I’m taking rest in Chennai, after visiting the southern peninsula of Rameshwar, and the temple towns of Thanjavur, Chidambaram, Trichy, and Arunachala. I was able to visit the ashram of Ramana Maharishi, who’s teachings of reverence for all life, even the simple blade of grass, I resonate with.
I have seen places here so beautiful it brings tears to your eyes, I’ve seen places so bleak it bring tears to your eyes. Sometimes we cannot recognize the beauty until we’ve experiences the dark. It’s like that with empathy. To really know empathy, you’ve got to have suffered. In India, the opposites are extreme, and right in your face. There’s a Sutra I was going to quote, but the power just went out and this battery will go along with it very soon, but you get the drift. If we want the rainbow, we’ve got to ride through the rain. As Yogis, we see our challenges as teachings, as preparation, as the needed opposite. Right now, if it’s good or bad for you, don’t worry, it will change. try to Find the beauty in it all. Siometimes hard…. but the practice is in the trying.
Words could never do these places justice. after an all-night harrowing drivefrom Amritsar, Haridwar is stunning to sleepless eyes. Against my doctors orders, a wade into the Ganges is refreshing and grounding. I wander the streets trying to buy a bottle of water, alas not a single shop will accept my 1,000 rupee note. I’m so wealthy that I’m actually quite poor and thirsty. That’s probably a good metaphor to stop at.
