"HAMPI IS INCREDIBLE!"
I'd been looking at those words scribbled on our map since our first day in India when we met an enthusiastic Frenchman raving about Hampi. "The best of India!" he proclaimed. I had to check this place out...
With "Agent Beckey" as my travel companion (Robert had to return home for work), we arrived in Hampi at the crack of dawn, exhausted and jarred from a sleepless night wedged into a tiny recliner bus that we were assured was "very comfortable!" Our exhaustion quickly turned to awe as the sun's first light revealed a truly surreal and stunning landscape. Like a set out of an Indiana Jones movie, Hampi is an endless landscape of gigantic granite boulders, precariously balanced rock formations, red earth, terraced rice paddies, banana trees, a river running through all of it, and the ultimate highlight--ancient granite ruins of temples, statues, carvings and pillars everywhere.
Over 600 years ago Hampi came to be one the most powerful empires in India and reigned for more than 200 years with cotton and spice trading as its main industries. What was once a thriving civilization with over 500,000 people is now just a fascinating and sleepy little village.
WALKING THROUGH BAT DUNG; GETTING MOBBED BY CHILDREN
While exploring one of Hampi's temple complexes barefoot (mandatory shoe removal), a young boy offered for 50 cents to sneak us to the top of an eleven-story temple that is closed to the public. We naively accepted and limped through a dilapidated pyramid shaped structure of over 600 years, pebbles and rocks jabbing our every step. Half way up, the space became dark and cramped and we had to turn sideways to continue up the granite staircase. There was a horrible stench as the pebbles gave way to a deep soft powder of dried bat dung that filled between our every toe. Looking up, we saw thousands of bats hanging above our heads and dodging us as they flew by.
We trudged on to the top and were greeted by gorgeous views of all of Hampi. Once back in the temple complex, I was mobbed by about 70 school children on a field trip. As a western woman in India, I was infinitely more fascinating than any man or crumbling ruins of a great civilization and was quickly engulfed by the bodies, limbs, handshakes and questions of the precocious ten year olds. They would not leave me until every configuration of photos had been taken with their cameras (me with girls, me with boys, me with teacher, etc.) and each and every one of them had personally shaken my hand two to ten different times, asked my name and “Where from?!” I truly felt like a celebrity.
"DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY..."
You may recognize those words from Bobby McFerrin’s song (the one with all the whistling), but they are actually the famous words of Meher Baba from India. After a blissful week in Hampi, I visited my old friend Freeman and his sister Laurel, who live in Ahmadnagar and help run the Meher Baba Trust where “Baba” lived and did much of his work.
Meher Baba, who “dropped his body” (died) in 1969, is believed to be the last avatar, or, reincarnation of Jesus, Mohammad, Moses, Krishna, Rama, Zoraster, etc. and returns every 700 to 1400 years to renew God’s message to humanity. Each time he returns, he spends much of his time in seclusion in deep meditation, as well as learning from the perfect masters (there are supposedly five perfect masters on Earth at all times). It was also pointed out that Jesus came to North India after his resurrection, which explains his missing body, and continued his work in seclusion until he died there many years later.
Baba had 14 devoted disciples who lived and worked with him here during his final 16 years, helping him develop his message for the rest of mankind. Though very old, there are several of these disciples still living and serving Baba, and I had the pleasure of visiting some of the women and spent several days with Bhauji, his last remaining male disciple whom Freeman cares for each day.
Bhauji is an extremely charming, funny and quick-witted spirit that never lets his age or ailments distract him from his purpose. He continues to manage the trust while traveling the world, delivering Meher Baba’s message. Each day he is in India, his office bustles with devoted volunteers and pilgrims from around the world who have come in search of enlightenment through Baba’s teachings. There was an exceptionally large number of pilgrims during my visit, as I arrived a couple days after the anniversary of the day Baba dropped his body, an event which attracted thirty thousand people this year.
OSHO MEDITATION "RESORT"
A trip to India wouldn't be complete without experiencing one of its ashrams. Naturally, I settled on the most famous and controversial one--the Osho Meditation Resort--located on 40 stunning acres of landscaped gardens filled with serene pools and cascading waterfalls, overgrown trees and flowering bushes, sitting areas and shiny black marble buildings. Osho is one of India's spiritual gurus who has become quite mainstream in the world of enlightenment, his primary wish being to help awaken one’s consciousness through a Zen style of meditation and exercises. Additionally, he preaches that one should not deny their basic physiological urge--SEX--in order to further their spiritual growth, and this goes for priests, monks and the like.
DID YOU SAY AIDS TEST?
Turns out that part of the registration process includes an on-the-spot AIDS test. Osho defends this as a progressive step toward creating awareness around this disease as well as helping to eliminate its spread. There are plenty of people, however, that feel this is Osho’s way of promoting free love within the compound. Despite this, I was still willing to see what this ashram was all about…
Once inside the black walled compound, one feels like they have stepped into some sort of Orwellian Utopia. Smiling, happy people of every race and color walk around silently, meditate, or engage in long group hugs, all wearing the same maroon robe as Osho believed that this would help unite people's energies and create an intensified environment.
The compound is filled with a constant run of outdoor classes ranging from archery and yoga to psychic healing and massage. At noon each day the outdoor auditorium fills with music and people whirling around like Sufis, wannabe ballerinas and ex-hippies. There is often live music to be found somewhere on campus with people sipping cappuccinos nearby.
SHAKING MEDITATION AND THE WHITE ROBED BROTHERHOOD
After becoming acquainted with the campus, the time had come for my first meditation. Donning my fresh new maroon robe, I joined the masses as we filed in to the impressive Osho Auditorium, all of us quietly and obediently walking over a black marble pool into a six-story pyramid capable of holding 5000 people.
Inside was just as stark, a black polished marble floor with four white sides reaching up to the heavens. We found our places on the cold floor and began to "meditate," which consisted of four, 15-minute stages. First began the shaking--uncontrollable, wild gyrations of escaping energy accompanied by music. Then, dancing--free flowing, let it all hang out (think Woodstock). After, just stand or sit, observe--try and quiet the mind. And finally, lie down and be still--several people could be heard snoring.
Soon after the shaking meditation came the resort's nightly highlight, the White Robed Brotherhood meeting. Dashing out to purchase a WHITE robe, I barely made it in on time before they shut the gates. As I filed past one of the BLACK robed facilitators, he noticed my non-white sarong wrapped around my waist holding up my oversized robe and barked "You AREN'T going to be wearing THAT, are you?"
Once the auditorium was packed, the doors closed, a live band began to play and the lightshow began. Colorful gel lights danced across the pyramid as did us "brothers." I was glad for all the Dead concerts I had attended so I knew what to do. After several minutes of dancing, the music and everyone suddenly stopped and they reached their palms to the sky yelling "OSHO!" three times and then, just as suddenly, we were lying on the cold marble floor in silent meditation.
After about five minutes, a very large screen lowered from the wall and, in "Big Brother" style, Osho's huge face appeared before us. To his credit, he turned out to be incredibly funny and charismatic, often making light of this business of enlightenment. After spending a large portion of his recorded discourse preaching about his philosophy on, you guessed it...sex, there was a sudden deafening and reverberating gong. The masses went wild, shouting and speaking in tongues as though they were possessed! After some time I realized that what I was listening to was a chorus of gibberish, nonsensical sounds, tones and words thoughtlessly and uninhibitedly thrown out of one’s mouth. Another deafening gong and we instantly fell silent. Osho finished his discourse on Zen meditation and we were free to go.
That night after midnight, I received a phone call in my hotel room from an "Indian guy" who said he had seen me in the lobby and wanted to know if I wanted to meet up. After chastising and hanging up on him, I decided to "throw in the robe."
I think I'll search for my enlightenment while tracking lions in the Serengeti or sipping Pina Coladas on the white sandy shores of Zanzibar with my husband...
