It's been a long week, but it's nearly over. You'd think things would perk up with marching band being over, like having more time after school to do extra things like homework. Instead each day is a drawn out vortex of sadness that the goal I have lived since June is over. Everything comes to an end though, my India trip did, but before it did there were many more stories.
2:50 pm
God! Looking at my handwriting from this morning on the bus ride you would think I was in second grade! Well when we got to Maha College of Engineering where the program is taking place we had a quick breakfast and then went to the hall. I mean tent. There we had a morning session with Swamjii, then a quick break, then a talk all about the second energy layer of the body (the pranic layer) and did an intense meditation. After the meditation to let our bodies settle back down we were told not to talk for an hour which makes trying to find the resting building [it had mats laid out for people to sleep], and other such things slightly frustrating, but even that in itself is a good practice. Now me, Amrita, and Eduarda, and others, are laying or sitting on colorful cushions placed about the floor. This is normally a lecture room, but for the program is being used as a resting room for the woman. Below it is one for the guys.
Friday November 28, 2009 7:15 am
OK, I know my handwriting is terrible, but this might be all the time I have. Driving the hour and a half to the venue. This morning after an ice cold bath I got dressed, braided my hair into one thick plait, applied my kum kum to my Anya chakra (the place directly between my eyebrows), packed my things into my large backpack, then ran (literlly) downstairs and drank a small cup of chai, then hung out for a while, mostly taking pictures, and at one point a small white and tan dog showed up that I played with. Now they [our bus in general] are playing the dance song Vita Lay and many people and clapping and dancing as we rumble through the Indian countryside. Tonight there is supposed to be an all night meditation, and we will end up leaving from the college, so all our bags are packed and jammed into the bus. Because of this it feels like we are leaving Salem now, even though we have two more days of the program.
8:00 am
I just remmebered something I would really like to tell about, but I want to tell my friends through email, so I shall flip this paper to the back and write it in a letter format.
Some of you might have gone to a large gathering before, but I assume it was a festival, or fair, or concert. So I ask you to imagine: 3,000 people all together in a simple, yet large tent. All of them on their feet, waiting, waiting, waiting, no not for a celebrity, but for an Enlightened master, a guru. A man whose goal for the world is to find bliss, Nirvana, enlightenment, whatever you call it. Suddenly there he is! Dressed in a orange robe he seems to glide across the stage and with a divine smile seats himself in a large white chair. Swamiji, then he picks up a large stack of papers next to him, and sitting erect on his chair, legs crossed [Indian style] starts looking at every single paper. There must be about 800, every paper a question from a devotee. The man controlling the sound system knows this will take a while and turns on is me music, just the background music though because after a few minutes a man starts to sing into the mic. Everyone in the hall has a least heard of him, once a famous singer in India, he devoted his very life to Swamiji, saying from now on the only music coming from his throat will be Nithyananda. Suddenly at least 2000 people are up on their feet dancing. People dance at some concerts I'm sure, but 2000 people dancing out of pure devotion to Swamiji, to god, to spirituality) That is phenomenon. So first song ended, the people who controlled the sound system are actually quite smart, with regular circumstances. but these were not regular circumstances. He tried to play a slow, quiet song as a signal to get people to sit down, but they just danced slowly. When that song was over and as we stood on the green mats covering the earth, said to Amrita wouldn't it be funny if they put on Enepenlava. It one of the main dance songs in the Nithyananda world. Then to our surprise they put on Thaga thaga thaga, the second most popular, it was madness, it was insane., it was amazing. Everyone was in ecstasy. When the song was over Swamiji got onto the mic and said
"OK, you guys had your show, now let me have mine." Everyone simply cheered.
Alright I mentioned that I am in Salem, when I am currently living in Bangalore. Why? [OK so here I went mental and start blabbing the whole Salem story, obviously forgetting that I already wrote about it. So that's all for this entry.]
11:45 pm
Swamiji is sitting in his chair, a table in front of him, signing thousands of books. The rest of the people are on the floor below. Some on chairs, some on the floor, sitting, most are dancing to the popular Tamil song playing. In a few minutes we will all enter into what Swamiji calls an alchemy process, but what most of us all call torture. An all night meditation. Actually as he explains it, it doesn't sound that bad, he will be sitting with us all night so that will help. I really hope they play dynamic music though or I will be ...ZZZZZZZZZ. God! The song playing! A person can barely concentrate!
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