Spring, Igatpuri: 2 day self-course.

Last weekend I attended a two day self-course for old vipassana students at Dhammagiri, the Vipassana Meditation centre in Igatpuri. It is hard to believe that two days of turning your attention within can bring about so much peace and change in one's life. I feel better, renewed and I couldn't have gone at a better time, even though temperatures have been hovering around 35 degrees celsisus. There were beautiful flowering trees and the birds twittered and babbled from dawn till dusk :)

Igatpuri was where it all began for me, and it is a pleasure to return each time. As I grow older, I now appreciate more things, for example like being able to meditate in a peaceful environment where the meditation hall is kept ready for you much before you have entered, where the paths are swept of fallen leaves each day, where your meals are lovingly served, and teachers watch and listen patiently to everyone, over 200 women in each course and as many number of men too.

It was delightful to be in the midst of nature, walking past well kept flower-beds from the meditaion hall to one's room. You open your door and you are outside :) Sorely miss that in a flat.

Its funny how as you get older you look forward to hours of meditation and then listening to the discourses at the end of the day. The mind due to its conditioning isn't very helpful but expereience tells you otherwise and you know how much you will learn and enjoy the spoken wisdom after you have put in your practise for the day :) (theory and practise should go hand in hand- Goenkaji's words).

Here are a few photos I took of place before and after the course. Hope you enjoy :)

Walking area for women.

Imposing mountain facing Igatpuri Vipassana Centre

View of the mountains as one walks out of the meditaion centre.

Near the main gate is the recently erected replica of the Ashoka stambha.

As you enter you pass through the elegant Myanmar gate, which reminds one of the story of how the teaching of Vipassana was lost to India but was preserved in Burma, from where it returned to India after 2,500 years and then spread to the world.

love + light!

Have a lovely weekend!

Nature therapy- Aarey guest House

Aarey Guest house is my favourite part of Aarey Milk Colony, your cellphone will not receive any network here, so the moment you enter to the moment you leave, you are alone.....with nature and give or take a few more people :)

Spring, summer has such an intoxicating effect, I think I love all seasons, even hot and humid April... there are many trees in brilliant bloom right now..... many parts of the world will be witnessing the earth returning to life with buds and young leaves reassuring us of nature's eternal cycle of impermanence.

Here are a few pictures I took during my last walk at Aarey Guest House, enjoy! :)

The path leading up to the guest houses situated on top of a hill, when you reach the top you get a beautiful view of the city. I took these pictures in the evening.

Didn't get a very good shot, but you may notice pods bursting with cotton.....red silk cotton tress? will find out...

African wattle tree with its yellow blossoms strewn on the path, I love these blossoms, this is my "Indian Spring" :) they are the flowers that inspired me to take pictures in Aarey, if you walk in the New Zealand Hostel area, you will find entire canopies of these trees in bloom, and the delicate blossoms raining on all and sundry....

Gravel and flower in what is called the "golden hour", the last light of the sun which has a magical effect.....

my favourite picture, in the background is a defocused image of a lady, resident of the forest no doubt, collecting wood for domestic purposes......

and here is a link to a beautiful website that will give you information on the Flowers of India.

Have a lovely weekend!
Love + light!

Blessed

view of the hills from home and the sea of concrete which I have come to see simply as homes of many many

families....every morning is beautiful with the sky, clouds and hills, there is a watefall too in the distance!

Dear friends apologies for a long blog absence, I hope these last two months have been good for everyone. Life in Bombay is as they say has been, "same same but different" (ha..ha)....in my earlier posts I had mentioned that I recently moved to a part of the suburbs that was until now unfamiliar to me. I will simply say I feel blessed living near Filmcity in Goregaon east, I enjoy the morning sunlight and view of the hills. We now stay near Aarey Milk Colony, that lush green expanse. It is tranquil there and I love to go there for early morning walks and my greatest delight is to be able do some bird-watching on my own :)

Soon I will be sharing more of my explorations, of the feathery kind and of the arty kind too. For instance I've been meaning to share the poetry of a dear artist and friend Sarita Chauhan. It will be my pleasure to share her writing on my next post.

Till then love & light! (literally Diwali is just round the corner!)

Solitary Delights!

Have you ever felt completely at ease with yourself when alone at home? even though a part of you wished that everyone hadn’t gone out? Have you ever travelled alone at some time and felt refreshed with the new perspective that came with it?

The stretch of time alone can be a few moments, for example, stepping into the kitchen when you have many guests at home or it could be longer, such as a walk by yourself, or, an or even a month or more of travelling alone.

Is there a bit of a hermit in all of us? I suppose in varying degrees, yes. I’m certainly not anti-social but spending quiet time alone for me is like food and water....there are days when even though I’m having a relaxed day with my husband, by evening, I simply tie up my shoe-laces and say, “Alright, Im going out for a walk” ^_^ and I return refreshed, calmer and with new insight.

Increasingly, I’m enjoying my time apart from Rigzin (he is from Ladakh and is currently engaged in projects for the national television network there). I miss him especially on Sundays but gradually I see this theme changing, I feel happier as I am looking forward to fulfilling new art projects, even this blog has become an affirmation of positive living and sharing ! ^_^

A chat with my yoga teacher the other day helped me to realise and accept that I like being alone! at least for some part of the day...... for instance, after a long day at the gallery I like to have a coffee by myself, (at the Barista ,near Regal cinema ) ....I don’t usually read books in cafes, although a magazine or newspaper is more welcome. Then I like to walk to the station! yup! that’s a long walk! from Colaba (Radio club to Churchgate station) but it frees my mind...I look at the art-deco buildings, the sky, notice something I had’nt noticed before....mmmm...I think one can enjoy the company of people more if one can be alone and at ease with one’s self. Or better still when one when is alone, you will find, in between the thoughts which are constantly flowing, you stop and notice what is happening in(side) and around you. This "pausing", and for a while not giving all our “daily tasks” too much importance can only add more depth and meaning to our lives ^_^

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Pictures from my wanderings ^_^

A pond inside Bhandavgarh National park (forest), Madhya Pradesh, the heart of India. This was such a peaceful spot when we came upon it, and I remember we spotted a crested serpent eagle perched on a branch. The solitude of this serene place reaches out to you even through the picture...sigh!!!




Tea by myself. Imagine finding Hongkong style tea on the menu in Beijing and it is exactly like the stronlgy brewed black tea sweetened with milk and sugar (kadak chai, Bombay style!) that we drink in Bombay! ^_^ truly, a solitary delight! ^_^

One of the pleasures of travelling in trains in Bombay when there are hardly any people is you can put your feet up and relax as the breeze rushes in through the open windows...everyone does it...one of the many many interesting things about Bombay.... ^_^

Pink! Imagine my delight when I hopped into this pink rickshaw ^_^ .....one more solitary delight!

Evening tea with crackers.... ^_^

Saw this adorable Tom-cat outside a fancy light-fixtures store in Kalaoghoda, just besides the resaurant, Khyber Pass.

The pleasure of observing the evening sky turn gold and pink while walking across Oval maidan (maidan means an open area to play in/ have outdoor activities).

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Lastly, Poems of Solitary Delights by Tachibana Akemi (Edo period, Japan), I love the poems' honesty, and simple wonder of the natural world. Although, it may seem it is about a person who was a poet and a painter of long ago, when I read it for the first time it had an wonderful effect on me, I laughed and smiled....so true , I said.... as I identified with some verses. ^_^ Read on and see which verse you identify with...ha ha.... ^ ^

Tachibana Akemi

Poems of solitary delights.

What a delight is

when on the bamboo matting

in my grass-thatched hut,

all on my own,

I make myself at ease.

What a delight it is

when, borrowing
rare writings from a friend,

I open out
the first sheet.

What a delight it is
when, after a hundered days

of racking my brains,

that verse that would’nt come

suddenly turns out well.

What a delight it is

when of a morning,

I get up and go out

to find in full bloom a flower

that yesterday was not there.

What a delight it is

when, skimming through the pages

of a book, I discover a man written of there

who is just like me.

What a delight it is

when everyone admits

its a difficult book,

and I understand it

with no trouble at all.

What a delight it is

when I blow away the ash,

to watch the crimson

of the glowing fire

and hear the water boil.

What a delight it is

when a guest you cannot stand,

arrives, then says to you

‘I’m afraid I can’t stay long,’

and soon goes home.

What a delight it is

when I find a good brush,

steep it hard in water,

lick it on my tongue

and give it its first try.

*

Love & light!

Walking with child and feeling like one.

One of the simple joys of life is to take a walk with a child holding their hand, the exchange of energy is wonderful. As you can see, here I have presented two facing pages from Thich Nhat Hanh's book, The Long Road Turns To Joy on walking meditation.


Walking with a child is meditation itself, even having a child around invites you to meditate, that is, practise awareness in present moment. The child will stop you in mid-conversation about something that was'nt so important after all (but to us evrything is so serious). I like these moments when you must stop whatever is it that you are doing and pay attention to the world around you in the present moment.
My girl-friend Gaurika's little girl sure does a pretty good job at this, being two years and old and all. I love it when she makes momentraily interrupts our conversation, and for a while I have stopped thinking and am just being....Thich Nhat Hanh is right when he says, a child is a bell of mindfullness.

Love + light