wracked nerves, or, how I became a temple bell ringer

During aarti at morning and evening, a disciple goes over to the temple bell, steps inside the frame, and rings the bell in time to the chant.  People motioned several invitations for me to take a turn, but musically I am good at one thing at a time and preferred chanting out of tune to possibly ringing out of rhythm.  Then, for some reason I can't remember, I took a turn.  It was harder than it looked, but I focused my concentration on the priest and followed his rhythm, and then it was fun to ring it really fast during the last, speeded-up verse. 

Later that day I saw the priest outside the temple, and with a big smile he told me in his best English that my bell ringing had made him very happy because he had been able to relax and follow the rhythm rather than try to lead it.  Since then I've taken several turns, but I still find it a nerve-wracking experience.  Just before my third bell-ringing stint, he came over and showed me he wanted me to ring harder, but if I try to look at the bell or at my hand I'm in trouble.  Suddenly the bell starts swinging wildly, I miss a beat, the striker hits sideways and the sound falls flat...who knew there were so many variables to bell ringing!  A visiting Indian disciple took a turn the other night and wasn't able to get the bell to behave, and in the middle of the aarti he left the bell frame and went back to his asan.  This is definitely not a job for the faint hearted.  And my right eardrum may never be the same.  Still, I keep taking my turn and enjoying that final verse when I can let all my concentration expand into joy.

Mother Narmada

The Narmada River bestows her blessings on those who view her.  During the recent four days of rain, I am told the water level of the Narmada was higher than even during rainy season.  I took a couple short videos during the storm.  It is hard to capture the strength of the Mother, but I believe nonetheless she will bestow her blessings.
Mother Narmada 09-24-13 1
Mother Narmada 09-24-13 2

For comparison, here are photos from January 2012 (the brown area on the far side of the river is under water in the videos):

and from September 24, 2013:

the equation

rain x 4 = (-electricity)(-internet)
The region is terribly flooded.  Today we traveled the backer back roads (more back than the road to Nikora) to Bharuch.  Fields and groves are lakes.  Streets in Bharuch are rivers.  I sat merely as a passenger as people brought me through obstacle upon obstacle.  The trek felt similar to the one we undertook toward Kailash through the Tibetan plain, only this time there were people, water, and oxygen. 

more weather, more laundry

It's been raining for the past 24 hours, at first gently and steadily, then around 2:00 this afternoon I began to get an idea of what monsoon season might be like.  Here was my first photo, taken when I thought it was pouring:

and then about an hour later:

I skipped going to chai at 3:30, but the rain let up enough for me to walk comfortably to the temple for the evening, and here is the river walk I found in front of the bungalows:

Just as the Ramayan reading began at the temple, the real rain started.  We had 360-degree views of sheets of rain driven by the wind to 45-degree angles.  Again a letup as we made our way to and from dinner, but now it is pouring again.  The frogs and newts are loving it; here's a little guy from my anusthan room:

My anusthan room may be wet in the morning; rain seeps in through the skylight above the hall door.  Nothing will get damaged, but the carpet and blanket I sit on may be soaked.  Which leads me to wonder if my laundry will dry before I have to pack things away next weekend.

Yes, I've talked about weather and laundry again.  Just the sort of scintillating topics I'm sure you were hoping to find here.  I promise I'll write about other aspects of India soon!

Beginning in the middle

As the time stamp says, it's a Saturday in September of 2013.  I am in India at Dhyanidham, the ashram led by Shri Anandi Ma and dedicated to her guru, Shri Dhyanyogi Madhusudandasji.  After two weeks of heat and humidity, today's weather prepares us for tomorrow, the first day of fall, by being overcast and comfortably cool. I open the front and back doors of my flat and let the breeze clear the indoor air.

I did not expect to start this record with a weather report, but neither did I expect to start it more than a year after the idea first presented itself.  I was in Dhyanidham in January of 2012 and received Ma and Bapuji's blessing for the project at that time.  I began taking photos and making notes, and once I got home, I found this site, but I never found a way to put the pieces together that felt right.  Returning on this trip with all the files, I have spent many happy hours combining photos and text, creating a semblance of organization and updating many sections with new information.

But the result began to feel less like a conversation and more like an instruction manual.  For example, with great enthusiasm I created 6 illustrated pages including 11 points on how to use the apartment's washing machine.  Useful to people coming to Dhyanidham, perhaps, but not the stuff of legend.

And then this week, a miracle.  I received internet access in my flat here at the ashram.

Half happy and half horrified, I had trouble sleeping that night, unsure how my experience of peace in this place would endure the lure of the internet.  But after a couple hours of surfing, I came to realize that the internet is not really a very interesting place.  Dhyanidham, on the other hand, is endlessly fascinating to me.  And then another idea struck:  I've got this internet access, so why not use it to share all the little things about Dhyanidham that don't belong in an instruction manual?

So I dusted off this site and now have two projects to work on:  a guide for how to live here, and a conversation about life here.  Let's see if I can figure out how to show and tell.

Shri Ramachandra Bhagavana Ki Jai!  Sadaguru Deva Ki Jai!  Ambe Mata Ki Jai!  Narmade Mata Ki Jai!  OM Namo Parvati Pataye Hara Hara Mahadeva Hara!