A Winter in India

Our second day in Delhi, Wednesday, January18 (Guest essay by Carolyn Schmidt)

We had another interesting day today. We started out with Pam and Dave and Milan and I getting into 2 auto rickshaws to visit the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga to ask about drop in yoga classes. It turned out to be a huge and beautiful new campus with gardens modern circular shaped buildings and an outdoor teaching amphitheater. It is a lively place with a very gracious and helpful staff. There were college age people sitting around outdoors in group obviously working on some group assignments. We can drop in for a class and we hope to do so at least one day. That is free but if you go for one week you have to pay 100 rupees for each class, which is $2.30! Do you think we could afford it?

We then meandered out of that walled garden and realized we were across the street from a huge Sikh temple. Gurdwara (Temple) Bangla Sahib is on the site of a holy well that was blessed by a Sikh prophet during a small pox epidemic. The water brought healing and continues to be drunk and bottled as a curative. We had a wonderful tour by a man who explained Sikhism as a religion of equals. There is no one race or sex or people that are better than any other, everyone is invited to worship together no matter who you are. They teach to oneness of God and that one must be responsible (that is honest) in dealing with all matters of commerce and that you must share what you have with those who are in need. So this temple is continuous in worship. As we walked through and the guide was explaining what people were doing there were people sitting and kneeling on the carpeted floor praying, there was a group of men chanting and playing some traditional drum and string instruments. There were also Granthi (like a priest but is not considered a separate "class") sitting at the holy book, a collection of that prophets teaching. There is always someone at the book reciting except from 10:00p.m. to 2:00 a.m. when the book is put to "bed" in a very ornate bed, so it can sleep also. Everyone brings offerings of flowers and food. The food is combined together, blessed and then distributed as you go out in a continuous process day and night. Since sharing is one of the three main principles, there is a the temple a free hospital (Clinic) run by volunteers They also feed people for free daily, I think he said 50,000 people and month, with donated labor and food. They also provide a free place to stay attached to the temple and, our guide added, free parking!

Considering that we did not even plan to visit the place, it sure was a eye opening experience. When everywhere in Delhi people are pushing, crowding and trying to get you to buy something, here is this place where everyone is relaxed, reverent and is giving things away. Our guide, while clear that spreading Sikhism is a goal in that religion, was very clear that nothing was expected of us or anyone else. Once we had washed our feet and covered our heads (men and women) we were free to wander, participate, or not as we chose.

We did make our way back to the Baker's via a good restaurant (actually called "Standard Restaurant") and a couple of the city center's markets. What a bewildering mess all that is. Beggars, rip off artists, artisans, sales people, and about a million vehicles all trying to occupy the same space! Crowded does not begin to describe a Delhi Market.