Traveling in India presents many challenges and wonders on a daily basis. The word I use most often to describe my time in India is "intense." It sometimes seems impossible to simply be in India. You have to constantly engage people in order to walk down the street, or you have to constantly avoid the salesman-masking-as-your-new-friend. For many this sort of an experience sounds awful. But for some reason, I seem to love it. And just about every day, the intensity rewards you with something meaningful.Today we (Vanessa and I) took a little excursion to Bhagsu, which is about 2 km outside Mcgleod Ganj. Bhagsu is a suburb of a suburb, so to speak. Along the way, you pass by a large concrete wall advertising "Funky Town." There really couldn't be a better sign to introduce you to Bhagsu. As you enter the town, the first thing you notice is the prevalence of Hebrew on all the menus and posters. Multiple restaurants serve falafel and hummus. And it seems like more Hebrew is spoken than Hindi. It's a surreal experience feeling that you've walked out of a Tibetan community living in India into a Jewish Israeli community living in India. Every now and then you see an actual Indian - just enough to remind you that you are still in India.
As we walked down the main street, a friendly gentleman sitting in a cafe said "Namaste." For a moment I debated if he was just being polite or inviting me into his cafe to eat. There was something about him that seemed genuinely friendly, so we stepped into the cafe. The conversation began with the normal questions: "where are you from?" and "how long have you been in India?" But that was it. There were no questions about potential treks or journeys to Rajasthan. Within a matter of minutes, we found ourselves in an intense discussion of yoga. Akhilesh practices and teaches Iyengar yoga. He lives in Bhagsu for six months a year, and he travels for the other six months. I told him about my Jivamukti
practice.
Once a bond had been formed over yoga, out conversation began to wander in many directions. He told us about the different Hindu deities he has worshiped at different points in his life. He shared stories about Ganesh. He told us about the first time he rode a bus into Dharamsala and how scared he was, so he kept saying "Om" the whole way into town. I told him about my teaching, travels, and photography. We discussed the similarities between Hinduism and Buddhism. And when I asked him about the prevalence of Hebrew in town, he said "Welcome to Israel." The whole conversation lasted an hour or so over a simple cup of chai. Sometimes Namaste really does mean letting the light within me honoring the light within you.
As we walked down the main street, a friendly gentleman sitting in a cafe said "Namaste." For a moment I debated if he was just being polite or inviting me into his cafe to eat. There was something about him that seemed genuinely friendly, so we stepped into the cafe. The conversation began with the normal questions: "where are you from?" and "how long have you been in India?" But that was it. There were no questions about potential treks or journeys to Rajasthan. Within a matter of minutes, we found ourselves in an intense discussion of yoga. Akhilesh practices and teaches Iyengar yoga. He lives in Bhagsu for six months a year, and he travels for the other six months. I told him about my Jivamukti
practice.Once a bond had been formed over yoga, out conversation began to wander in many directions. He told us about the different Hindu deities he has worshiped at different points in his life. He shared stories about Ganesh. He told us about the first time he rode a bus into Dharamsala and how scared he was, so he kept saying "Om" the whole way into town. I told him about my teaching, travels, and photography. We discussed the similarities between Hinduism and Buddhism. And when I asked him about the prevalence of Hebrew in town, he said "Welcome to Israel." The whole conversation lasted an hour or so over a simple cup of chai. Sometimes Namaste really does mean letting the light within me honoring the light within you.
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