Yogi In the Himalayas

Malta Independent Tuesday, 18 March 2008, 00:00 Last update: about 12 years ago

Melanie Drury

Monday, 3 March

I gaze at the image of an old yogi sitting almost naked in lotus posture on a glacier, Ganges water gushing through its cracks. This is the advertising poster for Uttarkhand, this mountainous state in north India, which borders Tibet in the east and Nepal in the south-east.

Past that travel agency, advertising anything from international flights to pilgrimages and adventure tours (including white-water rafting, beach-camping and rock-climbing in the region), I eventually cross Ram Jhula bridge.

Ram Jhula and Laxman Jhula, two small towns made up almost entirely of temples, yoga centres, ashrams, hotels and food and beverage facilities for pilgrims and yoga practitioners, lie about 3 kilometres north of Rishikesh town, of which they could be said to form part. Both boast impressive bridges spanning 240 metres or so across the clear, tourquoise Ganges River, flowing from the watchful surrounding mountains.

On the other side of the bridge I turn right, carrying my backpack along the narrow pedestrian road running down-river through Ram Jhula. The walls are plastered with posters advertising yoga and meditation retreats and courses of all sorts, as well as various services promising detoxification and rejuvenation. There are shops to accommodate the needs of any pilgrim or seeker of inner-peace and healing – truly everything the Western yogi could wish for, including Swiss muesli.

I choose to stay at Ved Niketan ashram. Large and fairly recent photographs of its founder in bewildering yoga postures line the hall-way, which leads to a huge internal courtyard with a yoga hall in its centre and bordered by rooms. They are rather impressive pictures since H. H. Yoga Samrat Sri Vishwaguruji Maharaj Mahamandaleshwar has just recently left his body at 103 years of age.

I discover that ashram in Rishikesh translates as “guest-house with a yoga theme.” It turns out that rooms are available for anybody willing to pay the price and follow a few moral conduct rules within the premises. Most ashrams offer hatha yoga and meditation classes, and perhaps some devotional bhajan singing, which guests may attend at will.

After further investigation, I dare to claim Maharishi Mahesh yogi’s ashram, aka the “Beatles Ashram,” at the far end of Ram Jhula, the most interesting in the area, although it has long been abandoned, is now watched by the army, and baksheesh (a bribe) to the guard is required for entry to its grounds. There is something mysteriously alluring about the egg-shaped meditation zones perched on top of a mountain overlooking the Ganges, set amidst an overgrown jungle!

Tuesday, 4 March

I inadvertently pick up a programme for the on-going International Yoga Festival 2008, organised by Parmarth Niketan Ashram in conjunction with the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, from an internet cafe. I am surprised by the number of yoga-teachers proclaimed saints and yogacharyas – rather elevated titles that are usually reserved only for the outstanding! Among the smiling pictures are a staggering number of Westerners.

Since time immemorial, Rishikesh – often described as the “Sanctuary of Saints and Sages” as a place where ancient rishis and munis would observe austerities and strict meditation – has attracted sadhus and yogis to perform their practices on the banks of the Ganges. Today it is the established world-wide centre of yoga-practice attracting visitors and aspirants from all over the world.

Although some yoga schools have become somewhat tainted by modern commercialism, Rishikesh remains the heart of Yoga-World. For the sincere practitioner, it is worthwhile to take the time to seek out a bonafide guru – essential if the authenticity of a practice coming down through the ages is to be preserved.

The leaders of the International Yoga Festival are qualified no doubt, with a wide and varied programme being offered over seven days beginning 6:30am ending 9:15pm. It includes traditional and modern yoga styles, yoga therapy, yoga nidra, pranayama, meditation, ayurveda, reiki and lectures, as well as cultural musical and dance performances.

The event is privately carried out through most of the day, but Ganga Arati, performed beside a particularly appealing white statue of Shiva meditating on the Ganges, is open to the general public as always. This is where I catch my glimpse of all the bearded yogis clad in the renunciate’s orange, and their faithful Westerner disciples clad in white from head to toe, offering flames to the holy river.

Wednesday, 5 March

Phul Chatee waterfall, 4 kilometres from Laxman Jhula, may be spectacular as it scatters water like a shower on its way down over a pink and green mushroom-like growth of moss, but, although less beautiful, Gurudh Chatee falls just beyond has an auspicious surprise for me!

Curious when I see a wooden hut after climbing a short way up the mountain, I approach what I believe to be the home of a sadhu. Looking within, I notice three horizontal stripes, which are the tilak mark of Shiva often painted across devotees’ foreheads. I quickly realise that they are not painted on the wall but on the largest Shiva Lingam I ever saw!

One of the people from a nearby ashram approaches and urges me to the other side of the huge rock and shows me a cave. It turns out that his guru, a yogi, meditated in this cave for nine years, after which he had a vision of Shiva. He thus made the Lingam with his own hands and carved a trap-door in the rock leading from the cave to the Lingam above, with a secret space in between for hiding from animals!

Tomorrow night is Shiva Ratri – one of the most widely celebrated festivals in India. Shiva is not only the Supreme Yogi, often depicted cross-legged in meditation, but many people, as is the case here in Rishikesh, consider him the Supreme manifestation of the unmanifest Brahman. Shiva Ratri is actually the celebration of Shiva’s wedding night with his consort Parvati – the holy union of the male and female potencies of material manifestation.

I hitch-hike back, my ride taking me along the scenic mountain route at a height revealing all the glory of the Ganges flowing through Laxman Jhula then Ram Jhula. I am dropped off beside a large group of camping pilgrims from Haryana. As I walk the path through the forest towards Ram Jhula, I realise that the flow of pilgrims has been steadily increasing due to Shiva Ratri.

Most pilgrims are on their way to the famous Neelkanth Mahadev temple, a 14 kilometre trek up the mountain from Rishikesh, and about 23 kilometres by road. Many come all the way from Haridwar on foot, carrying offerings in two baskets suspended by a stick. All night I can hear the pilgrims’ chanting on their way to the Shiva temple. “Bom bom,” they shout, amidst singing a tune which I recognise but cannot name. It gives me a warm feeling.

Thursday, 6 March – Maha Shiva Ratri

I feel blessed to know the most endearing local family. I spend the day at their modest house, so rich with love and affection. They invite me to join Sandeep, the only son of five children, on his trip to Haridwar for Shiva Ratri. We would spend the night with their extended family. Sandeep’s mission is to bring a panda back to Rishikesh the next morning, to perform a puja (worship) and give blessings to their home.

Although Dehradun is the state-capital of Uttarakhand (previously known as Uttaranchal), Haridwar is, perhaps, better-known. It is famous for its numerous temples, its activity on the banks of the Ganges, and its production of Shiva Lingams. Haridwar is also host of the Maha Kumbha Mela – a massive gathering of sadhus and seekers to the banks of the holy river every twelve years.

Haridwar, meaning the “Gateway to the Gods”, is a rather appropriate name for the city. It is the base for four major pilgrimage trails into the Himalayas to Char Dham – Gangotri at 3048m (the source of the Ganges), Yamunotri at 3185m (the source of the Yamuna River), Badrinath at 3096m and Kedarnath at 3584m.

Sandeep and I visit Mahamartrum Jay Temple and offer flowers to the Shiva Lingam then walk around the mela, an array of stalls and rides in the grounds of the famous Duksh Temple. A little distance away, we pass a murti-wallah with a brahman boy chanting Vedic mantras to the newly-sculpted deities. Later, near his family’s home at Joalpur and wearing a sari borrowed from his cousin, I accompany Sandeep’s family to a Jagran for Shiva – a stage with many deities and flashing lights and a singer performing various devotional songs for Shiva.

By the end of the night, when I look at 18-year-old Sandeep I cannot help thinking how I am faced with an unpretentious yogi. So many Westerners come to India, “on a journey of self-discovery,” and perhaps learn the principles of spiritual life such as humility, tolerance, giving honour to others, selfless service and unconditional affection, but I notice these qualities naturally present in this young man!

Sunday, 9 March

When I want company, I choose to spend my time with Sandeep’s family, not feeling quite in the same mood as most of the other Westerners here, who are either shaven-headed or white-turbaned yogi-wannabes or chillum-smoking babaji-wannabes. I have been spending my days mostly in quiet contemplation, private yoga practice and bathing in the ice-cold, soul-purifying waters of the Ganga.

It is no surprise that Lord Shiva is so revered in this place. The source of the Ganges is not far from here and, since Vedic lore states that Lord Shiva bore the descent of Ganga Devi from the heavenly planets to Earth on his head, therefore Lord Shiva is eternally present here. What does surprise me is what I can learn from stopping for a cup of tea at a small chai-stall after one of my Ganga dips!

I discover from a couple of English-speaking sadhus (some are University graduates before they take up the renounced order of life) that there are two main schools of yogic thought in India. One is based on Shankaracharya’s Advaita Vedanta, which embraces the concept of non-duality within the all-encompassing Brahman, and the other known as Vaishnava Bhakti Vedanta, which embraces the concept of Divinity as a Supreme Personality, with Brahman considered simply the Divine’s effulgence.

Therefore, one kind of yogi follows the path of renunciation in order to merge with the Oneness, while the other kind of yogi embarks on the path of dedication in an attempt to form a loving relationship with the Supreme Lord!

Tuesday, 11 March

The sadhus at the chai-shop failed to describe a third kind of “yogi” – the bogus-baba! Every day on my way to and from my ashram, I pass through a road lined on both sides with orange-clad babas. They are rarely doing much else apart from sleeping, smoking chillum (a ganja pipe traditionally used by sadhus as an aid to renunciation and meditation, and abused by many hedonist travellers), drinking chai and playing guitar with tourists! So much for the holy man performing austerities on the banks of the Ganges!

Thursday, 13 March

Apart from thoroughly enjoying a very funny book called Yoga School Dropout, about a London advertising executive’s quest to become a Yoga Goddess, which came into my hands at a most appropriate time, I also get to grips with the ancient scripture, the Srimad Bhagavad Gita – the ultimate text describing the various yoga paths. Yoga simply means Union, and in everything in this world there is gradation.

The setting for the Srimad Bhagavad Gita – The Song of God – is a battlefield. With Arjuna reluctant to fight, Krishna instructs him on the nature of the soul, this body and material nature, outlining the various levels of yoga practice. It would probably come as a shock to most of the white-turbaned Western yogis that yoga is not all about the perfect posture and the conscious breath!

*****