 |
Words written by The Mother in Auroville--an internaltional community create by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother in the 60's.
|
We made it to Pondicherry...with a 15 hour bus ride behind us..we arrived around 9 am. Everything went smoothly, until we were dropped off at our "pre-arranged" hotel. First of all I started to become aware of the ever increasing amount of trash and debris on the streets in this particular part of town. I was growing concerned, yet I could't tell if my negative outlook was due to me feeling the effects of the bus ride. But I held out hope until we entered..and... lets just say that it reminded me of hotels in the states where you rent them by the hour. I decided to at least see the room, but no one came. We stayed there for for nearly an hour and we NEVER even saw anyone..hmm..I truly think this was the universe testing me. In all our travels this had been one of my biggest fears..not having a safe place for Zane. In the last 2 stops we were lucky to have picked great places to lay our head..but I have traveled enough to know that sometimes this is simply the luck of the draw..especially when you are traveling on a tight budget.
Ok..so one of my biggest fears is here..now what do I do? Well, I felt my feet on the ground. Took a deep breath and reminded myself that we are safe, that I am intelligent, and that I trust Creator to guide us in the right direction.
With this little prayer, I asked Zane to stay put with the luggage and I went out with the grace of being guided to a safe place. In about 15 minutes I found a hotel, but they were full..hmmm..on the 3rd try I found a place..just 2 blocks from where we had landed. I walked in and this woman embraced me with a beautiful smile, she offered me a very clean and well kept room. I quickly went back to Zane who by this time had more strength in him to be alone that few minutes..he smiled at me and said "I knew you would find a good place Mom!" I appreciated his faith in me.
The tone of this beginning, colored our first few days. All I saw around me was the poverty, the trash, the depth of human existance that I knew existed in India but we had not seen because we had been sheltered by the Ashram and the serene state of Kerala. I started to go into a deep fear pattern until I realized what it was all about. Of course I needed to be pushed to this place..I was the one that needed to except all of humanity. This was my problem..I remember reading "disgust " is another form of fear. So yes, it was an opportunity to be in acceptance that this is ALL part of the human experience. We are all ONE.
As soon as I let go and realized all was still safe and Divinely guided. I started to see the cleaner streets. Grocery stores to buy higher quality food for Zane. It was like the veil of my illusion lifted to show me another picture of Reality..it was wild really. All Zane knew was how I described things to him..the world in front of him was a blank canves with him waiting for me to color it with words and emotions.
 |
Beautiful flower mandala at Auroville
|
So..all in all we got through this huge obstical. There have been others, but this one was one of the biggest to unfold for sure. We got through it together and it was one more thing to bring us together and strengthen our connection. At times I am brought to my knees in gratitude for how this journey has unfolded..we have been in good health, good spirits and experienced amazing places and people. Some have asked why I would take this risk..why did I need to go to such extremes. All I can say is that it was necessary. Seeing humanity at this level and then experiencing the devotion to the Divine in the same breath could only be learned from this country. There was a discipline established as we walked the streets looking for food, or washed our clothes in a bucket...the only choice truly in front of us was to roll up our sleeves and do the work, step by step..The grace and ease in which it all has unfolded proves to me that this was all as it should be. Now the work in front of me is to digest all the info I downloaded and offer it in a user friendly way!
In regrads to the journey, we did spend quite a bit of time at Sri Aurobindo and The Mothers Ashram..a big part of the spiritual downloading has been from their work. It was beautiful to see Zane bow down in deep respect for them at their place of worship....he now automatically bows and sits in prayer...AWESOME!! I was very fortunate to have picked up a book on how they view illness and healing.
Going to Auroville, was a breath of fresh air..literally. Zane had a great time playing in the forest there and eating another of his favorites..Ghee Roast..for lunch. We were able to connect to many of the organic farms, in hopes that we can come back and offer some sort of "Natural Building" from Zane's dad. hint hint..we are already thinking of how to get back to India!!!
We will be home in the next few days..I am not sure how I will navigate starting to work with my amazing clientelle again. So much has changed..I have promised myself some space to really allow all of the beautiful gifts that this journey offered me to congeal before wisking back into werstern life again.
Zane and I bow down with deep revernce to all of you who believed in this journey. I have faith that the gifts I will be offering you and the world will be worthy of the support and effort you gave us.
Om Shanti, Om Shanti..... H and Z
 |
| Yes, my friends..cows eating from trash cans. The cows roamed the streets like stray dogs. |
 |
| The Coffee House..a resturaunt built under British rule..you cn see the spiral architecture..the floors were ramped up to the top..with tables stacked on the way up..very cool. |
 |
| Trash along the street..simply no place to put it all. People walking by..part of life. By the afternoon, the strench was strong |
 |
| Devotional architecture, weaved through the Puducherry. |
 |
| Cow hanging out on sidewalk..family having lunch after school right along side her |
 |
| Lakshmi blessing the crowd..Zane and I both got a turn too |
 |
| in Puducherry in front of Gandhi statue |
