At least a few years in Mummy India

palerider

There is a question I've always wanted to ask.
Background......
I came to India after a life long fascination. My sister died in May, and to cheer me up a friend loaned me the fare. I had done a yoga course and meditation. I decided to go to the ashram for a day or so to look around and say thanx, meet the Guru etc. I stayed the whole time there. i went out a lot, but lived at the ashram and taught Organic Farming, which is my field,(no pun). I saw some really indulgent westerners there, who whined about everything and couldn't eat the "spicy" food, (at an ashram???). I decided to try and assimilate. I wore ashram clothing, only spoke Hindi or Kannada, not easy, ate local food, lived as a Sanyassan etc.
My question is... Is this just a sad attempt at being fake or is it a stage we all go through?. It felt very real, and the locals said it was a real compliment.
It certainly made me feel more connected.
So much so that I've decided to spend at least a few years in Mummy India.
What are people's thoughts, some feedback would be nice.

rab

Hey, I like your thread it is interesting; but I changed the title as it was in Hindi.

Living in an Ashram is a cool idea and I don't think it's a "fake" thing to do.

Please note the langauge of this forum is English.

Cheers
rab

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Noodle

Which ashram did you stay in, palerider? I too lived and worked in an ashram on and off for about 10 years, I had a great time. I don't think all visitors go through such a "stage", not all are interested in ashrams and meditation etc. But if you felt good there, why doubt your experience?

The attempt at being fake certainly fits for some ... I sometimes had the impression some visitors came to the ashram to be 'different' or to escape a life and its problems in the West, both are not valid reasons imo. You can't shed your roots. I have lived in India since 1989 (permanent since 1995) and I'm still very much German at the core. We have to learn to accept who we are and that includes our upbringing. Living in India, ashram or otherwise, won't change that.

batistuta

Were you at Sri Sri Ravishankar's ashram ,Hare Krishna Ashram?or any other?I dont think that it is a sad attempt at being fake as i know a few westerners(hate to call them that as they have lived here for mre than 20 yrs)who are monks in Hare Krishna movement and they totally love what they are doing in thier life.

Two years would be a great experience and if you are into any particular school of Philiosophy then maybe IMer's can add thier thoughts about it as many Imers have attended diff ashrams.

capt_mahajan

"And what is good Phaedrus, and what is not good -- need we ask anyone to tell us these things?"
Plato

If it felt real, it was real. And, in case it doesn't in the future, that will be a new reality too.
It may be fake for some, as noodle says. But your reality need not be the same as somebody elses.

Unfortunately or fortunately, there is only one way to find out

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Digital Drifter

I spent a year in the UK and while it was all nice and comfortable, I was yearning in a weird way. to go back. I spent time reading up and enjoyed the look of re-evaluation when I discussed everyday talk whether it was daily gossip or historical issues. More than once I was asked whether I'd been there for quite some time.

Yet.

There are constant reminders that you really dont belong. Not in the sense the people didn't like you but it is inconcievable that you'll ever participate (drinking, say even though I don't mind a glass); the friday evening pub crawl; the footie. In that, you suddenly feel all alone when the conversation drifts in a direction where you can hear but cannot understand.

This, in a country where I share a lot of cultural baggage. For you it must have been tougher, way way tougher.

You are a first generation 'immigrant' if I may use the word. You are exactly going through first gen issues. IF you had kids, it'd more like fish to water.

Look for a post by Johnybagpiper who posted about the time his kids grew up in India for some time before he moved back to the UK. He describes how he sees India through the mannerisms of his kids.

As dressing, Indian dresses are practical for the weather here; whether Indian or Foreign you'd still sweat and prespire, so no one should be bothered about the 'fake' part.

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cyberhippie

In some ways it sounds a bit of a backlash to the whining tourists you were seeing around you. So perhaps a teeny bit over the top, after all not all Indians ar Ashramis or Sadhus, so you seem to have chosen some of the same things many of us choose to concentrate on in India, to display your affection for the country and her people. So outwardly maybe a little fake, however it's what's in your heart that counts and from your postings here I'm confident that the right things motivate you!!
Kudos with the langauge thing though!!

palerider

Didn't realise I was being read. Very cool. Yeah, it was Ravi Shankar, this is where I'll be living. 21st km, Kanakpura road. If you come, I'm the fat one with very white skin and blond hair. I don't stick out at all.I run the Organic fruit shop.
Guruji says hi to all.
When i rang them to say I was thinking of living there, they siad, oh yes , the guru said you would, your room has been ready for three weeks.
Not freaky at all.
Welcome to India.

batistuta

The fact that Sri Sri Ravishankar may be clairvoyant is news to me.I admire the service he renders to the society frm his Art of living foundation.A humble man .Have a great time in ashram and in India.

palerider

Yeah, i don't think he's clairvoyant, just perceptive.
But thanks, and drop by. Sunday is good, lots of day tourists, and there's no rubbish on the lawn.

batistuta

Sure Palerider,One of these days I will.Thanks .

vir

I will drop by, if I am in Bangalore. I am off to India (Indore) after 10 days. I so want to see AOL Aashram.

jwitt

Thanks for the interesting post, Palerider. I will be arriving in Bangalore in 3 weeks as my first stop on a 4 month tour of India. The main purpose of my trip is to study Yoga and Ayurveda so the AOL ashram sounds very interesting to me. I don't see any dates or fees for gurugi's Part One Program at artofliving.org. Do you know where I can find such info. Is this the Yoga course that you mention on your original post? Thanks.

palerider

Bugger, I won't be there until March 4th. But they have a wonderful Ayurvedic clinic, Hospital, and research facility. It truly is wonderful.
The ashram manager is Digvijay, an urbane beautiful, gentleman who delights in getting people shown around. There is also a free tour on the bus on Sundays, starting at 1.30 indian time, which is sometime between 1pm and 5pm or so.
Vir and Batty, see you there. I'll shout you a chai at the canteen, and an Aloo Paratha maybe?.