break in Puri, knowing that I would not be online so much, but we returned to the interior of India on the 19th and I still haven't made time to synthesize what I've been doing.
Puri was an amazing trip, complete with many ups and many downs. The program itself was quite magical. I was introduced to many new songs that we would sing every morning and evening that I am completely addicted to now. There were a lot of special foods, especially sweets, that we were served everyday and it was a much more intimate setting, as most all of us were staying in the hotel that housed the Temple.
The two Costa Ricans I roomed with during the trip invited me to stay in a room they have in Mathura after Puri, so that's where I am now. Mathura definitely has a different feel than Vrindavan, which is where I stayed before leaving for Puri. We live near the Temple which is on a main road here, so it's noisy all day and quite dirty. I spend much less time in the Temple, which was a little disappointing at first, but after getting settled here we've started to utilize our time together more. We try to have a class together once or twice a day, with many exceptions. I've also finally started to learn the mridunga. I hear there is an amazing youtube video of two little girls playing; if I ever find it, I'll pass it along so you can see my new life's goal.
So between everything that goes on in the temple (arati, singing, eating, cleaning - classes in the Temple are on a hiatus unfortunately) and the conversations, classes and household duties in our room, I feel that I need two days to complete what I want to do in one day. A familiar predicament of mine. I'm not sure when I'll be able to post pictures or share things in more depth, but it's all on my to-do list and I'd be a dirty scoundrel if I never got around to it.
Well, you are all missed and despite what it looks like, I CANNOT WAIT to share all of what I've been doing with everyone in person and to hear all the wonderful things you've all been up to as well.
peace,
Kayleigh
As I predicted, I am very much under-utilizing the wonders of modern communication. It was actually a nice break in Puri, knowing that I would not be online so much, but we returned to the interior of India on the 19th and I still haven't made time to synthesize what I've been doing.
Puri was an amazing trip, complete with many ups and many downs. The program itself was quite magical. I was introduced to many new songs that we would sing every morning and evening that I am completely addicted to now. There were a lot of special foods, especially sweets, that we were served everyday and it was a much more intimate setting, as most all of us were staying in the hotel that housed the Temple.
The two Costa Ricans I roomed with during the trip invited me to stay in a room they have in Mathura after Puri, so that's where I am now. Mathura definitely has a different feel than Vrindavan, which is where I stayed before leaving for Puri. We live near the Temple which is on a main road here, so it's noisy all day and quite dirty. I spend much less time in the Temple, which was a little disappointing at first, but after getting settled here we've started to utilize our time together more. We try to have a class together once or twice a day, with many exceptions. I've also finally started to learn the mridunga. I hear there is an amazing youtube video of two little girls playing; if I ever find it, I'll pass it along so you can see my new life's goal.
So between everything that goes on in the temple (arati, singing, eating, cleaning - classes in the Temple are on a hiatus unfortunately) and the conversations, classes and household duties in our room, I feel that I need two days to complete what I want to do in one day. A familiar predicament of mine. I'm not sure when I'll be able to post pictures or share things in more depth, but it's all on my to-do list and I'd be a dirty scoundrel if I never got around to it.
Well, you are all missed and despite what it looks like, I CANNOT WAIT to share all of what I've been doing with everyone in person and to hear all the wonderful things you've all been up to as well.
peace,
Kayleigh
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Happy Birthday!
To me!!! I'm just popping in for a split second to say:
Take advantage of this beautiful gift of human life!!!!!
Also, I want to give the gift of an amazing article: http://www.scsmathnj.com/media/CSM_PDF/innerfufillment.pdf
More information to come in a few weeks!
so much love,
Kayleigh
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Brief Hiatus
30 hours later, we've arrived in Puri! The train was not as bad as the horror stories that had been shared with me beforehand. The passengers we sat near were very nice, the bathrooms were pretty darn clean, and we had some good time to get to know each other. I went on the trip with an older woman and another girl my age, both from Costa Rica. The older woman has been living in India for many years and has also lived in many places all over the world.
Puri is beautiful. The Sea Palace, its actual name, is gorgeous. One thing is that it's not the easiest thing to use the internet, so I don't think I'll be able to post much while I'm here. If I can, I'll try to at least put up some pictures, maybe on facebook so I can share more. That will possibly give me good reflection time and I can share when I get back to Vrindavan.
I've shared this with a few people already, but one thing I've learned here is you really can't make plans. One second you think you'll be doing one thing, and the next second life takes you in a new direction. Fortunately for me, I'm plenty prepared to go with the flow.
hugs, kisses, and delicious indian sweets,
Kayleigh
Puri is beautiful. The Sea Palace, its actual name, is gorgeous. One thing is that it's not the easiest thing to use the internet, so I don't think I'll be able to post much while I'm here. If I can, I'll try to at least put up some pictures, maybe on facebook so I can share more. That will possibly give me good reflection time and I can share when I get back to Vrindavan.
I've shared this with a few people already, but one thing I've learned here is you really can't make plans. One second you think you'll be doing one thing, and the next second life takes you in a new direction. Fortunately for me, I'm plenty prepared to go with the flow.
hugs, kisses, and delicious indian sweets,
Kayleigh
Saturday, November 14, 2009
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
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
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Whirlwind
Well, Kartika ended on November 2nd, which I believe I already mentioned. Since that time things have been quite a whirl. I was quite depressed the last day of Kartika. All of the faces I had gotten used to seeing were starting to disappear and the comfort of knowing what to expect was slipping away. I cried and cried, fearing that all of that special love and energy would be gone too. Afterwards, I moved my things in to a room in a temple in Vrindavan. Two days ago a bus full of people here loaded up and headed to Dheli to celebrate the anniversary of a temple there. There was a parade in the evening, complete with a marching band and two elephants. It was only natural that Natalie and I climb to the top of one of them and ride it for a majority of the parade. I kid you not. We got back to Vrindavan very late that evening and I spent all of yesterday in bed, except for the hour or so I wandered the market in search of elektrolytes, bananas, puffed rice and water. It was not such a good day, but I'm feeling much better now and I'm hoping that by tomorrow I will be back to my normal self.
So now that Kartika is over, what will I do? I'm guessing I will be doing almost exactly what I did the past month, except with far fewer people. All of the temples have the same schedules, with prayer, singing, and class in the morning and evening, three meals a day, and the opportunity to visit temples and dieties the remainder of the day. I will also be doing a lot of service in the temple- cleaning, helping in the kitchen, stringing garlands and anything else I volunteer to do. Right now I really enjoy doing the dirty work because it cleans all the grime in the heart. I'm considering attempting to fundraise a tiny bit of money ($100-200) to fix up spots that are somewhat deteriorated - mainly the bathrooms and showers - but we'll see. A lot of the faucets are broken, paint is stained and chipping, and it'll take a lot of acid to clean the tiles.
There's really no telling what is in store. I hope that once I'm a bit better situated I can share more details and photos with you.
hare krsna,
Kayleigh
So now that Kartika is over, what will I do? I'm guessing I will be doing almost exactly what I did the past month, except with far fewer people. All of the temples have the same schedules, with prayer, singing, and class in the morning and evening, three meals a day, and the opportunity to visit temples and dieties the remainder of the day. I will also be doing a lot of service in the temple- cleaning, helping in the kitchen, stringing garlands and anything else I volunteer to do. Right now I really enjoy doing the dirty work because it cleans all the grime in the heart. I'm considering attempting to fundraise a tiny bit of money ($100-200) to fix up spots that are somewhat deteriorated - mainly the bathrooms and showers - but we'll see. A lot of the faucets are broken, paint is stained and chipping, and it'll take a lot of acid to clean the tiles.
There's really no telling what is in store. I hope that once I'm a bit better situated I can share more details and photos with you.
hare krsna,
Kayleigh
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Belated Blogging
Hello all! So I see it has been a while since I've posted. Parikrama ended two days ago and I am very very very sad about it. I don't have the time or energy to update currently, but in the meantime, I highly HIGHLY recommend checking out my friend's blog who is here with me. She has an excellent explanation of why exactly we are all here together, along with some more pictures from my camera. The site is http://thanktherain.blogspot.com/ Enjoy!
I left Govardhan for Vrindavan today and have a room in an ashram. Tomorrow a few buses will leave from here to go to the temple in Dheli where there is a huge festival so I'm excited to sing and dance in the streets of the big city. More info soon....
love,
Kayleigh
I left Govardhan for Vrindavan today and have a room in an ashram. Tomorrow a few buses will leave from here to go to the temple in Dheli where there is a huge festival so I'm excited to sing and dance in the streets of the big city. More info soon....
love,
Kayleigh
Thursday, October 22, 2009
More photos
Parikram. This was actually a big festival where we all carried little baskets of food to a site and offered it, then we carried the food back to the temple and feasted. I'll take better pictures of the crowd later.
On Parikram we walk for hours and hours, stopping at different sites to hear lectures about the pastimes that were performed there. These pictures really don't get at the magnitude of the crowd, but trust me, when you're inching through tiny doorways and hallways, you feel it.
FOOD!!! The three of us at the end of a feast. On days where prominent Vaishnavas left their bodies (their Disappearance day), we hear stories about them and have an enormous celebratory lunch. sooo delicious.
More pictures in store....
Photos!
Hari bol! I'm not good at computers.
This is a section of Loi Bazaar. I went here pretty much every day while we stayed in Vrindavan. It was a very short walk from the Temple we stayed in. The first few days I would have easily gotten lost in its labarynthian form, but by the end I navigated it like, well, someone who has walked through it about 10 times.... I bought clothes, soap, fruit, stainless steel dishware, a radio....pretty much anything a girl needs in India.
This is a picture of a monkey playing on the power lines. This monkey obviously did not see any PSA's about playing near power lines. Jessica and Natalie can be seen walking towards Loi Bazaar.
Little cow hangin' out in the market. That pretty much covers all the photos I took in Vrindavan. I forgot to take a picture of Shit Alley, which was the pathway from the Ashram we stayed in to the main Temple. It was always full of many varieties of poop, including that of small children. Maybe when we go back we will play a game I've titled Species Feces in which you attempt to guess which pile of poop belongs to which animal. Advanced players can also guess ages.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Goverdan!
Hari bol! We are in Goverdan. There is internet, who-woulda-thunk?
The monkeys are far less naughty, but I was bucked by a bull! The nerve!
Goverdan is a bit smaller than Vrindavan and the store fronts in the markets that sell sweets are much much bigger. Perhaps a photo will be in order at a later date.
We spend many many hours in the day walking around the town. I think we walk between 10 and 15 kilometers a day - sometimes without shoes. Do not tell the health inspectors. Like our friend Avhi said one of the first few days as he walked barefoot around a temple "cow dung. no problem." Did I already mention that?
Speaking of Avhi, now that we've been here a few weeks there are a lot of friendly faces I've acquainted myself with. Some of them were on the look out for Jessica, Natalie and me since our friend Pankaj told them about us. Others were asked to help us in some way or another. Still others just came out of regular old meet-and-greet type exchanges. After the first bus day I went on I was left with a very "camp" like feeling. Everyone loading in to buses, some people know what's going on, some people don't, some people feel right at home, others are less accustomed, etc etc. Especially since there are far fewer westerners and we eat in a separate area during lunch and dinner (they think we can't handle the Bengalis), you see the same faces all day long, but only know a handful of them.
Pretty much everyone is impressed with our story (only hearing of Gurudeva within the past few months and already coming to India) and tell us again and again that we must have good karma and reminding us that Krishna is so merciful and works in the most amazing ways. These tidbits would make much more sense in the context of the spiritual make-up of the journey, which I probably won't get too much in to, at least right now.
Time for a shower and then lecture.
love,
Kayleigh
The monkeys are far less naughty, but I was bucked by a bull! The nerve!
Goverdan is a bit smaller than Vrindavan and the store fronts in the markets that sell sweets are much much bigger. Perhaps a photo will be in order at a later date.
We spend many many hours in the day walking around the town. I think we walk between 10 and 15 kilometers a day - sometimes without shoes. Do not tell the health inspectors. Like our friend Avhi said one of the first few days as he walked barefoot around a temple "cow dung. no problem." Did I already mention that?
Speaking of Avhi, now that we've been here a few weeks there are a lot of friendly faces I've acquainted myself with. Some of them were on the look out for Jessica, Natalie and me since our friend Pankaj told them about us. Others were asked to help us in some way or another. Still others just came out of regular old meet-and-greet type exchanges. After the first bus day I went on I was left with a very "camp" like feeling. Everyone loading in to buses, some people know what's going on, some people don't, some people feel right at home, others are less accustomed, etc etc. Especially since there are far fewer westerners and we eat in a separate area during lunch and dinner (they think we can't handle the Bengalis), you see the same faces all day long, but only know a handful of them.
Pretty much everyone is impressed with our story (only hearing of Gurudeva within the past few months and already coming to India) and tell us again and again that we must have good karma and reminding us that Krishna is so merciful and works in the most amazing ways. These tidbits would make much more sense in the context of the spiritual make-up of the journey, which I probably won't get too much in to, at least right now.
Time for a shower and then lecture.
love,
Kayleigh
Thursday, October 15, 2009
A Few Images
SIIIKKKEEE!
I tried to put up pictures, but it was taking entirely too long and I have to go. You were going to get to see some monkeys picking through the trash on the street, monkeys playing on power lines, cows walking through the market, and another market shot of the bustle and hustle complete with rickshaws. They will come another day....
This is majorly cutting in to my nap time, but tomorrow we are all loading our things on the buses and relocating to Govardan. It's a much smaller town, so I'm not sure that we'll have access to internet. We'll be there until Nov 2nd and then I believe we'll come back to Vrindavan, but you never really can predict the future, so we'll see.
No major sickness to speak of yet. Food is still good. Did I ever mention that we eat it all with our hands? I will never go back to utensils. NEVER!
love,
Kayleigh
I tried to put up pictures, but it was taking entirely too long and I have to go. You were going to get to see some monkeys picking through the trash on the street, monkeys playing on power lines, cows walking through the market, and another market shot of the bustle and hustle complete with rickshaws. They will come another day....
This is majorly cutting in to my nap time, but tomorrow we are all loading our things on the buses and relocating to Govardan. It's a much smaller town, so I'm not sure that we'll have access to internet. We'll be there until Nov 2nd and then I believe we'll come back to Vrindavan, but you never really can predict the future, so we'll see.
No major sickness to speak of yet. Food is still good. Did I ever mention that we eat it all with our hands? I will never go back to utensils. NEVER!
love,
Kayleigh
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Jessica was attacked by a gaggle of monkeys!
Really it was the bag of fruit she was holding that was attacked and it wasn't so much a gaggle of monkeys as just one monkey. Still, it was terrifying. I've heard that the monkeys here in Vrindavan are particularly bad, or "naughty" as one woman described them. Everyone knows not to carry around plastic bags because the monkeys will take them and you have to be very careful with your glasses. They've figured out that glasses are very important to people so they steal them and if you're lucky will give them back if you have something to trade them. Naughty, naughty monkeys.
Other than this monkey incident, things have been going pretty smoothly. Like I said before, Jessica, Natalie and I are staying in a room near the temple where most of the activities occur. I might not have mentioned this, but from Oct 4-Nov 2 there is a pilgrimage that takes place in Vrindavan and Govardhan. As the website explains (http://www.purebhakti.com/parikrama.html) we "wind our way through these transcendental places," singing songs and hearing stories related to Krishna and Radha (his beloved).
My general schedule is as follows:
5:00 wake up
5:45 walk to the Temple for singing
6:00 Lectures from Guru Narayana (Gurudeva) and other high monks
7:00 breakfast in the Temple - the closest description would be rice mixed with soupy yellow lentils, some squash and spices
7:30 Parikram - Hundreds of people filling the streets, walking through the city to visit various temples and sites where Krishna performed pastimes. We all try to fit into small spaces to hear the monks describe the stories.
11:30 break
12:30 Lunch in the Temple- an amazing assortment of Indian delights. Rice, daal (lentils), sabji (a delicious conglomeration of various vegetables and spices), saag (spinach deliciousness), and sometimes sweets like rice pudding.
1:00 break
4:30 more singing. Quite delightful I must say. Hindi rolls off the tongue in a very special way.
5:30 more lectures from Gurudeva and other sannyasis (monks)
7:00 boisturous singing and dancing, which I have yet to particpate in
8:00 dinner, which I'll probably stop eating because it's so late by this time....
9:00 bed!
Two days ago was the first bus day where we load into 19 huge buses to drive to sites further outside of the city. We board the bus at 5am and get back around 5 or 6pm. It's a long day needless to say. I'm not sure exactly how many people are here, somewhere near a thousand I think. There are people from all over- China and Russia have a pretty significant presence. There are alot of people from the UK, the US, latin america. Apparently in the past few years more and more Bengali people have started to come during this month. I've heard from a lot of people that the pilgrimage used to be a bit more intimate. Now it's hard not to get a little steamed when dozens of Bengali men and women are shoving their way through tiny doorways in the hot heat. They are known for being quite pushy. When I'm not getting pushed and shoved, I enjoy the extra energy. Feeding this many people is a sight to be seen - I'll try to post some pictures in the coming days.
Of course there is much more to speak of the goings-on, but that's it for now. Hopefully the next post will have some visual aids.
Hare Krishna!
-Kayleigh
Other than this monkey incident, things have been going pretty smoothly. Like I said before, Jessica, Natalie and I are staying in a room near the temple where most of the activities occur. I might not have mentioned this, but from Oct 4-Nov 2 there is a pilgrimage that takes place in Vrindavan and Govardhan. As the website explains (http://www.purebhakti.com/parikrama.html) we "wind our way through these transcendental places," singing songs and hearing stories related to Krishna and Radha (his beloved).
My general schedule is as follows:
5:00 wake up
5:45 walk to the Temple for singing
6:00 Lectures from Guru Narayana (Gurudeva) and other high monks
7:00 breakfast in the Temple - the closest description would be rice mixed with soupy yellow lentils, some squash and spices
7:30 Parikram - Hundreds of people filling the streets, walking through the city to visit various temples and sites where Krishna performed pastimes. We all try to fit into small spaces to hear the monks describe the stories.
11:30 break
12:30 Lunch in the Temple- an amazing assortment of Indian delights. Rice, daal (lentils), sabji (a delicious conglomeration of various vegetables and spices), saag (spinach deliciousness), and sometimes sweets like rice pudding.
1:00 break
4:30 more singing. Quite delightful I must say. Hindi rolls off the tongue in a very special way.
5:30 more lectures from Gurudeva and other sannyasis (monks)
7:00 boisturous singing and dancing, which I have yet to particpate in
8:00 dinner, which I'll probably stop eating because it's so late by this time....
9:00 bed!
Two days ago was the first bus day where we load into 19 huge buses to drive to sites further outside of the city. We board the bus at 5am and get back around 5 or 6pm. It's a long day needless to say. I'm not sure exactly how many people are here, somewhere near a thousand I think. There are people from all over- China and Russia have a pretty significant presence. There are alot of people from the UK, the US, latin america. Apparently in the past few years more and more Bengali people have started to come during this month. I've heard from a lot of people that the pilgrimage used to be a bit more intimate. Now it's hard not to get a little steamed when dozens of Bengali men and women are shoving their way through tiny doorways in the hot heat. They are known for being quite pushy. When I'm not getting pushed and shoved, I enjoy the extra energy. Feeding this many people is a sight to be seen - I'll try to post some pictures in the coming days.
Of course there is much more to speak of the goings-on, but that's it for now. Hopefully the next post will have some visual aids.
Hare Krishna!
-Kayleigh
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Hari bol!
Greetings! Thanks to the Air India pilot strike our journey took an extra 13 hours. We detoured in Copenhagen and Halsinki and arrived in India at the early but not yet bright hour of 4am. We stayed with an Indian friend's family for the first day as we began our recooperation. In many ways Delhi reminded me of various cities in Central America. Cars drive on the roads like a racetrack. Pungent smells float through the air. Poverty has no hiding place. The family was a bit reserved but wonderfully hospitable. The food is AMAZING of course. We spent most of the time sleeping, fighting off sleep, and fighting off the heat (a near impossibility).
The next day we left for Vrindavan, a very holy city in India as it was the place that Krishna (God) was raised. This is where we will stay for most of the next month, which is a pilgrimage/festival celebrating many of Krishna's pastimes. I think I'll have more time later to better describe what it's like and what we're doing. I'm here with two other friends from Louisville - we have a room to ourselves in an ashram.
We've got our Indian garb on. Saris are preeeetty damn comfortable, let me tell you. Try walking around the house in a sheet, and you'll know what I mean. I haven't seen anyone get hit with a rickshaw yet, but if it happens I won't be in the least surprised.
love and miss you all,
Kayleigh
The next day we left for Vrindavan, a very holy city in India as it was the place that Krishna (God) was raised. This is where we will stay for most of the next month, which is a pilgrimage/festival celebrating many of Krishna's pastimes. I think I'll have more time later to better describe what it's like and what we're doing. I'm here with two other friends from Louisville - we have a room to ourselves in an ashram.
We've got our Indian garb on. Saris are preeeetty damn comfortable, let me tell you. Try walking around the house in a sheet, and you'll know what I mean. I haven't seen anyone get hit with a rickshaw yet, but if it happens I won't be in the least surprised.
love and miss you all,
Kayleigh
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
An Explanation
Who? Me, Kayleigh
What? I'm going on a trip
Where? To India! Vrindavan to be specific
When? September 29th, 2009
Why? To develop my spiritual consciousness, of course
How? I became a vagabond on August 1st, as the day before was the day I completed the Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship (http://www.hungercenter.org/national/fellowsprofiles.htm if you still have no idea what this is). I feel immensely privileged to have participated in the program and couldn't have imagined doing anything else with my year. It was certainly the icing on the cake - the cake being my 4 year education at Northwestern.
At NU my quest was to understand the process of suffering and violence in our world. Answers abounded. The most concise explanation can be given in list form: colonialism, sexism, racism, classism, heterosexism, ethnocentrism, agism, global neoliberal capitalism, consumerism, linear thinking, etc. I was fascinated with learning how these process came to be, how they had been used, what their consequences have been. The question of what people are doing in response to these terrors was less readily available. Though I had had a little bit of experience in grassroots organizing during school, and had spent some of the year studying social change, the fellowship was the opportunity to work first hand in the anti-hunger and anti-poverty movement (with a national focus), to participate in the response to social inequality.
During the fellowship I built on what I learned, strengthening and developing my understanding of, in layman's terms, this big shithole of a world we've made.* The year was challenging in many ways and also had rays of light that would shine on me, filling me with hope. I got to meet and learn from people doing phenomenal work - anti-oppression, land sovereignty, localization, grassroots empowerment, real democracy. "Think global, act local" meant everything.
Despite finally internalizing this message, I still couldn't place myself within its wisdom. I could think of a number of ways to get engaged, but none of them were satisfying. I still hadn't figured out a way to place myself into the equation. So on August 1st I was thrown into the ocean of uncertainty, like many young adults, flailing my arms about, hoping to find an island to rest on. Fortunately for me, I had the opportunity to reframe the situation. I don't want to just randomly float from island to island; I don't even want to intentionally jump from island to island; I want to learn how to swim.**
I realized that I need to take time to learn the things that I have always been drawn to, but that I never spent much time exploring. These things are related to what energized me during the fellowship, the idea of justice (social/environmental/political), but that go beyond this one concept (and beyond demands that are usually made for material comforts alone). They are also things that I will need in my life if I am to contribute to something meaningful and just and, for now, can also be given in list form: trust, acceptance, mercy, faith, surrender, non-attachment, LOVE, etc.
The path from there (Kayleigh before purchasing a one way ticket to India) to here (Kayleigh after purchasing a one way ticket to India) is much more detailed than this explanation and I realize I have not even discussed what my plans for India are, but this will certainly do for now. I am grateful for all of the support I've been given surrounding this new adventure and I can only hope that I'll be able to communicate whatever it is that I learn in a meaningful way.
*don't get me wrong, America is great. I can vote, drive, buy ice-cream whenever I want, my parents own a home, I went to school, there's tons of cheap crap to buy, sexual liberation, MTV!, in essence I am free to do whatever I want. I do, however, think that war, economic inequality, violence against women, communities of color and LGBTQ communities, environmental degradation, global warming, hunger, and genocide overshadow some of the privileges I have. Plus, if we're sticking to the wisdom of our great western economists, then there is no such thing as a free lunch. If the privilege I have comes at the costs of others' welfare, then thanks but no thanks.
**To clarify, ain't nothin' wrong with hanging out on an island, especially if there are piña coladas available. I just didn't have a beach towel handy, and I hate to get all sandy, so I figured I'd try something else. Plus this metaphor will be invaluable if I am ever to explain the material and spiritual worlds, which I am newly learning about.
What? I'm going on a trip
Where? To India! Vrindavan to be specific
When? September 29th, 2009
Why? To develop my spiritual consciousness, of course
How? I became a vagabond on August 1st, as the day before was the day I completed the Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship (http://www.hungercenter.org/national/fellowsprofiles.htm if you still have no idea what this is). I feel immensely privileged to have participated in the program and couldn't have imagined doing anything else with my year. It was certainly the icing on the cake - the cake being my 4 year education at Northwestern.
At NU my quest was to understand the process of suffering and violence in our world. Answers abounded. The most concise explanation can be given in list form: colonialism, sexism, racism, classism, heterosexism, ethnocentrism, agism, global neoliberal capitalism, consumerism, linear thinking, etc. I was fascinated with learning how these process came to be, how they had been used, what their consequences have been. The question of what people are doing in response to these terrors was less readily available. Though I had had a little bit of experience in grassroots organizing during school, and had spent some of the year studying social change, the fellowship was the opportunity to work first hand in the anti-hunger and anti-poverty movement (with a national focus), to participate in the response to social inequality.
During the fellowship I built on what I learned, strengthening and developing my understanding of, in layman's terms, this big shithole of a world we've made.* The year was challenging in many ways and also had rays of light that would shine on me, filling me with hope. I got to meet and learn from people doing phenomenal work - anti-oppression, land sovereignty, localization, grassroots empowerment, real democracy. "Think global, act local" meant everything.
Despite finally internalizing this message, I still couldn't place myself within its wisdom. I could think of a number of ways to get engaged, but none of them were satisfying. I still hadn't figured out a way to place myself into the equation. So on August 1st I was thrown into the ocean of uncertainty, like many young adults, flailing my arms about, hoping to find an island to rest on. Fortunately for me, I had the opportunity to reframe the situation. I don't want to just randomly float from island to island; I don't even want to intentionally jump from island to island; I want to learn how to swim.**
I realized that I need to take time to learn the things that I have always been drawn to, but that I never spent much time exploring. These things are related to what energized me during the fellowship, the idea of justice (social/environmental/political), but that go beyond this one concept (and beyond demands that are usually made for material comforts alone). They are also things that I will need in my life if I am to contribute to something meaningful and just and, for now, can also be given in list form: trust, acceptance, mercy, faith, surrender, non-attachment, LOVE, etc.
The path from there (Kayleigh before purchasing a one way ticket to India) to here (Kayleigh after purchasing a one way ticket to India) is much more detailed than this explanation and I realize I have not even discussed what my plans for India are, but this will certainly do for now. I am grateful for all of the support I've been given surrounding this new adventure and I can only hope that I'll be able to communicate whatever it is that I learn in a meaningful way.
*don't get me wrong, America is great. I can vote, drive, buy ice-cream whenever I want, my parents own a home, I went to school, there's tons of cheap crap to buy, sexual liberation, MTV!, in essence I am free to do whatever I want. I do, however, think that war, economic inequality, violence against women, communities of color and LGBTQ communities, environmental degradation, global warming, hunger, and genocide overshadow some of the privileges I have. Plus, if we're sticking to the wisdom of our great western economists, then there is no such thing as a free lunch. If the privilege I have comes at the costs of others' welfare, then thanks but no thanks.
**To clarify, ain't nothin' wrong with hanging out on an island, especially if there are piña coladas available. I just didn't have a beach towel handy, and I hate to get all sandy, so I figured I'd try something else. Plus this metaphor will be invaluable if I am ever to explain the material and spiritual worlds, which I am newly learning about.
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