Delhi Masala

We got to Delhi with smooth sailing and Tom graciously innoculates himself to Delhi at once by forgetting about the danger of it's tap water as he goes to brush his teeth in the airport bathroom after our long flight. His pearly, boyish grin droops in dismay and alarm as I remind him not to use the water for anything consumption-oriented. He is just fine however, and to this, the 3-week anniversary of our living here, we both remain in perfect health. Perhaps even better health in many ways, oddly, having enjoyed a full week of relentless night and day sauna-like purificatory existence during our week in humid Rishikesh, then a week including a 22-mile hike in the Himalayas to Gaumukh glacier at the source of the Ganga, many many cramped jeeps and generally viscerally-friendly purgations of our American habits of convenience, so many of which one realizes are not the real "absolute must-haves" of a balanced life at all...such as personal space, quiet, and environmental cleanliness.
Mother India pulls one deeper and deeper inside for contentment until the whole of the heaving, chaotic swirl of people, movement, horns honking, absurd smells, divine smells, miscellanea plastic and candy stores, fruitstands, diesel, dung and dharma is at rest in its source as pureness in the mind of the one who sees it. That may sound transcendentalist but accosted with so much stimulation there is yet the ever-present availability of something beautiful happening, like a smile from a beautiful child or a staring person suddenly transforming themselves with connected awareness of a shared humanity. There is a heart-centeredness in the people that comes instantaneously through when you are looking with your own. The effect of population density and lack of resource distribution from the cities to rural areas does not seem to hinder the universal adherence to generosity of spirit in Indian people, which is what people in the West seem to notice right away. From the cup of chai offered to each guest being invited in to the home or into the shop, to the spontaneous sharing of a song or dance in tribal areas, to the gift of the very necklaces or malas off of their person that I have received from young people in Uttaranchal and Rajasthan, the example of fearless sharing and the understanding of the potency of the moment bringing people together for a reason deeply inspires one to reach beyond their notions of how much love exists yet in our disparate world. My Indian friends explain it this way: they are constantly aware of the fact that despite whatever hardships they struggle with, they consider their lot in being better off than others who don't have as much as they do, and feel grateful; while in America we obsess over what we don't have and what everyone else has that we would like to gain. It's a matter of cup half-full and half-empty, and an example of what is called "santosha" or contentment potentially found in any kind of circumstance. This daily kind of contentment, borne of the strife of surviving numerous occupations, social oppressions, and factional religious civil upset does not insinuate a lack of desire for progress however. India's phoenix is finally on the rise. Excitingly, India is experiencing an enormous renaissance in terms of becoming a powerful developing nation and in reclaiming its' own heritage, pride, and self-esteem as the world increasingly is made aware of the unique philosophical, architectural and cultural treasures which India has sustained it's traditions through various occupations and economic setbacks for the last 700 years. Given all that they have endured, this is an extremely deserving group of people on the planet to be finally in the sunlight again. May it be the beginning of a global flow of respect and support to other developing countries. The people's strong adherence to maintaining their languages and way of life kept that Sun in the heart of the Indian identity through so much hardship that it's light only burns more strongly now.
The overall effect that India has on me is to sharpen my awareness of the inner Guru, the power-within that guides all of our interactions. Within India's relentless pace there is the potential for ALL kinds of emotions and reactions to be activated by what is being experienced. In the overwhelm --a state of both aftermath and afterglow-- one has the opportunity to recognize the shuddering light of awareness shining on all kinds of potential ways to receive the experience itself; breath by breath through the bombardment of all sorts of paradoxical effects from the environment, interface with people, one's responses to it based on conditioning, and one's attitude. Being in India provokes an acceleration of the basic force of consciousness and self-awareness that Life is perceived from instinctively, unhinging many travelers and inspiring many others in the absence/ freedom from the trappings of a comfort zone with which one can make any sort of ultimate statement about Reality or "how things (fundamentally) are". The effect in heightening one's sense of the coarse, raw, and silken substance of Being is a sort of tightrope ballet that necessitates gracefulness within the psyche to reveal the simple happinesses of life. It is what I come to India for, to experience its' vastly unsettling norms which, with the surgical precision that only Karma itself has, can rap successfully at the cloisonne egg-shell of the Ego to liberate the unconditioned witness resting in bliss as Soul. One also simultaneously learns how to survive by appreciating how quickly those emotions have the potential to change (those of you who sit Vipassana hear now "annicya, annicya") with attention to what is. Anything that one attempts to hide, anything that needs sloughing off, gets chafed away, melted or burned up depending on how vehemently you hold on to "you". The sustained experience of peace and loving kindness that I feel for people who can in one moment infuriate and then infatuate me in this divine play makes me smile at the way that our human sangha works, we are one big dysfunctional family and you can't run away from anybody because it's all your Self and you'll encounter it everywhere, so you might as well enjoy being real from the roots of your love!