The soul of the world

I enjoyed reading Christine Garvin’s article, Can You Develop Your Spirituality Without Visiting India? on Brave New Traveler (part of the Matador Travel Network).Of course, I whole-heartedly agree that finding or increasing your spiritual awareness is not about location. Spirituality is an attitude and an understanding. You can find it, learn it or increase it anywhere and anytime. In fact, the lessons often come from the unlikeliest people and places. You don’t even have to go to a temple, church, mosque, gurdwara, mediation centre, ashram, monastery or what have you. Once you begin to see the world from a spiritual perspective, you may never need a formal teacher again.

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sari power

It may look like India (well, perhaps not the buildings in the background), but these pictures were taken at the recent Ratha-Yatra parade in Toronto, organized by the good folks at ISKCON.This is an annual event, part of the Festival of India, which is usually held on the Toronto Island — though not this year because of the municipal strike. No ferry pilots to take us all over!

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The Mother of India River speaks in many voices as she travels from the high Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal.

Through Rishikesh, Ganga sings as she passes through the enchanted valley ringing with bells. Her song is joyous, full of the the jubilance of youth, the rush of fresh mountain streams, the sincere chanting of pilgrims who wish her well and the excitement of the onward journey. Ganga is gorgeous in Rishikesh, jewel-green, opaque and sparkling. A beauty for the ages, decorated with flower-and-light filled offerings.

At Rishidwar, she slows a little to enjoy the mist-covered mountains, tulsi-filled meadows, low flying birds and grazing cattle. The languid movement of the surface of the water belies the depth and strength of her current and hints at a sonorous voice. Here, her deep, quiet power is felt more than heard and she imbues the surrounding countryside with sacred serenity.

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Dr. Deepak Chopra

While I was in India this winter, I read an article by Dr. Deepak Chopra in the Times of India (March 29, 2009) entitled “Over to India,” about what India can teach the west. In it, he says that the modern era is characterized by “a headlong rush into the arms of science and materialism.” Both, he says, are deeply flawed for solving the human dilemma. “The late Robert F. Kennedy put it pithily when he said that the gross national product measures everything except that which makes life worthwhile.”

The human dilemma — which is really about the path to happiness society, and each individual in it, takes — will not be solved by external means, e.g. more oil , a better missile defence system. “If the path to happiness is external, disaster will eventually ensue. This is what Indian spirituality discovered thousands of of years ago.”

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Evening aarti in Haridwar, India during Kumbh Mela 2011

Getting ready to return for the third time

I am “borrowing” the title of this post from writer Paul William Roberts. It’s the name of his book about his travels in India and I think it just perfectly describes how I — and so many others — feel about India.

I haven’t been writing lately (holidays blah blah blah) , but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been immersing myself in my subject. Au contraire. I am leaving for my third trip to India in 17 days (January 30, 2009), and am completely immersed in figuring out my itinerary, getting ready, and getting excited. Also sending out as many query letters as I can, to newspapers and magazines and radio shows — hoping to write about my trip: a one-month train journey around India’s heartland.

And, as usual, I am always on the lookout for movies, books, shows, articles — whatever — about India. Here are two I recommend … (more…)

Don’t you just hate “top 10″ lists? I probably have 10 top reasons why I hate them, but that’s not what this post is about ….

I am actually writing this in response to an online article I read called something like the 10 most spiritually influential books on the Brave New Traveler website. I was excited when I read the title and crestfallen when I read the article. The titles were populist at best, cheesy at worst. And then, of course, there’s the age-old existentialist question: most spiritually influential to who?

Personally, I would only hazard to list the 10 most spiritually influential books to moi. So, in no discernible order and without further ado, here goes:*

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