The Guru Scene
At one point I thought I might like to find a guru. Not that I had any idea what that meant, or what a guru is. All I knew is that a guru is some kind of a spiritual teacher. Who wouldn't want one of those?
Rishikesh is the place to find a guru. Many westerns come here to see their gurus, or to find a guru. I decided to find out what all the fuss was about.
Hang out in any cafe in Rishikesh, and you are bound to hear about who is here, who follows which gurus, who is holding satsang (teaching session with the guru) and where it's being held, and my aren't we all blissed out. It's common to overhear conversations like this: "That was a really great silence today." "Ya, it was." Or, "Dude, your third eye is going crazy." Or, Ï will be here until my guru says I can leave."
The word on the street here now is that Prembaba is here. You don't know who Prembaba is? Followed by a pitying look. Prembaba is a Brazilian guru, and several hundred Brazilians have come to be with him. He looks like a guru - long hair, long beard, flowing white clothes. His devotees adore him. He radiates love and peace, he really does.
His satsang goes like this: He walks in, announced, and everyone stands, turns toward him, places their hands in prayer position at the heart, and bows slightly (some not so slightly). He sits and looks out over the 100 or so people gathered. Musicians play, people sing songs in sanskrit, and he radiates at the crowd. Then he does a teaching, which is translated by a devotee. (Personally I found it hard to follow - maybe it was the translation, maybe it was because he never actually finished a thought.) Then more singing, and then darshan.
Darshan is when the guru blesses the devotees. To the untrained eye, it looks like the devotees (also called disciples) are bowing before him. They put their hands to their hearts in the prayer position, kneel before him, and touch their foreheads to his bare feet. He radiates love and peace. I got an explanation after the satsang. Turns out, a guru streams golden energy through his feet. When a devotees bows before him, he or she receives a giant dose of that energy. Meanwhile, more singing, which is then accompanied by dancing. The dancing is the kind you might have seen in the sixties, the kind the hippies did while blissed out on drugs. Arms floating in the wind, big blissful smile on the face, chanting sanskrit mantras.
If my account sounds a bit irreverent, please forgive me. They say that if you don't "get" what the guru is offering you are simply not ready for the guru. When the student is ready, the guru appears. I guess I was just not ready. I prefer to say that this method of spiritual education or enlightenment just doesn't resonate with me. But who knows.
Rishikesh is the place to find a guru. Many westerns come here to see their gurus, or to find a guru. I decided to find out what all the fuss was about.
Hang out in any cafe in Rishikesh, and you are bound to hear about who is here, who follows which gurus, who is holding satsang (teaching session with the guru) and where it's being held, and my aren't we all blissed out. It's common to overhear conversations like this: "That was a really great silence today." "Ya, it was." Or, "Dude, your third eye is going crazy." Or, Ï will be here until my guru says I can leave."
The word on the street here now is that Prembaba is here. You don't know who Prembaba is? Followed by a pitying look. Prembaba is a Brazilian guru, and several hundred Brazilians have come to be with him. He looks like a guru - long hair, long beard, flowing white clothes. His devotees adore him. He radiates love and peace, he really does.
His satsang goes like this: He walks in, announced, and everyone stands, turns toward him, places their hands in prayer position at the heart, and bows slightly (some not so slightly). He sits and looks out over the 100 or so people gathered. Musicians play, people sing songs in sanskrit, and he radiates at the crowd. Then he does a teaching, which is translated by a devotee. (Personally I found it hard to follow - maybe it was the translation, maybe it was because he never actually finished a thought.) Then more singing, and then darshan.
Darshan is when the guru blesses the devotees. To the untrained eye, it looks like the devotees (also called disciples) are bowing before him. They put their hands to their hearts in the prayer position, kneel before him, and touch their foreheads to his bare feet. He radiates love and peace. I got an explanation after the satsang. Turns out, a guru streams golden energy through his feet. When a devotees bows before him, he or she receives a giant dose of that energy. Meanwhile, more singing, which is then accompanied by dancing. The dancing is the kind you might have seen in the sixties, the kind the hippies did while blissed out on drugs. Arms floating in the wind, big blissful smile on the face, chanting sanskrit mantras.
If my account sounds a bit irreverent, please forgive me. They say that if you don't "get" what the guru is offering you are simply not ready for the guru. When the student is ready, the guru appears. I guess I was just not ready. I prefer to say that this method of spiritual education or enlightenment just doesn't resonate with me. But who knows.
posted by No Day But Today | 10:57 PM
1 Comments:
Nancy, get with the program, will ya - take a guru and fill your heart and soul with golden energy from the guru darshan.
Just kidding, I did not think it irreverant at all. Awesome post.
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