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“All in life that one would want to “get away from” the Hindu takes with him on a pilgrimage to the temple, to the feet of his personal God, to the inner-plane being or Mahadeva, who needs no physical body with which to communicate with people–to the God who has a nerve system so sensitive and well developed that as it hovers over the stone image, which looks similar to how the Deity would look on the inner planes, this being of light can communicate with the pilgrims who visit the temple. This being of light, this Mahadeva, can and does absorb all of the dross the devotees have to offer, and gives back blessings which bring happiness and release to them. Thus, the pilgrimage is not travel in the ordinary sense of travel, but rather going to see a personal friend, one who is nearest and dearest, but does not live in a physical body. “
–Gurudeva
Here is the exuberant and joyful Param family, in Chennai, without Kulapati Easvan who stayed at home to keep the fire burning in California while the rest of the brood went to India. Kulamata Deva Param on the right is a veteran India traveler and one of our strong dependable “super Moms” that we can always lean on to help mentor India newbies. Many times during the Innersearch we saw her lead a group of ladies courageously for archanas into the hearts of India’s temples where only Tamil is spoken and guards with stern faces can be a bit intimidating. Thank you Devi!
Tiru Chandra Param, Devi’s son, her daughter-in-law Sahanadevi and sons Bhajanadeva and Jeyendra brought the family spirit to the innersearch. The two boys are remarkably well-behaved, and yet uninhibited in the spirit of play and adventured: a testimony to the loving discipline their parents have given them.
Bodhinatha’s next journey is brief, on the weekend of April 3-4 in the San Francisco Bay Area of northern California. He will visit with Saiva Siddhanta Church members and Himalayan Academy Students.
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Click for recent TAKA pages with Iraivan Temple progress updates. |
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At home today we being a new phase with a very deeply quiet Sun One homa… how something can be “deeply quiet” …. well, you have to be there to hear it.
Chanting Rudram…
Aum Hum Haum Sivaya, Svaha!
Bodhinatha read from Gurudeva’s teachings this morning on the subject of reincarnation. Sannyasin Arumugaswami is doing an article on the next issue of Hinduism Today on “Hinduism in the Movies” and the monks are helping him by watching movies that are reputed to contain references to Hindu beliefs. On the retreat we viewed “Audrey Rose”… an old movie from the ’70’s… which is very, very well done, in which the idea of reincarnation is brought out and references to Hindu teachings are openly declared. If you can find a copy of this movie somewhere, don’t miss it.
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Himalayan Academy Travel Study Programs |
2004 Indian OdysseyJanuary 19, 2004 – February 5, 2004 |
Innersearcher Stefanie Schreiber. Stefanie is a new student of Gurudeva’s teachings and this was her first trip to India. A non-combatant officer in the Navy (she works in the Navy’s IT division) in Honolulu, Stephanie was always right there in her center the whole way.
Here we are on the last day in Bangalore, and we give you a glimpse of the travel aspect of innersearch. Pilgrimage is all about cutting loose, freeing yourself and going to see God. Here we are at Balagangadharanatha’s ashram, late in the afternoon of January 22nd, having had a great time in Bangalore visiting the temple site and Trichy Swami’s ashram, shopping, getting oriented to India and staying at a five-star hotel. Time to make a break and move on into the heart of Tamil Nadu.
Balagangadharanathaswami is doing great work and has been a strong supporter of the Iraivan temple and everything Gurudeva and the monks have worked to accomplish in India. We send him all our love, pranams and deep gratitude.
OK, time to travel… Oh how we love the trains of India! It’s always a big deal and so much fun. Don’t worry, if you think you have a lot of luggage, the porters are pros and know exactly what to do. In order to save time we have book berths on two sleepers cars, one for ladies and one for men. This way we can sleep on the way to Madurai and not lose a day on the train.
Sorting out tickets and getting all your bags on board… well it takes time. But you have the light feeling, unattached, on the move, veterans anticipating inwardly the bliss of the incredible temples we are about to see… newbies wide-eyed with the new adventure. The whole process of boarding a party of 93 people takes nearly two hours. FYI: trains don’t wait for anything… be on time or stay behind!
In the glaring bright lights of the platform at night, vendors ply the crowds, fresh fruits, snacks for the long journey which will take all night. We are on the Bangalore – Tuticorin Express, Departing 21:45 (9:45 PM) hours and arriving at Madurai Junction at 8:00 am. Rumours are that when we get to Madurai we only have 10 minutes to get down and get our luggage off…
These are Air-Conditioned second class cars. This means that there is a seat on the floor level and one bunk up by the ceiling and in between, another bed hinged to the wall. When it’s time to snooze, you drop the middle one and you get six berths.
Is it comfortable? Well, strange thing is, for some yes, for some no… but not matter what, it’s really fun (some might disagree, but most of us loved it!).
Reports always vary from “I couldn’t sleep a wink.” to “Wow, I finally got a good night’s rest for the first time in a week… with the train going clickity clack and the car rocking back and forth I slept like a baby!”
One great thing about traveling second class is you get to be with a lot of other people and in India, no one is shy about striking up a conversation with a stranger.
Another boon of train travel is getting to see India from a really different angle. Rising early in the morning, time to sit in the open space between cars and get a great view in the morning sun.
Madurai is not far, but there’s a short stop before we arrive… just time enough to get down stretch and chat.
Locals and fellow passengers mingle and talk with our innersearchers. Rajan Khurana from Europe demonstrates his video camera. In VCR mode the locals get to see some footage he’s been taking.
The whistle blows and shortly we are on our way again, just one hour from Madurai.
Tamil Nadu has lovely hills that rise up here and there. In the hills are some wonderful resorts built by the British who stationed themselves there to escape the heat of the plains below.
The sun, breaking through the morning mist. It’s winter and there is a crisp refreshing chill in the morning air that one doesn’t expect so far south in India
Arrival at Madurai. Thanks to Venkatakrishnan Narayanan and Sheela who had gone ahead of us, porters have already been engaged. We thought dealing with 15 pieces of luggage that monks were handling was going to be a onerous ordeal… Not so! These trained porters happily take your bags for a decent rupee fee, leaving you free to walk to leisurely to the buses. Of course it helps to have someone on the ground to negotiate the prices for you ahead of time!
Tamil Nadu at last! Yay!
Almost ready to roll.
We leave the trains behind us.
At the bus stand we meet the buses that have been engaged just for Innersearch to take us the rest of the way in the weeks ahead. Another transition point here we mingle as the luggage arrives and gets loaded.
There’s Mark Boyer who has been to India before and knows where and when to get what you need. Curtains for his home in New York, carried on his head… he purchased in Bangalore… “They would have cost us a fortune at home in USA!”
A typical seen from inside a temple. Lining up for darshan of the Deity. Here we have darshan of Dr. Nilufer Clubwala, a practicing pediatrician in Orange County, New York who selfless served as our medical advisor on the trip, taking care of everyone’s needs with compassion and expertise. Thank you Amma!
Meditating after the puja at Palani Hills….
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2005 Indian Odyssey
The 2004 Indian Odyssey was a great success. Ninety pilgrims spent 21 days together with Bodhinatha in Malaysia and South India. Our next Himalayan Academy Travel Study Program is planned to be a 10-day cruise on the South side of the equator, with ports of call in New Zealand and Australia, and events with local Hindu communities there. We expect this to be held in the fall of 2005, in October or November, depending on ship routes. There have been three Innersearch cruises, all very focused on classes. If you would like to get to know Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami and Gurudeva’s remarkable metaphysical teachings first hand and explore the Hindu spiritual tradition with Gurudeva’s monks and with others on the path, start saving now to join us. Send a message to our coordinator, Sadhaka Dandapani, to put your name on an advance notice list to make sure you get details as soon as they are out. |
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