Shopping in Bangalore

Today we spent the day exploring the streets of Bangalore, shopping for things that we'll need while living at the ashram. We'll be three hours north of Bangalore, so it's a good idea to stock up on necessities while we're still in the big city.

While walking through the streets of Bangalore, you find many vendors selling a broad variety of fruit, including mangos and mellons, as well as nuts, like cashews. If you're a foreigner, it's important to only eat peeled fruit, otherwise your digestive tract may be in for a big surprise.

Like any other country in the world, children in India are often curious about foreigners and will quickly gather around you, eager to talk. Sometimes they're too shy to talk but curious all the same. Usually a smile and a few kind words will quickly break the ice.

Indians are big movie fans. The Indian film industry, sometimes known as Bollywood, produces twice as many films per year as Hollywood. Indian movie stars are practically worshipped as gods but Indians are also big fans of American movies and are very familiar with American film stars. If you want a unique cinema experience, go to a popular Indian movie, starring some of their most famous stars, and be prepared for an audience that responds more enthusiastically than any you've ever experienced.

When we encountered the Henna Lady we had no idea what she was selling. We paused for a moment (big mistake) and looked at what she had laid on the ground before her. Suddenly, she grabbed Tara's hand and began stamping henna designs all over Tara's arm faster than you could blink an eye. We learned a good lesson. Never go near the Henna Lady.

One of the facts of life in India, as in many developing countries, is the presence of beggars, who at times can be very insistent that you give them money. They tend to target foreigners more than local residents because the locals rarely give them money. Often, you'll be faced with extremely pitiful cases that will break your heart to see. It's wise to carry a supply of small coins, like one or two rupees to give them, so that they'll finally leave you alone. If you don't give them anything, they may follow you for blocks. There's also an art to giving to beggars. Don't ever give to them while standing still in one location. Give them a small coin or two while moving and keep moving. Otherwise a crowd may gather making it hard to move on. If you are a sensitive person, dealing with beggars may bring up many emotions that are difficult to deal with but it's a reality of life. Stepping out of the isolated cocoon of your normal daily existence and facing the reality of the intense suffering being experienced every moment by a large portion of humanity, can be a valuable experience that breaks your heart but opens it as well.

We went to get our "Indian whites," known as kurtas (for men) and punjabis (for women). That's all that is worn at the ashram, other than saris for women on special occasions. Actually, once we wore a kurta and punjabi, we wanted to wear them all the time. They're loose and light and far more comfortable than western clothing. The price is good too. A kurta or a punjabi can be purchased for $10 to $20, and that includes both the pants and the top. While Tara was looking at punjabis, the sales clerk did her best to convince Tara to buy a sari by wrapping saris in a multitude of colors around her.


Another Indian custom is that women often wear a bindi, also known as kumkum, mangalya, tilak, sindhoor and by other names. The bindi is a small dot placed between the eyebrows on what is often refered to as the "third eye." Traditionally, Indian women placed a red dot made with vermilion (finely powdered bright red mercuric sulphide). Nowadays packages of bindis in various colors and designs with adhesive backing can be purchased for a few rupees (cents). When Tara asked the sales girl about how to wear bindis, she went out and purchased several packs of bindis for Tara.

After shopping at Kemp Fort, Bangalore's largest department store, we walked out the back door and were amazed to see the largest Shiva statue in the world. The statue is sixty feet tall and totally magnificent. We considered this a highly auspicious blessing, since tomorrow we leave for our year at Sri Kaleshwar's Soul University, where we will be studying to develop our soul capacity, realize the divinity within, and the unique purpose we are to fulfill in this lifetime.

Before leaving this magnificent statue of Shiva, Lord of Yogis, we made a wish that we may grow in wisdom and realize the full capacity of our souls so that we may be more effective in alleviating the suffering of humanity.

We're in India

We're in India after flying from LA, to Atlanta, to Paris, to Bombay, to Bangalore. We left Los Angeles early Monday morning with as much as we could squeeze into two backpacks and two small suitcases each. We traveled light, figuring that we really didn't need much and whatever else we might need we could buy for far less in India.

Four flights in two days was a lot of flying and it took us over parts of the world that we'd never been before, like the Middle East. We passed through Paris but only saw the inside of the airport. We arrived in Mumbai (Bombay) at 1:00 am and decided to try to get on the next flight out of Bombay rather than spend the night in a hotel. The next available flight was at 6:20 in the morning, so we took a taxi over to the new domestic airport and tried to catch some sleep before our flight in the morning. The domestic airport was very modern and practically empty. We boarded the flight to Bangalore, extremely happy to be on our final flight to our destination.

We noticed on the flight, which was our first inside India, that everyone was very quiet. The flight attendants were extremely refined and actually looked like someone had cast them to play the role of Indian gods and goddesses. Their faces of both the men and women were sublimly beautiful with extremely refined features.

As we approached Bangalore and descended below the clouds, we got our first view of the lush green countryside around Bangalore. Agriculture is the occupation of 80 percent of the population of Karnataka state. Crops abound in rice, millet, cashews, cardamom, betel nut, and grapes as well as coffee and tea.

The nearer we got to landing, we saw evidence of Bangalore's growth and booming high tech industry. High rise building were springing up surrounding the city.

In the last decade, Bangalore has transformed itself into the "Silicon Valley" of India. From a mere 13 software companies in 1991-92, the number of software companies increased to 938 by August 2001. Some of the reasons for this growth are the pleasant climate, the talent pool of highly trained professionals, and progressive Government policies. Over the last few years, many of the largest high tech companies in America, like Intel and Oracle have been investing billions of dollars in Bangalore.


Arriving in India is of course a culture shock. All the sights, sounds, aromas and flavors of Indian life assault and seduce the senses. It's easy to get caught up in the bustle of life - the continual flux of perhaps the oldest culture on earth. It's easy to be distracted by the cacauphony of motor bikes and cars all honking to make their way through the teeming throng of humanity.

It's a land where bullock carts wait at traffic lights next to young men on motorbikes on their way to jobs at call centers. While China has been considered the next rising superpower, India is believed by many to have a greater chance due to it's being a democracy and largely English speaking.

Another advantage is that India is a culturally diverse and by-and-large extremely tolerant society where Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Jains live together and it is not uncommon to see a temple and a mosque existing side by side.

It's a land of stark contrasts, where ancient motifs remain within the rapid modernization that is sweeping India out of the third world. Everywhere you go, you see images evoking India's spiritual heritage. Shines to Ganesha, the Remover of Obstacles are as common as Starbucks in America.

It's easy to get swept up in the dizzing exotic dance of Mother India. She enchants you with her exotic beauty; the vibrant colors of her saris, the seductive sway of her body, the excitement of her ever-shifting nature and the charm of her personality.

But, we're here for a deeper purpose, to penetrate into the soul of India and imbibe it's rich spiritual heritage. This is what makes India truly unique. The spiritual currents run so deep in India that they permeate the very fabric of life like no other country in the world.

This is the land of rishis, yogis, sadhus and siddhas who have kept the lamp of spiritual wisdom burning for all the world. The ancient wisdom of scientific techniques to develop consciousness to it's full potential have beeen preserved here for the benefit of all of humanity.

While taking a walk in the side streets of Bangalore today, we spied in the shadows of a small stall, a divine personage working at his craft. His being radiated peace and wisdom shown in his eyes. After asking if we could take his picture, he raised his hands in pranam (blessing) and chanted a prayer to God. We replied, "Hari Om. Om Sai. Sri Sai. Jai Jai Sai. Om Tat Sat. We spoke a universal language and in that moment two Americans and an Indian swami were united in a divine emotion that is both ancient and totally modern for it is beyond time, yet exists throughout time

We're extremely happy and excited to be here. It's a dream come true. We've been drawn to India very strongly for the past two years. I think it began when we learned Babaji Kundalini Kriya meditation from Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath. After that, we sort of switched tracks from a Tibetan/Chinese (primarily Buddhist) orientation to a more Indian yogic view. Not that they are exclusive of each other. After all, Buddhism began in India. We see all the world's spiritual traditions in the Light of the Universal Truth. In fact, it's clear to us that all of our teachers, in this and past lifetimes, have led us to this point. It's like all their teachings validate each other and are converging on the same essential Truth. Now, it feels like we're viewing that Universal Truth through the lens of the Indian yogic Siddha tradition. Meeting a true living saint and miracle master like Sri Sai Kaleshwar was a great blessing and then to have him invite us to attend his Soul University for one year at his ashram was beyond our greatest expectations.

We feel a great responsibility to make full use of this year so that we can grow to our maximum spiritual potential and be of greater service to God and humanity.

Om Tat Sat
Bangalore, India

Our Pilgrimage to India begins

Namaste,

In a few hours, we get on a plane to fly to India for one year. It's feels like the culmination of a long process that started when we were teenagers, reading books like "Siddhartha," Shankara's "Crest Jewel of Discrimination" and "The Compassionate Buddha." It's amazing that it took us this long to make our journey to the East, but perhaps we will appreciate it more after all the experiences we've had on the path.

In 2000, Tara and I decided to commit ourselves full-time to spiritual service. Since then, we've assisted four spiritual teachers and have met thousands of spiritual seekers. It's been a wonderful six years. We've had the opportunity to spend a great deal of time working closely with amazing teachers, spreading the Dharma on the West. We feel very blessed to have had this chance to be of service and feel that it's the reason we incarnated in America.

This trip to India is a milestone in our spiritual lives. For the last six years, we've been involved in Bhakti Yoga (devotion) and Karma Yoga (selfless service). For the next year, our work will be more internal. Several of our teachers have urged us to teach and we feel that this year in India will prepare us to be of greater service to humanity.

When we return from India in a year, we plan to offer a full series of lectures, classes, workshops and retreats to share what we have learned. While we're in India, we'll stay in touch via email but far less often then we have in the past.

Included in our new website at www.universalfellowshipoflight.org is a blog where we will post messages describing our adventures. You're invited to check it regulary to stay in touch.

In addition, in the "Teachings" section of the new website, we've posted wonderful quotations from many of the highest spiritual masters throughout the history of the world. We highly recommend reading these quotations frequently. You'll find that there is a great deal of spiritual power available in those words and they will lift you into higher levels of attention, filling you with Divine energies. We've collected many of these quotations over the years and they've been of great assitance when faced with difficult challenges. There is so much fear, tension and anger in the world today that people need inspiring thoughts more than ever to stay above the quagmire of human consciousness. Enjoy the spiritual quotations that we've collected. They are some of the gifts that we wanted to leave with you as we depart for Mother India.

Be well.

Light and Love,

Gonga and Tara
July 2006
Los Angeles, California

Welcome

Welcome to the Universal Fellowship of Light blog. We're preparing to leave day after tomorrow for a one year trip to India...maybe longer. We've been given full scholarships to attend a one-year University program to study traditional Indian healing techniques. We'll be about a three hour drive north of Bangalore in south central India. As part of the University program, we'll also be making pilgrimages to sacred sites. Check back here regularly for posts from our India journal.

Gonga and Tara