Wander

We took some time to do some exploring in the small city where we are staying. It began with something really crazy. A drive to the top of one of the mountains that surrounds Surkhet valley where we are staying. 

To the Right is the mountain we drove up. The picture is taken from the roof of the small hotel /hostel we are staying in.

At first the road was they typical bad road that I have come to expect in this rural western Nepali region but as we went further and further up the mountain the road went from typical bad to unbelievably bad to "are we sure this is even meant for a car?" kind of bad. 

When we finally arrived at the summit, I took a minute to get my stomach out of my throat, then proceeded to hike around and see the sights. There were some small shops, and by shops I mean small huts with a few things for sale in them. 

It is a sheer drop from the top of this part of the mountain to the valley floor. When the updrafts are right thrill seeking hang gliders will launch from up here.

A short trail around the top gave us great views of Surkhet Valley which has become the new district and provincial capital so there have been a lot of construction and improvement projects in the works which means the roads are a mess, only short sections are paved.

We explored around the summit area for a while and began the stomach wrenching drive 

back down to the base of the mountain. After a short drive and time for recovery we made to a Hindu temple and worship area. The Deuti Bajai Mandir is the most well known Temple in Surkhet. There is a specially dedicated area for offerings to be made by the foot impressions of Shiva on a rock. 

This Shrine complex to Shiva (inside) is a hub of Hindu worship and religious activity at certain times of the year.

I am not sure what people offer to Shiva but I can tell you the flies really appreciated the offerings.There was one priestess there helping people with their offerings. There were also to women who were washing out one of the shrines. I suppose even the gods need baths 

once in a while. It is interesting that there are candles lit on the side of the shrine symbolic of prayers like Catholics do, and there are bells towards the front for prayers like the Buddhists. It seems that religious activity is religious activity no matter where you go. It is like... pick a religion, light a candle, say the right words and hope someone is listening.

After the Hindu temple we took a stroll through a park which was really a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of the dusty roads and angry horns of vehicles trying to tell you to get out of the way so they could get by. It was about as close to zen as I have come on this trip.

Bulbul Lake is one of the bright spots in this dusty city. It was recently cleaned and renovated and now seems to be a hub for teens to hang out.

We walked around appreciated a few moments of quiet and serenity and headed out for the last part of our excursion. The site we were headed to next is perhaps one of the oldest if not thee oldest touristy site in Surkhet. A little slice of history is what I really love.

This Buddhist temple or perhaps shrine is better is called Kakre Bihar. It is a Hindu-Buddhist Temple Near Birendranagar city where we are staying. Kakre Bihar has a shaped like the seed of a cucumber so it is called Kakre bihar. The Nepali word 

for cucumber is Kakro. The stones of what remains are strewn around the site and you can see by walking around that they are recreating the intricate designs of the broken stones so that each piece can be replicated and replaced.

This temple is believed to be built on 12th century by a famous king who fell in love with the Surkhet Valley. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1866. Form what I can tell reconstruction this has been a very long process beginning back in the 1980s.

There is a somber beauty that surrounds this place. Almost like walking through a graveyard that even though it looks like it is falling apart you know there is some very old even ancient significance and presence to it. I wonder what it was like 500 years ago to walk the steps to this temple. I wonder how people felt as they approached its imposing size. Perhaps like the Europeans as they approach the Gothic Cathedrals of the middle ages - and still today. 

I suppose this is what religions do. They build massive and impressive structures hoping these structures will impress the God or gods they revere and honor. Religion wants to remind you how small you are compared to the greatness of the deity to which it points. They tell you this is where you have to go to worship your god so that when you get there you can't help but think how small you are when thinking about this god.

What would be really impressive is if one of those gods or God lived as a human so that they knew what it was like to suffer and experience pain and loss rather than just imposing their will all the time. Is that too much to ask? Hmmmm

Just a Meandering Thought...

Tihar

So, does anyone out there remember the sitcom, "The Office"? You probably remember Kelly and her on again off again relationship with Ryan right? Do you remember the episode where they go and celebrate Diwali and Ryan has the awkward meeting with Kelly's parents, and Michael sings the Diwali song? ...The Office at its best. 

BJ Novak and Mindy Kaling at an event of some kind for people from the office.

Well, I have to confess that at the time that episode aired I really thought that Diwali was something made up for the show. It was not til a while later that I discovered Diwali is an actual celebration in Hinduism. Well it is Diwali festival time here in Nepal and I am experiencing it first hand. Many people know it as Diwali but the hardcore Nepali people will tell you that here in Nepal it is the Tihar Festival.

This festival of lights is typically celebrated between mid-October and mid-November. It is the second biggest festival in Nepal after Dashain. This festival lasts for five days and people worship Lakshmi – the goddess of wealth. 

Businesses will put up strings of lights as a means of inviting Lakshmi to bring wealth and prosperity. These are the outside of buildings lit up in Kathmandu.

All the houses and businesses are cleaned and decorated with the belief that goddess Lakshmi will enter the house that is the cleanest and bring blessing. (Kind of like Santa but without the presents.) People light candles, oil lamps and other lights and the homes and even entire neighborhoods light up like an American Christmas. 

During the five days, crows, dogs and cows are honored for their roles in the life of a Hindu family with vermilion, (the red dot on the forehead) garlands and festive food for what they have done in the lives of their human benefactors. Crows are regarded as the messenger that brought news even during times when there were no postmen and no postal services. 

This dog was very honored on Dog day of Tihar (Tuesday). The red is a symbol of blessing on him for watching over the home or business of his owners.

Dogs are considered obedient animals and they watch over the homes as true guardians. Cows are also a symbol of wealth in Hinduism and they are also the national animal of Nepal. The festival ends with Bhai Tika – brothers’ day, when sisters honor their brothers and pray for a long and healthy life and brothers pray to safeguard the lives of his sisters.

If Nothing else Hindus are very mindful of the members of their family. It is a trend I have noticed in Eastern cultures whether it is Hundu, Buddhist or Muslim. Americans think that have it all figured out except we can't seem to get family dynamics figured out. In the East, family is much more important. I think we could use a little more of that in the West.

Just a Meandering Thought...

Kathmandu

Kathmandu is the capital city of the Nation of Nepal. It is in a valley so it is not what you might think of when you think of Nepal. You cannot see snow capped mountains, there are no Alpine Vistas. This time of year it gets pretty warm too. Temps felt like they have been in the 80's during the day. 

A view from the roof of my hotel in Kathmandu at sunset.

In the picture to the right you can see mountains in the background behind which the sun is setting. Those mountains are really just the foot hills of the great Himalayan range. I really wish that the haze in the picture was fog but it is the pollution that hangs in the air here.

My first night in country was pretty restless because even though we were in a major city, the sound of street dogs made it sound like I was in the middle of the woods surrounded my coyotes. 

The picture to the left is the sunrise from the roof of my hotel. Note the same haze

Since sleep was not to be found I wandered to the roof top for a little personal time of reflection and prayer. I think about the people I will be meeting and trying to communicate with. I think about how many have not heard anything like the message that is deep in my heart and soul. I think about how many would listen even if I told them it was the best news they had ever heard.

I am sure I will sleep eventually, for now I will enjoy a few sunrises and sunsets from the roof tops of whatever building I am able to get to...

Just a Meandering Thought...

Voyage

So our flight left at about 11pm Boston time. They sky was dark as we pulled away from the gate. During the flight most people had their shades draw and I did a lot of sleeping. I happened to notice one or two light spots in the cabin over the course of our flight but when finally landed it was still dark. I spent an entire flight in a seat in a plane. It was dark when I left, it was dark when I arrived. It was dark for all eight hours of my layover, dark when I left there. I did not see light again until began our decent to Katmandu.

Over all the trip involved a lot of sleeping and a couple of movies. The biggest surprise came as we were coming in for a landing. There is a lot of pollution that hangs in the sky here. So much so that many people walk around wearing masks. Apparently the pollution that comes out of the cities in India gets blown by the air currents into the mountains but not over the mountains and so it hangs in the air in lower lying areas like the Kathmandu Valley.

As I walked down stairs into the tarmac and I was greeted by a familiar face. It was a face I have seen though it can take many forms. Shiva is said to live in these mountains and from Shiva's hair springs "Mata Gunga" the goddess Gunga, which flows from the mountains and across the northern plains of India. Shiva is the most revered Hindu god in this part of the Hindu world, and why not, the Himalayan mountains are home for Shiva. For a little more on Shiva click here or here.

Just some Meandering Thoughts...

Birthplace

 Nepal is home to the birthplace of one Siddhartha Gautama. As the story goes Siddhartha was a Hindu prince who wanted to experience life outside the walls of palace life. When he witnessed what life was like for those who did not have the luxuries that he took for granted he decided to leave that life behind to find a deeper meaning and purpose to life.

According to many sources Siddhartha Gautama, who became Buddha, was born in 623 B.C. in the famous gardens of Lumbini, which soon became a place of pilgrimage. Among the pilgrims was the Indian emperor Ashoka, who erected one of his commemorative pillars there. The site is now being developed as a Buddhist pilgrimage center, where the archaeological remains associated with the birth of the Buddha form a central feature.

Nepal is still about 85% Hindu today, yet it seems as if it is more known for its Buddhist heritage than Hindu. I do find it interesting that the man known as Buddha had his start as a Hindu prince. Though there are significant differences I suppose it is interesting to point out that the man upon whom the Christian faith is based also started as a member of a different religion. Jesus was a Jewish carpenter

LAST

So this will be my last official post on India even though the memories and the impact continue to rattle my soul. Here are a few closing thoughts on my time in India:

There were some things that I knew about before going to this diverse and complex country. These things included:

• Huge population and population density
• Major issues with poverty
• Very religious people who take pride in their religion
•  The Ganges river is very important to their religious practices and beliefs.

There were somethings I thought I knew and understood about the Indian people and their culture that turned out to only be partially true. 

• They like Americans but hate American culture
• Cricket is the big game in India not soccer (football)
• People who are "outcastes"were not considered Hindu's until recently 
• Christianity is a minority religion of about 2.8% of the population. It recently surpassed Islam which is about 2.4%

There were somethings that I was totally wrong about and really had no clue about:

• Despite being being mostly polytheists and very open and accepting of gods, they really do not like Christianity and Islam. They do like Jesus and Muhammad.
• Many people think of the Indian people as being warm and welcoming to everybody, but they do not want westerners influencing or changing their culture and traditions. Some will fight over it.
• There is garbage everywhere because Hindu's believe that everything (including garbage) is Brahman (supreme spiritual entity). So it means nothing to throw Brahman out the window on to Brahman.
• The beliefs of the Hindus are strongly influenced by their mythology. If you know their mythology you will better understand their customes and beliefs.



Here I am standing on the grounds of Indira Ghandi's grave. This was in a park dedicated to the Ghandi family. Mahatmah Ghandi's grave is located off to my right. This was the last place I stopped before heading to the airport to fly home.



ARRESTED???

Okay, so this kind of trouble was not exactly what I was expecting to happen on a beautiful day beside a river, watching people express their faith in baptism, but trouble is exactly what I witnessed. Our original purpose for traveling to the village that I wrote about in the previous post was because there were eleven people who had become Christians and decided they wanted to be baptized in water. My pastor friend / personal guide asked if I wanted to go see village life and observe a Christian baptism in India. I said sure.

You never know what you will see on these rural roads. Water Buffalo pulling carts, however are very common.

It was a two hour drive out of the small city of Seharampur over paved roads, then to poorly paved roads, to dirt roads, to washed out dirt roads. We pulled off of the road where there was a narrow dirt path that went through some fields of wheat into the village tucked away in a forested area. We entered the church building to see a group of people sitting on the floor smiling as they waited for our arrival.

This is the dirt path leading through fields of wheat and rice to the village just beyond the trees farther ahead.

We spent a brief time there in the church where the pastor gave a talk about water baptism then I walked through the village meeting people and talking with them. Afterwards we drove about a mile to a spot next to a river. It is not the Ganges and I am told it does not flow into the Ganges either so there is no real association with anything Hindu. The people gathered there were just believing Christians who were expressing their faith in water baptism. It is a common ritual among Christians around the world.

I was a special guest in this village so I gave a brief word of greeting to the people gathered there. It is not every day that they see a white person in their humble village. Made it even more humbling for me.

There were 14 people being baptized and one by one they shared their name and the pastor said a prayer put them under the water and then the rest of the church that had gathered sang a song. As we were doing this a group gathered to watch this curious sight. People on motor bikes who were riding up and down the dirt path that meanders along the river stopped to see why people had gathered here.

As the baptisms continued some continued on their way and more gathered. When the baptisms were finished some young guys who had watched part of the service started asking questions. Obviously I could not understand what they were saying but I thought this might be a good chance for the people in the church to explain what baptism means to those who may not understand what it means.

One lady just before getting baptized.

What I did not understand was that they were looking for a fight. They started getting upset and were trying to intimidate the group because they had participated in a ritual of a foreign religion. Hindu’s don’t mind Jesus, in fact they think he is great. He is another god for them to add to their 330,000,000 other gods. After a few minutes they started pointing at me and making some gestures that I took to be not good gestures.

This is part of the group that had gathered to question and then intimidate the Christians who had been baptized.

Shortly after, the pastor asked me to get in the vehicle and wait with the engine running. Two other guys who had traveled with us also got in the car. I saw a couple of guys who were not part of the church on cell phones though, again, I could not understand what they were saying or what their gestures meant, but I thought it probably was not good. Soon my friend and guide, the pastor, and the rest of our group got into the vehicle and headed off at a rather rapid rate. We had traveled about a quarter mile when we were passed by a police car traveling in the opposite direction. I did not think much of it at the time but I found out more later. (This is the problem when you do not know the language.)

A man from the village comes up from the waters of baptism. My friend and guide is the guy on the left in the photo.

The men who had caused the disturbance had also called the police claiming that there were Hindus taking Christian baptism because Americans were giving them money to do this… supposedly I was the American who forced them or at least payed them off to take baptism. If we had left five minutes later the police would have showed up and they could have detained us, me in particular. All they need is an allegation they don't need proof.

When we arrived back at the pastor's home in the city, I finally had a chance to really ask what had happened because I was still fuzzy on a lot of it. The way it was explained to me is that there are many elements in India that want India to be purely Hindu. The nickname they give India is Hindustan, which means "land of Hindu". Some of these groups are actually quite violent. The group we encountered were not violent though it was probably because there were more of us than there were of them, so they were not willing to start something they could not finish. The perception of some in India is that people only become Christians because Christians from the west are giving them money. They also assume that all westerners are Christians. So when they see a westerner standing there watching Dalits receive Christian baptism, a western, foreign religious practice, they immediately think that I am giving them money to become Christian. Now, I had never met these people before I have no idea who they are. Because some have a visions of an India that adheres to a pure Hinduism they will pursue whatever means they can to deter outside influences, especially from the West.

Since the incident I have spoken with that pastor, he told me some of the men went to the village to find those who were baptized to intimidate them for of their Christian faith. As far as I know, they have not hurt anyone, but it is not unlikely that this could happen. To top off this whole thing I was in the newspaper the next day. That is right. There was an article in the news paper about an American who was paying Dalits to become Christians. It was all written in Hindi, so I could not read it. But the next day as people were reading the paper, the pastor started getting a lot of phone calls from people who know him asking about what happened. I could not believe that the paper would print that without talking to both sides. But when you have an agenda you will see what you want to see.

That is my story and I am sticking to it...

BRICKS

So I went to a pretty remote village. Most of the structures there were straw and/or mud; there were a few that were brick. This again was a village of people who are considered to be outside of the caste system, or Dalits, also known as "untouchables". There were just a couple of structures that had electricity. The government provides bricks to these people to help them build homes that will last through the monsoon season. It is part of the the government's initiative to help these people.

A partially used stack of bricks sits in a vacant area of the village waiting to be used up by the people there building homes.

According to Orthodox Hinduism. These people are not considered Hindu's because they are outside of the caste system. They are below the lowest caste. They cannot participate in any temple worship, or make any offerings to any gods, or even go into a Hindu Temple. Christianity comes along teaching things like '...there is neither slave nor free, Jew nor Gentile...' etc... and it appeals to people like the Dalits who have nothing and live at such a low station in life.

This one room building is the village church. There are bricks on the ground just to the left of the door; these bricks will be used to build a small room on the side for the children.

In this village of about 300 people there is a small temple or shrine made of mud. Inside is the village deity. This is how just about all rural villages in India are; each one has its own shrine to its own deified spirit in addition to the more well known gods like Shiva. Christianity came to the village just a few years ago for the first time, and the people seemed to gravitate towards the teachings of the Bible, and the person of Jesus. When it came time to build a structure as a place for the Christians to gather, they decided to build it with bricks. It was a statement, Jesus is here to stay.

Two children are playing with the dishes we ate off of for lunch. Though it does look like they are arguing right??...

It is an interesting phenomena is the Indian ID card. On the ID card is place where you delcare what religion you are. Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim or even Sikh, even though that is a sect of Hinduism. The Dalits, as Hindus, get government grants for many things. They can go to school on the government dime, they receive bricks to build homes, they often simply get checks from the Indian government so they can live (India's version of Social Security.) They do what they can to keep people Hindu in order to preserve their ancient heritage and culture.

I am standing outside one of the straw homes in the village. Inside was a sick elderly couple and their grandson. He was taking a break from the mid day heat before going back into the fields to work.

That is of course, as long as the ID card says Hindu, (or Sikh or Buddhist, since Buddhism started in India). If a Dalit becomes either a Christian or a Muslim, he or she is no longer considered outside the caste system and is therefore no longer eligible for government support. So a Dalit actually gives up a lot to walk away from Hinduism. Once a Dalit becomes a Christian he or she is dependent on the Church community for help in times of trouble because most Hindu's refuse to help non-Hindu's.

Children outside their home on beds.

Now in this village there are 20 baptized believers and several others who attend but are not baptized, out of 300 people. The pastor here earns at most the equivalent of $80 per month. He has no formal education, but he loves the people here and that is why the people here will listen to him.

• The village still gets bricks delivered, for now.
• The people survive.
• They somehow get by at way below the poverty line... the Indian poverty line.
• Their farming does not pay well; it is barely enough to live on.
• Yet I have not seen as many smiles on faces in Indians as I did that day in that church.
• It makes me wonder what Jesus gives these people that they don't get somewhere else.
• Is it real or just a perception?

ASHRAMS

As part of my tour of Rishikesh, I was able to go into a few Hindu Monasteries. Hindu Monasteries are called Ashrams.

The first two of four main teachings that are most common in the early forms of Hinduism. This is a pillar in the center courtyard of one of the larger Ashrams in Rishikesh.

I was fortunate to have, as my guide, a former Hindu Sadhi or Guru in training. The short version of the story as to why he is no longer a Sadhi, is that while in a transcendental meditative state (this guy practiced T.M.) he had a vision of Jesus calling to him from outside the Ashram. He told his guru about it and his guru got so mad that he kicked him out of the Ashram. With nowhere else to go he decided to look for someone who could tell him about who this man was in his vision. He met an old retired pastor who talked with him about the vision and he found out who Jesus was, so he decided that since Jesus appeared to him in a vision he should follow Jesus instead of the Hindu gods.

This is a small temple to Shiva within a small Ashram by the shore. The Temple opens to the east because that is where the sun rises (so I have been told). Orange is the color of the sky when the sun rises, orange is the color of the flowers offered to Shiva and others, Orange is the color the pilgrims where when they travel to Mata Gunga to cleanse themselves through physical ritual from what has happened to their soul.

Yeah… so this guy, Rakesh is his name, he was my guide. He knows Sanskrit so when he greets monks in Ashrams he greets them in their holy language and they welcome him into these places. And when they ask him his name he will tell them the name he received when he entered the Ashram. When a man becomes a Sadhi, he starts a new life, he becomes a new person (figuratively speaking) therefore, his name changes. When Rakesh gives his Sadhi name, he is welcomed with open arms. And with him as my guide it was quite the experience troding the crowded walkways of Rishikesh.

Pilgrims come to make offerings of various kinds before the statue of Shiva stationed on a platform away from the bank of the Ganges. He watches over the millions of pilgrims who will come in the month of July to the Ganges.

Some of the Ashrams are run by very well known gurus and are very well kept and very clean. These gurus may run several Ashrams all over India. Some are very small and not to well kept. They are usually run by less well known gurus who only live and work in the one location. There was a big controversy here recently because of the exposed corruption of one particular guru, guru Baba.

Hanuman, the monkey god is opening his chest to show Sita and Lord Rama within. They are not in this particular statue but there is a mythological story behind it. This statue is like thirty feet tall, and just inside the gate of another Ashram.

This guy owns an operates something like 20 Ashrams and has several fancy homes and dozens of cars. But as a “holy” man he is supposed to be dedicated to reading the holy scriptures and to poverty. Looks like corruption is not an exclusive condition of religious institutions in the United States.

RISHIKESH

Rishikesh is a holy area along the Ganges River several miles from Hari Dwar. It became famous in the West after the Beetles went there in (‘67?). They met with a guru and stayed in one of the Ashrams here by the river.

A couple make an offering to the River goddess Gunga. They put flowers purchased at a shop owned by one of the Ashrams place them in the jar of water scooped out of the river, then pour both back to the river.

An Ashram is a Hindu Monastery. The place the Beetles visited is no longer in existence, well… it is there but it is a hotel now. When that Guru died people stopped coming to that Ashram and it fell into disrepair until it was purchased by the hotel.

This is a Temple inside an Ashram near the river bank.

If you want to visit an Ashram there is certainly no shortages of them in Rishikesh. Rishikesh has one of the highest concentrations of Ashrams in India. Almost every building here is in some way part of an Ashram or is owned by an Ashram. Some have sprawling complexes where entire families will live, they are not just for meditative monks.

Men and idols under a Bodhi tree, the same tree under which Siddhartha was sitting when he attained enlightenment and became Buddha.

There are also many places in Rishikesh that teach how to read Sanskrit, the holy language for Hindus. All of Hinduism's holy scriptures are written in Sanskrit. It is a dead language but the holy men of Hinduism only read the scriptures in Sanskrit.

A guru reading the Sanskrit scriptures who whoever will sit for a while and listen.

There are many places where I saw very old men sitting by the Ganges and reading the Vedas or the Gitas in what looked like very old books. These men are thought of as very holy men. The two holy locations in the area are Hari Dwar, which I have already written on, and Rishikesh. These two places each have their specialty. Hari Dwar is holy because of the mythological stories about its origin. It is the place where you go to perform holy rituals.

Rishikesh may be the place where people go for Hindu learning, but since it is on the River, thousands of people will come here to wash their sins away in the river.

The area in and around Rishikesh is where the ancient Brahmin priests would go to get away from the world to meditate for long periods of time. It was during the middle of the first millennium b.c. roughly when the Upanishads were written. Today Rishikesh is a center of learning and study and gaining holy knowledge. Hari Dwar is the place do holy rituals, Rishikesh is the place you go to gain holy knowledge. Hence all the Ashrams where you sit under guru and learn the holy scriptures, and all the places where you can learn Sanskrit.

One of the most prominent features of Rishikesh is the huge suspension bridge that spans the entire breadth of the Ganges river. Whenever you see pictures of Rishikesh you will see pictures of the bridge. This bridge is about the width of your average sidewalk. Yet you will have four of five or ten people trying to walk in the same space, and believe it or not while walking across the bridge myself, a motorcycle went right past me.

The entire month of July is the pilgrimage month and the holy pilgrimage color is orange. It has something to do with the color of the sunset and how the color symbolizes the going down into the river and then coming up as a newly washed person. Just as the color of the sky when the sun is setting and rising. So many people were bathing it was extremely crowded. A lot of people have a lot that they need to cleanse in the their soul. I am not sure they find what they are looking for though. The Hindu scriptures say nothing of absolution. Each of these people will come back and do the same thing next year with no sense of certainty that they are getting what they came here for.

AJAY

His story begins something like this. Ajay was brought up in a Brahmin family. He was high caste. His family was poor but they knew they were set up well for their next life. Ajay, when he was just five or six years old heard about someone named Jesus whom he had never heard of before. What he heard about Jesus sent him on a long journey of discovery. One problem though; being from a high caste family few people were reluctant to share with him because of the potential consequences. Ajay had several friends over the years who knew about Jesus but not enough to satisfy his curiosity.

Ajay's two kids Appu (boy in blue) Kushi (girl in pink and white) and sister-in-law Kami in the dark blue.

In his early teen years, his mother became very ill. Ajay remembered a story from the Bible where Jesus had prayed for forty days. So Ajay committed to pray for forty days for his mother's recovery. On the fortieth day he went to his mother and asked how she felt. Turns out she felt good. They went to the doctors for a check up and there was no sign of the illness. Some time later, his father became ill, and again he prayed. The Doctors told his father he was dealing with kidney failure and did not have much chance to live more than 35 days. Again after Ajay prayed his father was healed and went on to live a very productive life.

At this point Ajay would say that Jesus was the god for him. As a Brahmin, they were very devoted to the Hindu form of worship. Many people pray to many gods. Jesus seemed to be the god who answered his prayer so Jesus was his god. Several years went by and Ajay continued his search for more understanding of who Jesus is at this point Ajay himself got very sick. It was the same sickness his father had. Ajay developed Jaundice, he had to quit his job and return home. His parents were so poor that there was one point where all they had for sustenance was the water that was left over from cooking rice at his uncle's restaurant.

Ajay and his family. On the left in blue is his wife's sister, next to him his wife, and his two kids are in front. It is uncommon for a family to take care of the wife's family if there is a need. Usually the familial connection is to the husbands family. So inviting his sister-in-law into the home to provide her with an education is uncharacteristic of a Hindu, but very characteristic of a Christian.

Ajay had been so sick for so long that once again he turned to his god, Jesus and prayed for healing. The night he prayed, he had a dream. In the dream he was slapping Jesus in the face. Time after time right hand then left hand. Then he noticed a tear in Jesus’ eye. He stopped and asked Jesus why he was crying. Jesus said, you always come to me and ask me to bring healing. Ajay replied, “yes you are my god, you are the one for me you act when I pray so of course I pray to you.” Jesus said, “But, you only come to me when you need something, you also honor other gods. I want to be the only God for you. So while still dreaming Ajay figured he was going to die anyways so he might as well tell Jesus that he would live for him only until he died. Jesus accepted his word and when Ajay woke up in the morning he was completely healed.

What is so uncommon about Ajay's story is that it is not uncommon. Stories like this are actually quite common. Miraculous healings and visions of Jesus are thought of as normal by most of the people I have talked to over these last weeks. Why is it we do not experience these sorts of things in America, or hear them from Americans???

WASHED

As we walked along the bridge that crossed the Ganges river we were able to see the full breadth of activity that surrounds the Ganges myths. People will travel thousands of miles for the chance to dip in the Ganges at this specific place on the river. This river is holy to them; not just because it has the cleansing effect of their souls, but because the river is an actual goddess. When they step into the river they are immersing themselves in the goddess Gunga. They wash themselves with the goddess Gunga who takes their sins, also called bad Karma, with her down the river.

A man begging on the side of the road on our way to the river

Much of the Hindu beliefs and traditions center around the role that the Ganges plays. As I watched I tried to get my mind around the fact that people have been coming to this river to wash away their sins for centuries even millennia. I wondered to myself:

• What are these people thinking as they step into the river?
• What are they thinking as they throw water over their shoulders?
• As they strip down to their underwear and wade into the cold mountain waters do they think about what it feels like to be completely surrounded by a deity?
• Do they genuinely believe that this river is a goddess or do they wash simply wash out of tradition?

The poor and homeless walk side by side with those who are well off. Both equally need to wash in the River.

There was a man there who had set up a tarp tied to a tree. This is where he would live during the pilgrimage season. Typically he is naked but at the time we were walking by he had a towel wrapped around him. He is thought of a more holy because he walks around naked and goes into the river naked. He sets up a make shift home next to a goddess, so that he can be close to her, and wades into her naked so that he can be closer to her than anyone else. For this, he is holy.

• I wonder what people are searching for.
• I wonder if they find it.
• I wonder when they lay their heads on their pillow or their mat at night if what they think to themselves.
• Are they grateful for the chance to step into the river… the goddess?
• Are they grateful and fulfilled for having their sins washed away?

In Christianity people are forgiven of sin by God. For the Hindu the goddess does not forgive sins she simply washes them away. It speaks to the relational nature of Christianity and the pantheistic and ritualistic nature of Hinduism. An unfortunate aspect of the lure of the Ganges is that the Ganges is also a good place for to make money. Not only are there a lot of beggars hoping to capitalize on people's generosity while they are in a religious mood, but there are countless venders selling items from containers to bring home the mystical waters of the Ganges the people selling henna tattoos.

These stores and shops are just a few of the hundreds of shops and vendors that can be seen along the river. So simply put out a blanket and lay out holy trinkets.

There are those who are simply there to make some money off those who are aware of their need to do good and take advantage of the giving mood that many are in as they go through their rituals. Ironically, a place that is set aside for religious devotion, is also a place that many as a time to make a buck, (or a rupee). And when they see white people they see dollar signs.

When you see women using their children as a means to tug on the hearts strings of visitors to compel them to give them some money it is difficult to understand the feelings that well up. Is it sadness or anger? Unfortunately, many times the money you give them does not actually go to them. Often they are part of a ring of people who are forced to do this by one a few others.

As I think about how sad it is, I am forced to acknowledge that churches or perhaps more accurately, Christian religious leaders in the U.S. do the same thing. The only reason it does not seem as sad is because the people they prey on are not trying to get their next meal. Some of the great works of serving the poorest of the poor have been done by devotees of religion, I think of Mother Theresa as one example. But some of the worst atrocities have also been done in the name of religion, the example everyone knows is the Crusades, but historically the Muslims were every bit as barbaric as the Christians. Definitely not a high point for either religion, or its leaders.

I was also struck at the dichotomy that I observed here. In one place set back from the river there were a couple of really nice hotels, and about a twenty minute drive from the river there were several really nice hotels. These hotels exist for the rich to come in from all over the world to wash in the Ganges, and then leave once they are “clean”. But to get to the Ganges they have to pass by the thousands who are stuck in dwellings that are nothing more than sheets of plastic that barely keep out the rain.

I thought that the Ganges was a place where people would go to have some kind of profound personal religious experience, but what I saw was a lot of families who had come to make a day out of coming to the Ganges. It was a family affair for many. Others were there to make some money. Still others were there out of tradition. But for whatever the reason, everyone was there to get something from the river. Everyone there had some kind of need that they expected the river could meet. For one a clean soul, for another, the people who would have money which could meet their physical needs.