Mad bulls and Mantra

14.10.07
Every day in India is exiting but today was a bit more so. After morning “rituals” I clumsily rode Beauty to guruji #1’s (PSNM) house for a Sanskrit grammar lesson, ufff… and then to the internet café to connect to the world. While I was at the shop, Deepa and Rekha called me over for chai and to practice my abysmal Hindi. Lucky for me, they fed me lunch after which, I went back to my house and was fed a second lunch by the landlord (Pancam)! Might sound a bit excessive, but considering my intermittent lack of food, when offered, I will happily eat two lunches.

Because I am not enamored with my kitchen (3 stories away from my room), and because I might be just a tad lazy when it comes to cooking, most days I eat one meal plus a little snack for breakfast and maybe something little for dinner (a dwindling supply of Whole Foods bars). I could pretend to justify this by saying that yogis only need to eat one meal a day and maybe it is true, but I do not think it counts for “yogis” who are living in more or less urban India and walking or cycling all over town! I’m hoping to move into a new flat with a kitchen that is a little closer by! Ok, enough of the daily droll…

Now for some excitement… Today, I was saved from a mad bull by a herd of water buffalo! On the way to guruji #2’s (Markji) house the tiny little alley on which I was walking became suddenly treacherous. A poor bull had somehow broken his horn, was bleeding all over the place and clearly agitated. He was dashing side to side swinging his head, grunting and charging at anyone who got close. So, once again, I was forced onto a stoop to wait for some sort of solution. Luckily, after 2-3 minutes a cow-herd was driving his buffalos up the alley and forced the bull to move off to the side, so all of us waiting to pass joined in the water buffalo parade and dashed pass the unnerving bull.

Just FYI: Varanasi is famous for its tiny alley-ways (gullies) and plethora of cows and buffalo. Not an hour goes by when walking or riding in the city that you have to dodge some sort of live-stock.
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In this evening’s Tantra Sara lecture we studied the subtle energies of the letters, mostly relating to bija mantra and the significance of mantra (beautiful insights into the nature and power of mantra). I found this particularly interesting: The power of mantra is in its ability to free your mind from thought constructs so that one can rest in the pure undivided consciousness. Bija mantra’s are extremely powerful because they have no direct-literal meaning so there is no concrete concept for your mind to attach to and create thoughts around. They carry the resonance and power of the energy they represent/embody, but are totally free from the burden thought construct.

One other thought… The most meaningful lessons always seem like something your grandmother could have told you. See the following:

“The more attached we become to something the less we are able to use our powers of discrimination. The more detached we are, the better we are able to discriminate and make choices that will not cause suffering.”