Ashram Life – Week 1

After just one week, I can already say that life in an ashram or monastery is not an easy one by any means. I knew I would have to face some hardships, but the complete removal from the amenities of western life has been jarring to say the least.

Not to say that this is a bad thing or that I am by any means ready to throw in the towel. To the contrary, the part of me that will go to any lengths to accommplish the task is starting to kick in.

Or maybe, just the opposite. The part of me that knows I have nothing to accomplish is starting to surrender to the fact that this is the waypoint I am at on this spiritual journey. It is just the will of the divine to surrender to the flow of the universe as it portrays itself on the screen in front of me.

But I digress; I am writing today not to expound on the nature of the divine, but to elaborate on the daily routine of a seeker living in a spiritual community.

Welcome

Last weekend, Vipin, the first new friend I met here, and a few of others who arrived a little early had a lot of fun exploring the Rishikesh area and attending aarthi ceremonies along the banks of Ma Ganga, as the sacred river of India is known to her devotees. I met my roommate Keith, who is also from the U.S., and many of the other students who will be sharing this monthlong adventure.

We began our ashram experience Tuesday with an opening ceremony in which we donned our white garments and were decorated with orange flowers and given bands of protection. We had our own private aarthi that day, before dancing to the chants of our resident guru and philosophy instructor, Mandeep Ji.

We do have access to a laundry service, but it is generally accepted practice to wash clothes by hand. So I did some laundry and we retired early that night.

Daily Routine

Our daily routine begins at 5 a.m. and I have been arising a little after 4 a.m. to prepare each day. It begins with yoga sadhana, or devotional prayers and a joint flexibility series, followed by kundalini kriyas at 6 o’clock and pranayama, or breathing techniques, at 7:45.

We break for breakfast at 9:15 and back for ayurvedic health and then philosophy in the late morning, followed by lunch at about 1:30 p.m. We do get a two-hour self-study break until 3:30, at which time we begin an alignment and adjustment course followed by hatha yoga, led by Ashutosh Ji. This is nearly two-and-a-half hours of intense hatha yoga during that time of the afternoon when the body is very lethargic from sitting most of the day.

Ashu Ji’s 10 counts are already starting to feel like an eternity, but as we are learning, the goal of hatha is to find comfort and steadiness in a pose.

We then have chanting for one hour. By this time of the evening, sitting cross legged and attentive on the floors of the ashram halls all day begins to take its toll and I have become somewhat antsy. Sitting is perhaps one of the greatest challenges. Contrary to much western practice, the true aim of yoga is to prepare one for sitting in meditation. Only then can a seeker hope to attain moksha, enlightenment or release from worldly desires, according to the philosophy.

Dinner is served a little after 7 p.m. and we are free to do as we choose after that. I assumed that would mean that I would spend a couple hours writing to this blog, studying or doing other productive things, but in all actuality, it has been straight to sleep for me.

Food

The ashram kitchen is entirely sattvic, which means that all food is served either raw or cooked by boiling with spices , just enough to make it maximally beneficial to the human body, according to ayurvedic knowledge and practices.

A nearly 100 percent healthy diet that will help you live well over 100 years if eaten daily without fail sounds fantastic, right? Not to the general western palate. First of all, it is entirely vegetarian and nearly vegan in most cases. This is not really a problem for me as I have been mostly vegetarian for the entirety of my adult life.

But here is where it gets tricky. There is almost no sugar in any of it. It’s not like keto or anything because we are getting plenty of carbs in rice, roti and chapati. But none of the highly addictive sugars we are used to tasting in our western foods. And I can tell it in the first week alone. My sister sent me a picture of some blueberry waffles they were eating yesterday morning and I began drooling for it immediately.

I’m not sure if it has been the extreme change in diet, or possibly some bacteria or virus, but I have also been dealing with some general digestion problems. Nothing extremely serious, but as many people expect to endure at some point on their first trip to India. I have been generally tired the first couple days of the illness, but today (Sunday) was our day off and I have been much more energetic.

Day Off

In fact, I got out with a group of others and walked around the area again today. Keith and Renata and I walked to a local cafe that serves international food and I had an omelette and some fresh juice – along with my first cup of black coffee in over a week (you know that caffeine laden drink I would drink 40 ounces of on a typical work day).

We ate lunch at the Beatles Cafe, which also obviously caters to the western palate. I only had a toast and sweet drink but it hit the spot. But we did share a piece of rich chocloate cake and scoop of ice cream to celebrate Keith’s 62nd birthday, which is today.

It’s weird, because back home I am a walking fanatic, but up until today, I have walked very little in the past week. It is probably the worst week I have had since I started counting my steps so many years ago. I do have nearly 20,000 steps on the day, which is about on par with a regular Sunday for me.

It is now getting close to dinner time and I must start thinking about that 4 a.m. wakeup time. I probably won’t have a lot of time to decorate this post up with nice pictures and such but I hope to add some when I get a chance to put more Rishikesh photos up on the blog.

Peace and blessings to all.