How did I end up here? Read on to find out.
My summer break in 2011 was spent doing something I didn't expect I would do again so soon, after the mixed-bag experience I'd had during my round-the-world trip of 2005-2006, and that was going back to India. Nan had been a long-time yoga enthusiast; I also had started experimenting with it even before we met, and the two of us would often go to yoga classes together in Shanghai. In addition, Nan had been wanting to get “semi-professional” about yoga for quite some time, and she figured India was the best place to do it. So, the focus of the trip was to be a one month, live-eat-breathe-and-sleep-yoga (a.k.a the 200-hour, 1 month Yoga Alliance Yoga Teacher Training certificate) course in Goa. I would have been happy enough to just head to Goa and stay there for the entire summer, but Nan insisted that since we were going to India, we at least had to see the Ganges and the Taj Mahal. What she was saying was reasonable, of course, but knowing what India could be like (and memories of the streets of Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai still fresh in my head), and knowing what my wife was like, I felt like I was damned if I did, and damned if I didn't. Nonetheless, I dutifully went ahead and booked our train tickets – Kolkata-Varanasi-Agra-Goa – in 2-tier AC sleeper, which, apart from having air-conditioning, was different to the 2nd class fan sleepers I had travelled on last time in that bedding was supplied, but had the same cockroaches.
Varanasi, as expected, was an out-of-this-world experience, and seeing the feet sticking out of the burning ghats was something I will never forget. Agra, once you got over the fact that it was touristy, went with the flow, and let the touts-cum-tuk-tuk drivers take you where they would (in exchange for free or very cheap rides), was a fun shopping and dining experience, sort of like an Indian Disneyland. I had the best Indian meal I've ever had in my life there at a place called “Pinch of Spice”; check it out if you are ever in that part of the world.
Next, after a train ride that never seemed to end (it was about a day late), we arrived at our final destination, Shri Kali Ashram, in the far south of Goa, on a quiet stretch of beach known as Galjibag. I had been worried about spending a month of my holiday in a “yoga boot camp”, up at the crack of dawn meditating, practising yoga postures all day, and memorising Sanskrit names in the evenings, but the course kept a very laid-back schedule; almost too laid-back some would say.
Being on my break from work, I was quite happy to have the downtime to be able to sit around and read books for a few hours each day, but I think Nan wanted something a little more intense. In the end, I think we both got something out of the course; our repertoire of yoga postures, range of movement and core strength improved significantly, and on the non-physical side of things, I came into contact with lots of new ideas and ways of thinking about life (particularly in the realm of Eastern religious philosophies), and enjoyed having the time to discuss and debate them with interesting people from around the globe; in fact, you could say that returning to India re-opened a “philosophy and spirituality” dialogue for me that had lain dormant since I set aside such pursuits at the end of my 2005-2006 world trip in order to focus on making money, learning Chinese and meeting women in China (and now that I've pretty much achieved those three goals, there's room in my life to go back to said dialogue – Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, right?).
I remain firmly a skeptic and scientific thinker (don't worry, you won't see me walking around barefoot in a robe next time we meet, even though the idea of becoming a philosopher like the ancient Greek Stoic Sages does rather appeal to me); I've just become more aware in recent years that the “science vs religion” debates I used to have in my younger days were actually just “science vs Christianity” debates, and that one needs to gain an understanding of all the major world religions in order to be able to give a thorough and proper treatment of the subject. Religious implications aside, from the small amount I've read thus far, I can already see the value in studying Eastern religious philosophies, particularly Taoism, Vedanta and Buddhism, in terms of their application in reducing the stresses and anxieties of modern, “Western” lifestyles. Ideas like discovering and becoming comfortable with your “true/real/inner self”, not clinging to things and going with the flow (i.e. the way of things/nature or “The Tao”) are all useful habits to cultivate, regardless of whether you believe in reincarnation or not.
Shan, the owner and “guru” of the ashram was quite an interesting character; he used to own a shop in Australia and had moved back to India to teach yoga. He had a white moustache and ponytail and would say “and just totally relax” while wobbling his head after just about every yoga posture in the sessions he ran. He asked us to buy and read his book “Divine Initiation” as part of the course. Although I didn’t always appreciate Shan’s criticisms of my “mechanical worldview”, I patiently slogged through the book, but I think anyone who knows me will only need to read the first paragraph on the book’s page linked above to see that it’s not the kind of book I would usually read. Obviously, I never tried reading it backwards :-)
Finally, to capture the essence of the title of this post, I think my 2006 self summed it up perfectly in my travel diary from my round-the-world adventures:
Let’s just say that if I’d met Shan during that trip, he probably would have featured in the paragraph above - although to his credit, he was usually fully clothed!
I’ll finish by letting some pictures from the trip (complete with witty captions, of course) tell the rest of the story.
The chaos in Kolkata Station was an assault on the senses after having landed a few hours earlier.
Care for a dip anyone? Locals bathing in the River Ganges.
Many families in Varanasi kept cows in their courtyards.
With our "self-appointed" Varanasi guide.
"Did Mark Waugh really wear these sunglasses during the 1994 Ashes series?"
What's that in the background I wonder?
A cheeky monkey, Agra Fort.
The money shot.
Attempting to prove that we didn't photoshop ourselves into the previous picture.
Typical Agra street scene.
Slogging my way through "Divine Initiation".
Yoga and whisky don't mix folks (note the can of tuna that I'd smuggled in due to the Ashram serving only vegetarian food).
Nan models one of the many saris that she bought during the trip.
Leading my first yoga session.
Setting up for our daily afternoon beachside yoga practice.
Discussing the finer points of Vedantic philosophy with my classmates over whisky and soda.
Officer's Choice Premium Whisky - an alternative path to enlightenment perhaps?
“The Master does nothing, yet leaves nothing undone” - Lao Tzu
“The sage is a target to aim at, even though you fail to hit it. The sage is to Stoicism as Buddha is to Buddhism. Most Buddhists can never hope to become as enlightened as Buddha, but nevertheless, reflecting on Buddha's perfection can help them gain a degree of enlightenment.” - Derek Sivers, paraphrasing William Irvine’s “A Guide to the Good Life - the ancient art of Stoic Joy”.
Varanasi, as expected, was an out-of-this-world experience, and seeing the feet sticking out of the burning ghats was something I will never forget. Agra, once you got over the fact that it was touristy, went with the flow, and let the touts-cum-tuk-tuk drivers take you where they would (in exchange for free or very cheap rides), was a fun shopping and dining experience, sort of like an Indian Disneyland. I had the best Indian meal I've ever had in my life there at a place called “Pinch of Spice”; check it out if you are ever in that part of the world.
Next, after a train ride that never seemed to end (it was about a day late), we arrived at our final destination, Shri Kali Ashram, in the far south of Goa, on a quiet stretch of beach known as Galjibag. I had been worried about spending a month of my holiday in a “yoga boot camp”, up at the crack of dawn meditating, practising yoga postures all day, and memorising Sanskrit names in the evenings, but the course kept a very laid-back schedule; almost too laid-back some would say.
Being on my break from work, I was quite happy to have the downtime to be able to sit around and read books for a few hours each day, but I think Nan wanted something a little more intense. In the end, I think we both got something out of the course; our repertoire of yoga postures, range of movement and core strength improved significantly, and on the non-physical side of things, I came into contact with lots of new ideas and ways of thinking about life (particularly in the realm of Eastern religious philosophies), and enjoyed having the time to discuss and debate them with interesting people from around the globe; in fact, you could say that returning to India re-opened a “philosophy and spirituality” dialogue for me that had lain dormant since I set aside such pursuits at the end of my 2005-2006 world trip in order to focus on making money, learning Chinese and meeting women in China (and now that I've pretty much achieved those three goals, there's room in my life to go back to said dialogue – Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, right?).
I remain firmly a skeptic and scientific thinker (don't worry, you won't see me walking around barefoot in a robe next time we meet, even though the idea of becoming a philosopher like the ancient Greek Stoic Sages does rather appeal to me); I've just become more aware in recent years that the “science vs religion” debates I used to have in my younger days were actually just “science vs Christianity” debates, and that one needs to gain an understanding of all the major world religions in order to be able to give a thorough and proper treatment of the subject. Religious implications aside, from the small amount I've read thus far, I can already see the value in studying Eastern religious philosophies, particularly Taoism, Vedanta and Buddhism, in terms of their application in reducing the stresses and anxieties of modern, “Western” lifestyles. Ideas like discovering and becoming comfortable with your “true/real/inner self”, not clinging to things and going with the flow (i.e. the way of things/nature or “The Tao”) are all useful habits to cultivate, regardless of whether you believe in reincarnation or not.
Shan, the owner and “guru” of the ashram was quite an interesting character; he used to own a shop in Australia and had moved back to India to teach yoga. He had a white moustache and ponytail and would say “and just totally relax” while wobbling his head after just about every yoga posture in the sessions he ran. He asked us to buy and read his book “Divine Initiation” as part of the course. Although I didn’t always appreciate Shan’s criticisms of my “mechanical worldview”, I patiently slogged through the book, but I think anyone who knows me will only need to read the first paragraph on the book’s page linked above to see that it’s not the kind of book I would usually read. Obviously, I never tried reading it backwards :-)
Finally, to capture the essence of the title of this post, I think my 2006 self summed it up perfectly in my travel diary from my round-the-world adventures:
“The alternative traveller scene is alive and well here also - everywhere you looked you could see ads for yoga, reiki healing, ayurvedic massage, brown bread, yak cheese and organic vegetables, and of course Bob Marley is back on the playlist in most places I eat. Rickety (almost dangerously so), wooden businesses constructed in a week and dismantled every monsoon, dodgy cops being paid off so said businesses can stay open after 11:30pm, and cows sunning themselves on the beach remind you that you are in India. But I think what has been most interesting about Goa (and India in general) has been the fascinating characters I have met among my fellow travellers - for example, washed out Ozzy Osbourne and John English types seem to feature heavily here. One such character was a 54-year-old mechanic and boat builder from Birmingham, who was single and beginning his 3rd winter cruising around India on a motorbike. Every time I ran into him he seemed to bring the conversation round to an analogy from the same story about the time he travelled as a mechanic in a hippy bus, overland from Birmingham to Goa in 1978, through Iran, Afghanistan and other such now almost unthinkable places. Nice guy, but every time he started telling the story he reminded me of that old roadie "Del" from the movie "Wayne's World 2", who would always tell the young crew members the story about beating the tiger to death with its own shoes. Or take for example "Bapu", the 53-year-old astrologer and druid from Yorkshire, who believed he was a member of the court of King Arthur. Another old man, who my fellow backpackers and I have dubbed "God", due to his long flowing white hair and beard, can be seen power walking up and down the beach in his speedos every afternoon at about 4 o'clock. I think he would make a great billboard advertisement for Goa - it would say something like "Goa - God's country" or "where even God goes on holiday". Then there is another man, nameless as yet but best described as a skinny version of Fabio, who walks about all day in only his Y-fronts. Even when he eats in restaurants. And last but not least, there is "Gosh", an original Goa hippy who wears only a loincloth, lives in a cave at one end of the beach and meditates most of the day (and charges 500 rupees per hour for consultations). Yes, there certainly are a lot of people finding themselves here in Goa - and judging from these wise old characters it seems that the meaning of life has something to do with wearing as little as possible.”
Let’s just say that if I’d met Shan during that trip, he probably would have featured in the paragraph above - although to his credit, he was usually fully clothed!
I’ll finish by letting some pictures from the trip (complete with witty captions, of course) tell the rest of the story.
The chaos in Kolkata Station was an assault on the senses after having landed a few hours earlier.
Care for a dip anyone? Locals bathing in the River Ganges.
Many families in Varanasi kept cows in their courtyards.
With our "self-appointed" Varanasi guide.
"Did Mark Waugh really wear these sunglasses during the 1994 Ashes series?"
What's that in the background I wonder?
A cheeky monkey, Agra Fort.
The money shot.
Attempting to prove that we didn't photoshop ourselves into the previous picture.
Typical Agra street scene.
Slogging my way through "Divine Initiation".
Yoga and whisky don't mix folks (note the can of tuna that I'd smuggled in due to the Ashram serving only vegetarian food).
Nan models one of the many saris that she bought during the trip.
Leading my first yoga session.
Setting up for our daily afternoon beachside yoga practice.
Discussing the finer points of Vedantic philosophy with my classmates over whisky and soda.
Officer's Choice Premium Whisky - an alternative path to enlightenment perhaps?
“The Master does nothing, yet leaves nothing undone” - Lao Tzu
“The sage is a target to aim at, even though you fail to hit it. The sage is to Stoicism as Buddha is to Buddhism. Most Buddhists can never hope to become as enlightened as Buddha, but nevertheless, reflecting on Buddha's perfection can help them gain a degree of enlightenment.” - Derek Sivers, paraphrasing William Irvine’s “A Guide to the Good Life - the ancient art of Stoic Joy”.
