Guruji

After thinking of words to write for this moment, I've decided it's best left undefined.

Stay With It

I asked Sharat at Sunday conference how to maintain a yoga practice when negative distractions overwhelm the mind. His response was that asana not only builds physical strength but inner strength and through practice we can maintain peace of mind when the obstacle of depression may arise. The distractions could be as simple as sore muscles and fatigue or may be felt on a much deeper level like moving beyond a failed relationship or the passing of a loved one. To do yoga practice within what seems like a storm of emotion is the strengthening of life within. Sharat later said that after years of continued practice it will become so apart of you life that it will be like brushing your teeth, you do it naturally. And from this he said, you will be strong enough to move through the obstacles.


It's hard to fit the whole Mysore experience into words, everyday is both magical and ordinary. There is plenty of time to rest and meditate as most days unfold spontaneously. The few things that I have in a fixed schedule apart from morning practice is philosophy and chanting class, everything else happens organically. You can never really expect what might happen for the day, it might be spent reading and talking with friends or getting lost downtown with a rickshaw driver that doesn't speak good English. Usually whatever happens in the day comes with a few laughs and an enjoyable experience.

Beg, "The Coconut Guy"

This morning after practice Saraswati told a few students leaving the shala that Begg, the "Coconut Guy" died last evening of a heart attack. I immediately looked to where Begg usually parks his truck and saw nothing, just an empty space with confused students shocked by the unexpected news. For the past month and a half I've come to expect Begg's warm smile and his generousity for helping thirsty yoga students. Now with his sudden departure I've realized the impact a person can have on a community as Beg did this with lots of smiles and lots of coconuts.

This morning I went to the memorial service that was held at Beg's house, as in the Muslim tradition the body is put in front of the house for family and friends to pay their last respects. What seemed like hundreds of people filled the narrow streets creating an incredibly intense atmosphere, within this emotional gathering I slowly made my way through swarms of people and came to Beg. I said my final thank you for his great service and moved away from the crowd.

There was later a procession to his mosque a few blocks away. The rest of the neighborhood seemed to stop their daily business as this powerful energy moved through the tiny streets. Entering the mosque I felt more than welcome and was guided through the rituals by some of the laymen. We removed our shoes and sat by a small pool where we cleaned our feet, face, arms and hair before the group gathered to say prayers. Everything was done with such sacred respect that you couldn't help but be proud for the great influence Beg had on people. The ceremony continued and ended at the cemetery where there was a light rain and I heard the most powerful prayer. I could really feel the sadness as this man cried out his pray and truly felt moved by his words even though I didn't understand the language.

I came to India with no expectations, knowing that the unexpected will happen. The ceremonies today somehow left a positive feeling on me, knowing that life does inevitably end we have a power to bring positive light to the people we interact with everyday. This is how Beg was to me every morning after practice and though I briefly knew him his positive influence will last a long time.

Breathing

Currently we're in the middle of the ten day festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. Ganesha seems to be everywhere right now, the roadside, the supermarket, fair grounds, the temples are open at night with colored lights on the ruff, the streets are packed with people moving in all directions. There is an interesting electric energy vibrating through the air and from my few moments in this madness I've come to know, Mysore is very alive right now. The really loud Indian music gives this whole experience something to remember because it doesn't seem to stop until 11 or 12pm. I'm about a quarter mile from the fair grounds and the music is so loud it sounds like it's coming from my room, not helpful when yoga practice starts at 4:45am.

Nevertheless, I've tried to look past a few nights of poor sleep and brought my attention away from the irritation of something I had no control over and simply found my breath. Whenever my attention drifted back to the wild never ending Indian song I slowly caught myself and my focus would come back to my breath and the meditation continued. I'm finding that my practice isn't just the asanas in the morning but by grounding myself in the present moment there is a peace that is very alive deep within. The breath is always there to take me to the source of this peace, no matter how loud the music gets during Ganesh Chuturthi.

Ommmm