Life is Messy

Wow. I’ve certainly had a full couple of days. The flights from Lubbock to Bangalore were uneventful, as hoped for. Thank you for all of your prayers! I do have to mention the incredible muesli with fruit and yogurt I had in the Frankfurt airport…there is something about European yogurt that is so absolutely delicious…and the fresh fruit they served was extraordinarily fresh…berries I can’t even name…yellow and bright red.

Upon arrival in Bangalore I met my friend Koushik. It was wonderful to see him again…he hasn’t changed a bit. Koushik and I met in Lubbock through the Lubbock Satsang Mandal Thursday Bhajan (songs) and Bhagavad Gita study group shortly after I completed my 200hr Teacher Training at Kripalu. He has an incredibly expressive voice, which I know has been missed by many since he’s returned to Bangalore. I learned a lot from Koushik during those sessions in Lubbock. I once remember asking him some academically “wound up” question about Yogic philosophy. He said, “I don’t really have an interest in all of that. All I do is just try to be kind to everyone, and to love everyone.” I think Koushik understands Yogic philosophy quite well.

Koushik had arranged a nice hotel for me to stay in upon my arrival in Bangalore, and for his younger brother, Sri, to make the trek with me to Mysore the next morning. The ride through Bangalore was fascinating. It reminded me in many ways of the chaos of the Texas/Mexico border towns, such as Juarez…drivers who paid no attention to the roads (road sides, stripes, or other motorists), buildings in disrepair, a huge amount of litter, and no order to the city planning whatsoever. There were also many nice architectural ideas that never seemed to be quite carried though. The main streets were paved and strewed with frequent speed bumps but the shoulders were unpaved which created a bit “dirt”-i-ness. Drivers did indeed play “chicken” with each other (as I was warned they would). Our driver got in a game with someone on a scooter…our driver (in an SUV) won. Drivers were even sometimes on the wrong side of the road…not just over a dividing line, but on the wrong side of a large median. Yes, chaotic would be an appropriate word to describe the traffic.

But, within the chaos were many interesting bits to think about, like seeing the earth reclaim itself when allowed the opportunity. With the litter so “in my face,” I really saw what we’re leaving behind for the earth to clean up…and what a hard time the earth is having at doing just that. Plastic seems to be the biggest culprit. The earth will break up and grow right through cement, brick, and pavement, but plastic…that stuff is everywhere and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. If you don’t recycle anything else, please recycle plastic.

The other enjoyable bit of the ride was seeing so much color! - Brightly colored homes and businesses…even cars, vans and buses were decorated with phrases, symbols, and pictures of Gods and Goddesses. And, mixed into the palate was the occasional pastoral and well-thought-out plot of agriculture…natural irrigation, men and women working the fields, and farm animals dotting the landscape, including many of the cows India is famous for.

Upon arrival to Dr. Jayashree’s home in central Mysore, Sri, Koushik’s brother, and I were directed to a waiting room just inside the entrance. Several minutes later Dr. Jayashree welcomed us. Immediately, I felt as if I’d known her a long time. She is very warm and welcoming and incredibly easy to talk and laugh with.

Jayashree’s home is large. It seems to comfortably house the 15 people that are currently staying here, but it also has a charming simplicity. I have a large bedroom on the second floor, located toward the middle of the home, that looks out onto an open air stairway that leads to a “courtyard” where the 1^st floor dishwashing sinks are (I think the 2^nd floor contains a number of open air covered spaces, bedrooms and bathrooms). To one side of the 1^st floor is the “indoor” living area, which consists of a waiting room, family room and dining room. The other side contains at least two 1^st floor bathrooms and the “teaching” room, which is covered wall-to-wall in books. We’ll have our first Sanskrit class there this morning at 10:30am followed by a Yoga Sutras class at 11:15. I’m so excited!

Last night, Dr. Jayashree and her husband invited me to go with them to a veena (a giant lute) concert where I received my first mini-lesson on the music of Karnataka. The concert was quite impressive to say the least. Afterwards, we came home and had a delicious traditional South-Indian dinner that Malini, a member of Jayashree’s family, had prepared. Jayashree’s husband gently reminded me that every act has the potential to exalt the divine potential within us. The dinner contained five different types of food, one to honor each of the five prana vayus or types of energy, located within the body (prana-circulatory, upana-elimination, udana-verbal expression, samana-digestion/metabolism, vyana-expansion/contraction such as the voluntary muscular system).

Rice was the “carrier” for different types of “sides” … a really tasty and mildly spicy mango chutney, curried potato and dal, greens with dal, and curd (yogurt). Traditionally one would use the right hand to mix/mush each "side" with some of the rice to eat. So, in the spirit of diving into this culture…I mixed the food and ate with my hand…my right hand. (My left hand was “tied” to my lap which I was later commended for, but then quickly guided not to touch the fingers of my right hand to the lips or tongue…unless one is taking Prasad…certainly easier said than done.) Mixing the food actually had a quite fun element to it. As children in America, we’re so often taught not to touch or “play” with our food…it’s just too messy. However, I enjoyed connecting in a new way to the texture of the different foods.

If there is one thing that I can say about what I experienced today…it’s that life is messy…whether it’s city planning or mixing rice and chutney. I think it would be impossible to live here and physically house the type-A-ism we so often embrace in America. There are soooo many people here and soooo much going on, that any hope of trying to “control” any of it would only be met with a significant degree of frustration. Well, the next few weeks will certainly provide endless opportunities to practice equanimity!

Time to get ready for class!! Until next time…