Western Swamis' do exist! Here and There.

This evening I talked with swami Botchitandnadji. Actually We went to his ashram about 10 Kilometers north from the Laxman jhulia place I am staying. At first i think we didn’t connect well, but then he made me some strong coffee! And we both had some laugh for I said it was the best coffee I had in India. Which was true. Its not a coffee country for sure. After coffee we went for a walk along Ma ganga. He began to speak about how in a persons spiritual path they must first go inwards and be sort of selfish and how after many years they can do service for the majority of humanity and that is the real sigh of spiritual progression. In observance of my own dharma I have notice this happening in my world. His advise to me was not to plan too much. We talked until just after sundown and then I hitched a ride back to my guest house. After our talk I felt very connected to Swami and had some moment of Samadhi during the talk. For me it was a vibration up and down the spine of kundalini/ shakti.

My friend Andy has a friend living in an ashram just about 10 km above rishikesh. I contacted her by phone and she came down to meet me and we went back together. At this point in the trip I am really tuned into my energy and my environments energy. Deborah has an Indian man with her which seemed a bit weird. There was an unusual tension between them.As if her was trying to unnecessarily protect her from anybody coming to take her way. Cant quite describe it exactly, but it didn’t seem to bother me nor seem harmful to anyone. SO we went to the ashram and Wow was it nice! Almost to the top of the mountain, well kept gardens and rooms. Clean, and calm. We were first greeted by a man who has not spoken in years! this is his sadhana given to him by his guru. After some time there I understood that the residing Guru was giving lifetime missions to devotees. I’m not sure how to feel about this. I think everything he would ask a devotee to do would be very special and perfect, but what about the freedom to evolve and not being constrained by one task. I guess it works for some seems to work very well here.
Deborah and I went into a cave where pujas are held and talked for a while. I told her some of my stories about spirituality. She was excited to listen and have me there. The energy of this ashram is very high. Some yogi’s and smoking grass, which is something I am far past at this point in my life. Apparently they do a lot of it here. I think its ok for them, but i wold never mix mediation with anything. The guru had me come and sit with him for some questions..  looked at me and asked “What is Sadhana?” For me its living comfortably and whatever you need to do to achieve that is sadhana. If you has thoughts like jealously, greed, sad, happy, etc. you do some sadhana to clear and live comfortably. Then he slapped me on the cheek twice and walked out. I had asked 3 swamiis that same question last week and they couldn’t answer. I appreciated his answer and really got a shot of his energy which made me feel very relaxed. I was really enjoying my time there. Whenever I have been in the company of a realized master, I do usually get a shot of their energy. His was very present in the ashram and also with his devotees. We spent the rest of the afternoon talking, doing yoga, meditating and some chanting. A really really blessed day. At 6pm Deborah is in charge of dong a Kali Ma puja. Its her act of sadhana given by her guru. I stayed for this. I watch her as she began the chanting and I could see her body fill with the energy of the goddess kali. She really transformed, looked and sounded different. the energy was also swirling around with all the devotees gathering around. Such a cool experience to witness. Shortly after the puja, Deb walked me to the exit and on the way told me I cant explain exactly the puja, but my body fills with kali’s energy by
the grace of guruji. This is my purpose she says. I explain that i understand completely and told her I wold make an effort to come back again. The guru did invite me to stay, but I feel the need to get back to my guest house. The road is dark and the taxis have stopped runing so I have to hitchhike a ride down, but I’m not afraid. I get down safely and crash out.
Tomorrow I will meet with Swami bodichitananda for lunch.
Deborah visit… her guruji answered questions about the importance of sadhana. Asked me what is sadhana and said having a comfortable life and doing some work to balance out your thoughts and emotions.