Living the Life of a Maharaja

Currently we are traveling through Rajasthan in Western India. It is called the Land of Kings and with palaces and forts scattered across the dessert (think Arizona landscape and temperature) it is not hard to imagine yourself as a maharaja... that is until Jason refuses to fan me or a steaming cow pie engulfs my shoe... no personal servants or beautifully decorated elephants for me!



Rajasthan is made up of small ancient kingdoms each with their own king... which also means they each have their own palaces, summer palaces, forts, fortified cities, and charm. We started the region in Jaipur and then visited Pushkar and Chittorgarh on our way to Udaipur, where we have stopped briefly before we finish the region. Some say the middle of the summer right before the monsoon is a bad time to come to the dessert but if you can tolerate the 120 degree (that has been our hottest days 110 is more realistic) weather (which can only be done by visiting the sites early in the morning, drinking lots of water, and retreating for shade far before noon) it is quite pleasant to walk around the almost deserted streets and we are quite enjoying ourselves.



I got really sick for the second time in Jaipur and spent the rest of our time in the city and all of our time in Pushkar sick in bed with a high fever (101-104) and poor stomach... too weak to even sit-up so I will take my commentary straight to Chittorgarh where we visited a fort that was 13km (about 8 miles) in circumference and dates back to the 8th century. They say it is one of the greatest in Rajasthan and has a history that epitomises romanticism, chivalry and tragedy... maybe someday Hollywood will make a movie one it ;). Chittor was attacked three times by very powerful armies and each time the soldiers realized the city's ultimate fate and chose death before dishonour by committing jauhar - each time the men rode to fight an impossible fight and the women and children committed suicide. And there are other stories similar to this one but all along the same lines... an interesting history.



After Chittor we indulged ourselves in Udaipur at some of their most "romantic" restaurants sitting in cushion-lined (think low beds with tons of cushions) alcoves (think bay windows 5 stories up) overlooking a summer palace island on a beautiful lake with dusty low mountains in the background. Pretty amazing... so we blew our budget but no meal has been over $8 yet so we still aren't too bad ;).

The monkeys are smarter than I am...

The two days in Corbett National Park were a great transition back into the heat and craziness of the Indian plains. The park consists of well preserved jungle (huge trees, sporatic underbrush, mild climate). We were able to see a monitor lizard, monkeys, tons of deer, and walked amongst a herd of 20 Asiatic elephants on our elephant ride/safari. That said, Indian tourists were more than happy to tell us that they spotted "4 tigers" on their morning safari and that "elephants are not good for spotting tigers in the morning." Very annoying coming from sudden tiger experts from Delhi riding in private A/C cars and wearing Corbett Park t-shirts. One funny story though...We purchased a couple bags of cookies while we were waiting to leave the park. We set our bags down on a bench and then went inside our cabin room to grab a hat and book. In the span of 15 seconds, a monkey materialized from the trees, raced across an open area (20 feet or so), grabbed BOTH bags of cookies, raced back to the tree, and climbed 20 feet up before we could even turn around. All we heard was a rustle of plastic and a shriek as other monkeys chased him into the trees. We spent the next hour watching our lunch being fought over above our heads.



I think those are my only interesting stories as of late. That and we made a special trip to the Corbett Tiger Reserve and paid all this money and everyone basically sees a tiger and all we got was deer and boars... oh and of course elephants which was pretty spectacular. We took this elephant safari and got all close to them - amazing.

Mountains, Monasteries, and Monkeys

We came to Sikkim to see mountains and monasteries, but ended up with monkeys and monasteries...



Sikkim is an ancient Buddhist kingdom and in now a Northeastern Indian state wedged between Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet (presently China), and Bangladesh. Historically it was founded by Tibetan lamas in 1641, and has always had close ties to Tibet. In fact, China still disputes that Sikkim should be a part of China because of its close ties with Tibet. The leader of a Tibetan religious sect headquartered in Sikkim is still forbidden from entering the region b/c the Indian government fears upsetting the Chinese government (he fled Tibet to escape Chinese persecution in 2000). It is also home to the third highest mountain in the world, Khangchendzonga, and is a great place from panoramic views of the Himalayas. Mountains and monasteries - plus an escape from 120 degree weather - reason enough for us to visit.



The gateway city into Sikkim is the busy hill station of Darjeeling. We arrived in Darjeeling around 9:00pm and the city had long shut its doors and it's people retreated to the privacy of their homes. This surprised us as in mainland India it is common to have dinner at 9:00 or 10:00 in the evening and the streets are busy well into the night. As we searched for a map and tried to figure out where we had been dropped off a gentleman approached us asking if we needed help finding our way to our accommodation. If Varanasi taught us anything it was to be on guard with anyone offering help because a demand for money was sure to follow. As we stumbled with our words the man took out a pen and drew us a map of the city with directions to our hotel then politely wished us the best and headed on his way leaving us feeling, yet again, taken off guard... he didn't want money... maybe we would have to learn to trust again...



We woke early the next morning like young children on Easter... searching for our treasure we walked to Lookout Point and found Khangchendzonga standing a proud 28,000 feet tall - twice the height of Colorado Mountains. The valley in front of us was Sikkim and we looked forward to the next two weeks in which we planned to do two 5 day hikes and see Khangchendzonga (and Everest) everyday.



Before we left Darjeeling we took a trip to the Great Himalayan Zoo to see tigers, bears, the rare Red Panda... which we saw plus some other feisty animals - monkeys. We were admiring a snow leopard when they started their attack (the monkeys that is); throwing lime sized balls from their safe haven in the trees pelting everything in their sight... mainly the ground and my neck. The ground suffered minor aches and pains but I got the brunt... of Jason's jokes and was left with a large red mark on my neck. I did learn a lesson though... the snow leopard offers more sympathy than Jason.



After my recovery we headed off on our first trek through small villages stopping at gloriously placed monasteries (on the top of peaks) eating momos (cabbage filled pasta) and Thunkpa (thick soup) along the way. To our dismay the clouds engulfed the highest peaks and we were left with humid, mountain-less hiking. It was okay though because we had a second chance on our next hike along the India and Nepal border. It was a 4 day hike along a ridge through small Nepali villages on the boarder and from the highest points we were supposed to be able to see Everest. We heard a lot of great feedback about the views and were excited to get started even though the clouds were coming in fast... we had 4 days - surely one would be clear. Nope. None. We walked for 4 days in dense clouds. Visibility was about 25 feet. The first day or two it was actually quite an interesting hike because our surroundings were really eerie. All we could see was silhouettes of yaks, cows, wild horses, and sometimes each other, as well as vines draping from the rainforest that was presumed to be surrounding us. No more 28,000+ mountain peaks for us...



Once back in Darjeeling feeling a bit depressed and needing to get out of the rain (4 days in the wet left us a bit chilled) we decided to go to the movies. India's government was under pressure from religious groups not to release the Da Vinci Code but we got word they okayed its release and went in to buy our tickets where the attended stumped us with asking if we would like economy ($1), executive ($1.50), or box tickets ($3) - we went middle of the road not sure if the better tickets were closer for further away from the screen. After going through security and leaving our bags with the guards we entered the theater escorted by a gentleman with a flashlight guiding us to our reserved seats. As the movie started we observed that everyone was sitting in three rows - in their assigned seats - the rest of the stadium empty. At intermission we went out to buy some popcorn. A friendly woman greeted us and let us sample the flavors. We chose caramel and headed back into the theater for the rest of the movie. The next day, still raining, we headed back for more and decided on Ice Age 2 and marsala popcorn. The same woman served us and asked what movie we were seeing today upon our response she said, "Oh, very nice. Perhaps tomorrow you will try a Hindi Bollywood film." Hummm... that's a bit embarrassing.



At least visiting the monasteries went well... after an early morning, unsuccessful trip to view the mountain range we stopped by a monastery. In effort to make conversation with a monk, I asked him if he knew where a bakery was (why a monk would know where an Indian bakery was something my mind was unable to think of at 7:00am) but 'bakery' was lost in translation. Now grasping for conversation I proceeded to tell the man that we had left without breakfast and that I was starting to get hungary (in an effort to explain what I had previously asked). The connection was made... the monk got up and walked to a pile of fruits that had been offered to their gods and brought me a handful of holy bananas. Not knowing where to go next or how to turn down the offer i took the bananas and thanked the monk.



Hopefully we get better the longer we travel!



Monasteries. One of the many beautiful and peaceful monestaries we visited.







Mountains? From this point on a clear day we should have been able to see 2 of the 3 largest mountains in the world (Everest and Khangchendzonga)... we used our imagination.







Monkeys!Doesn't it look horrific?







More pictures from Darjeeling and Sikkim:

Hindu Spirituality and the Ganges

So Michele has given me the daunting task of providing a short introduction to Hinduism. I think I received this 'to do' since I dedicated time to get a better grasp on the religion (read two books) while we were traveling, but, I'm sorry to tell you, that much of it still remains a mystery to me and I think I made it seem even more complex. With that disclaimer, I hope you enjoy. ;)

Hinduism is the world's oldest and third largest religion (1 billion, around 90% in India). With all that history, there are countless deities and sects and being a "Hindu" is actually a very difficult thing to define (ie no 5 pillars or core beliefs all share). In fact, the best definition I came across was to define a Hindu as someone who accepts the Vedas (ancient religious texts) and lives a life according to their moral precepts. Doesn't sound that bad yet as so far it's like saying a Christian is someone who accepts the Bible as law. Apart from the Vedas, a Hindu worships a deity that they themselves see as supreme...and there are a TON of deities. So, although there are some deities more popular and/or powerful than others, there is no one figure all Hindu's worship or follow. As a horribly inadequate and probably incorrect analogy, it's like being a Christian and accepting the Bible but then deciding which Biblical figure you'd think is supreme and want to worship (ie Moses, Job, Jesus, Mary, Paul, Peter, Abraham...). So, in sum, a Hindu is someone who accepts the Vedas as law and lives their life according to those moral principles by worshiping a chosen deity.

So what are the Vedas?
The Vedas are believed to be the uncreated, eternal truth of the universe. The Vedas comprise four ancient texts dating from 1200bce to 300bce (according to best guesses). The books themselves are hymns and prayers that outline basic philosophical precepts as well as practical details for sacrifices, funeral rites, etc. These texts are first associated with the Aryan people (yep, Hitler's Aryan - historians think they came from around the Caspian Sea but it's not certain) who migrated to India with their beliefs and then merged them with indigenous thought. As a side note, the Aryan people are so attractive to nationalists in the past because they can be linguistically linked (but not 100% proven) to people from Europe to Iran to India and beyond. In India's case, historians believe they arrived with their beliefs and superior military might and either subjugated or merged with the natives (probably a combination of both). This immigration and meshing with the indigenous peoples helps explain why there are so many deities with so many different powers and also goes some way to giving a historical background for the caste system and other societal structures (discussed below).

In addition to the Vedas, there are plenty of other stories about the gods (some loosely based on historical people) that some people take and incorporate into their beliefs. There are 3 other major stories (called Epics) that detail the feats of major Hindu deities. They are:

1) The Mahabharata - tells the story of Krishna
2) The Ramayana - tells the tale of King Rama of Ayodhya and Hanuman (the monkey god)
3) The Puranas - tells other creation myths and genealogies of the Gods

I only mention these because they are the the "Bible stories" of the Hindus. These Epics are the ones that get shown on TV as the great tales of the Hindu religion.

So what does a 'Hindu' believe?
Hindu's believe the goal in life is to have a direct experience with divinity (a merging of the soul with the divine). This personal experience with the divine is the only thing that can bring true peace and happiness and Hindu's worship to increase their awareness of the divine.

Fundamental beliefs for most Hindu's also include:

-> Brahman. The absolute force/thing/being/essence/power.

-> Atman. The immortal soul that is reincarnated while the body lives and dies.

-> Reincarnation. The belief that the soul repeatedly dies and is reborn.

-> Karma. The belief that each person bears the effects of their deeds in the future. These effects can be either positive or negative and the individual is solely responsible for the effect of their actions. It's less of a "something bad will happen to you because you were bad" and more of a belief that negative actions leave impressions on your mind and soul that determine what kind of person you will be in the future.

-> Nirvana. This is the escape from reincarnation when your soul merges with the divine. More abstract that the heaven-hell concept.

So what does a Hindu do to increase their awareness of the divine?
Well...they try to think of the divine every moment of the day: store owners worship at a shrine in their shop before opening for business and have it in a prominent position to remind them throughout the day, taxi drivers have reminders on the dash boards, buses are painted, etc. There are reminders everywhere! That said, worship is primarily a personal thing done at a personal shrine in the home and at work (just a picture or symbol). Hindu's do visit temples and go on pilgrimages to holy sites in the hundreds of thousands, but this is not mandatory. Michele and I were extremely fortunate to visit some of the holiest cities in the Hindu faith during our time in India. I was absolutely blown away by the ancient traditions and absolute faith we witnessed.

The yogas are the various methods (love and devotion, right action, meditation, knowledge) a Hindu follows to reach their spiritual goals, but they are still beyond me; a believer merges all of them but might choose to stress one in their spiritual practice.

Clear as mud? Well, I'm sure you still have some other questions about Hinduism, so I'll try to touch on some of the other parts of Hinduism in a scattered topic way...

The Caste System
Caste still plays a big part in Indian society, especially in the more traditional North and among the upper classes. Marriages are still made based upon a person's caste and University enrollments and government jobs are set aside for lower castes (same idea as affirmative action and just as controversial). To get an idea on the importance of caste in contemporary Hindu society, check the matrimonial secton of the Hindustan Times classifieds HERE and search for a "Brahmin" bride or groom.

There are actually two caste distinctions: 1) Varna and 2) Jati. Varna is detailed in the Vedas and ranks people according to their inherent purity and likelihood for pollution. It was originally used as a distinction in religious ceremonies and later came to apply to society at large. Jati is the kinship group (ie occupation) a person is born into.

The are four main Varna distinctions described in the Vedas. These distinctions were made when the gods sacrificed primeval man to create mankind and are...
1) Brahmin. The priestly class that were created from the head of primeval man
2) Kshatriya. The warrior caste created from the shoulder.
3) Vaishya. The merchant caste created from the legs.
4) Shura. The laborer caste created from (surprise) the feet.

The Brahmin, Kshatriya, and Vaishya castes were originally from Aryan descent and are twice born (a religious ceremony bringing them into the Hindu religion as a child). The Shura caste was for people from non-Aryan descent who have not been initiated into the faith.

And then there are the Untouchables, or Dalits. These were the people in society who worked jobs that were seen as unhealthy, disgusting or polluting. Interestingly, they were also the original natives of India as the Aryans discriminated against them and wanted to give an incentive to adopt Aryan culture and thereby move up the cast ladder. They are beneath all of the four Varna distinctions and made outcasts of society: different living quarters, water sources, etc. The term untouchable comes from the fact that no other caste would dare touch them and lose some of their religious purity. The problem is that over 40% of the Indian population belongs to the Untouchables group!!!

So all that said, there are thousands of castes based upon the four Varna distinctions and Jati groupings plus the Dalits. The general idea is that a person is born into their caste based on their prior karma and can improve their lot in a future life (reincarnation) by living a good life. Remember, your lot in life is of your own making.

Male Dominated
In the Vedas, only men where allowed to perform rituals and inherent from the deceased. This was of critical importance in their ancient practices, because it was believed that the living must support the deceased until they reach their ultimate destination. Thus, male offspring became of critical importance to ensure their ancestors could be supported in their afterlife.

Our Interaction with Hinduism
Believed getting cremated and having your ashes placed into the Ganges River is the only way to get you to the afterlife.

The Major Deities
Many of the popular deities have consorts or female counterparts that complement and balance of their powers. The deities also have vehicles that they use as means of transport and support (bulls, mice, eagles, boars, etc).

The three most powerful deities are Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma. Shiva and Vishnu are everywhere and have major Hindu religious sects devoted to them.

Shiva maintains the eternal order. He is the creator and destroyer and is both worshiped and feared. His consorts are also worshiped widely in India with Parvati and Durga being two of the more popular.

Vishnu is a benevolent deity that has taken an earthly form 10 times to save the world from evil (two of which are Krishna and Buddha). Vishnu's future incarnation will restore judgment on earth and save mankind. His consort is Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.

Brahma is the creator of the universe, but, oddly, isn't worshiped widely. His consort is Sarasvati, the goddess of music.

Ganesha is the god most people associate with Hinduism (the fat one with the waving arms and, oh yeah, the elephant head). His is extremely popular in India as well and is worshiped as the remover of obstacles and bringer of luck. Not surprisingly then, he is worshiped widely by businessmen and, terrifyingly, bus drivers.

Krishna (yep, the Krishna of the Hare Krishna's) is also immensely popular in India and is an incarnation of Vishnu who's story is told in the Mahabharata epic. Krishna is the most personable of the Gods (as far as I can gather) as he is described as a child, rambunctious youth, heroic warrior, and wise advisor. People worship Krishna with extreme devotion.

Hanuman is the monkey god that served King Rama in the Ramayana epic.

Those are some of the major ones we saw on a daily basis, and when I saw major, I'm just scratching the surface.

I know this is a pretty intimidating entry, but I want to add just one example of what we actually saw of the Hindu faith in India.

Varanasi
The most intimate interaction we had with Hinduism was in Varanasi. Varanasi it is thought to be the oldest continually inhabited city in the world. In the Hindu faith, Varanasi is the place where people go to die because it is believed that dying in Varanasi allows someone to escape rebirth. Millions of Hindu's come to Varanasi every year to bath in the Ganges to wash away their sins, wait to die, or bring the ashes of a loved one to put into the Ganges. There are thousands of temples in the small crowded streets and constant funeral processions to the burning ghats. You read right, burning ghats. Throughout the day bodies are cremated right on the banks of the Ganges in full public view. I think the most amazing thing to me about Varanasi was the openness of all the ancient rituals. Even things you didn't want to see (like burning corpses) were in full view.

All right, I think I'll end it here. Hopefully there weren't too many inaccuracies above and I made it interesting enough without turning anyone off. If you want to learn more about Hinduism, try these links:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/hinduism.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/index.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism







Prictures from Haridwar and Rishikesh - additional Hindu Spiritual cities on the Ganges: