AN ANGEL CAME TODAY

JMH: One of the great gifts of living here at Fire Mountain Retreat Center is being visited by the most wonderful people, living saints, who inhabit this world with us. I never know who will walk through our gates so I am learning to greet everyone with "pani" or water, and "chai" or tea and then, to take the time to sit down and have some conversation and interchange with our guests.

In my busy American life back home, I would have not taken the time to be so gracious at a moment's notice. Instead I would have tried to keep to my "to do list" and visited with people by appointment only. I have discovered that this is not done here in India, and that relationships are much more important than items on my "to do lists".

In India, there is a sentiment that any visitor is God visiting your home. Consequently, to have someone visit your home is the greatest honor. I have to admit it is still taking me time to learn this quality of being a Welcoming Presence to each and every person. But then someone walks in unexpectedly and changes all of that................


DH: AN ANGEL CAME TODAY

She came to our ashram as the sister of a friend. The first unusual thing I noticed about her is that she was a bit troubled by participating in the commonly agreed upon social interacting of guest and host and “normal “ conversation. She was more interested in some other activity. Our friend, her brother, eventually in the stream of conversing, mentioned that she was a very good meditator. She spoke no English and all conversations were translated through her tri-lingual brother. I asked her to come and sit closer so we could discuss this subject of interest to me.

She and her brother misunderstood my verbal statements, and instead of coming to sit in a chair nearer to us, she choose to sit in lotus position on the floor of the veranda. Immediately, she went smoothly, quietly, and blissfully into complete and quietly astounding unification with her Guru/God/Essence/ALL.

We fell into alignment with this darshan, and experienced the most subtle, beautiful, exquisite divine descending of the purest, sweetest, most diving love and ONE Presencing.

Her Guru speaks no words. She, in her darshan, spoke nor thought not. She transmitted the Essence of undivided Essence/ALL.

What a gift!!! We hold awareness of this gift now in our inner treasure house - - it has always been there and will always be here - - a note, a state, a home, an access to GOD-DESS/ALL.

JMH: Her name is Shree Laxmi and she lives in Andrah Pradesh. Her husband died after three years of marriage and then she found her way into an ashram inspired by Ramana Maharshi. Actually, one of the great saint's disciples maintains this ashram who lives in silence and obviously transmits a profound love and peace that is so tangible through this devotee of his. When Dewa asked her to describe her meditation practice, she took a lotus pose and went into a very deep state, opening inner doors for us to join her. This was all on the front porch of Fire Mountain with the usual life happening all around us. I felt my heart opening taking me deeply into the Formless Ocean of All. I am so grateful for this silent and blissful Presence, which is such a gift to us. How she magically appeared in our life is so precious. One thing the Guru had said when we took this positon as Fire Mountain managers, "you will meet the most incredible people." Again and again, he proves to be right.

Swami Buhravananda-- small body, BIG Presence

Look at him. He’s a small man, a vintage being of 70 years. But he exudes a Big Presence. What Kind? Well, a Big Presence, soft and gentle, like a soft, deep pile blanket of warmth and honesty. . Look into his eyes - - tunnels of depth beyond description with no attempt to hide or cover his internal consciousness - - open. He reaches out to touch you - - places his hand softly on your arm and includes you totally in his consciousness - - you might melt and want to be close to this soft fire - - get warm while you can. He is attended by and flanked by his devotees - - young men who are internally lit by love and devotion to his God devotion. He speaks of the Vedas and how God consciousness is a science explained by the Vedas which are accessible to all - - of how there should be nothing in the way of approach to God - - of how each and every sound and thought are a mantra of power invoking some intent, and how the Vedas are a map of correct intent. If you are like me, it might not matter so much what he says - - what matters might be the truth expression that emanates from his being. He is a devotee of Poorananda who is a devotee of Rakhadi Baba who is a devotee of Nityananda Bhagavan, making him of a cousin lineage to our lineage from Nityananda to Muktananda to our beloved guru Mark Griffin.

How wonderful he has come to Fire Mountain to sit in the garden and have tea and a lovely time with us. The tea is unusual for India - - it is black tea with lichee - - a high and sweet vibration. He is making a pilgrimage to visit the Rakhadi Baba Murti, Homa, and Temple next door, as he does on occasion. Kamalakur Swami, who lives at the Anusuya Ashram that Bhagwan Nityananda built for Rakhadi Baba, relates how Buhravananda Swami does wonderful pujas where he explains the meaning of the different parts of the puja so that everyone can understand what is being done. We, as novice puja practitioners express appreciation for this provision of understanding for the participants. Buhravananda Swami is encouraged to do a puja here at Fire Mountain, and he accedes to this request with a date set after late November some time.

His phone rings and we learn that the car has arrived to take him to his next visitation. Warmth, love and happiness from us follows him out the gate as we watch the orange robed figure disappear down the path. May he come again soon.

Greener Than Green at Fire Mountain Retreat

Morning meditation ends - - the rain is falling again in blankets - - it stopped for 3 days - - long enough for the villagers to celebrate the coming and leaving of Gauri (an aspect of Parvati, Shiva consort/wife, goddess of fertility/harvest/abundance - - the rice crop is coming in nicely so far this year) - - they have been drumming and singing and dancing for 3 days now and our staff has not come during this time. Yesterday they took the murti of her to the river with music and drum beat and dancing and procession. The air is heavy with the oceans gift of bringing itself on shore - - the plants everywhere have jumped out of the ground - - there are crowds of plants everywhere jostling for survival-unfoldment, like pieces in a puzzle, greener than green and luxuriating in the moisture denied them during the dry time. the plants at Fire Mountain Retreat are not all wild native and some are struggling under the downpours and have to be covered with shade netting which disperses the blows of drops falling at terminal velocity from above - - the native plants are all reaching for the sky, almost noisy in their growth - - the frogs jump, the birds chirp, the crows shake off the moisture and hang out on top of the Guru chouk waiting to get the remnants of the left over dog food. Everything slows down and is more viscous, more like when scuba diving in the the ocean - - the roads are a mess of monsoon pot holes, the infrastructures are taxed and somewhat intermittent -- people stay home inside and adjust to the rains - - a time of the interior where the exterior is dampened. The rain has stopped again - - during monsoon it turns on and off like a faucet -- when outside, if a few drops fall, it means in a few seconds/minutes it will fall in sheets, so get to shelter or whip out the umbrella if you want to stay dry. Shortly we will do the morning puja with the staff (if they come) and the arati of the Guru Chouk, the grounds and the dome. Breakfast in the garden enjoying the trees plants and loving complex Spirit. Just a quick note to give a taste of life in Nimboli. love and ocean coming on shore d and j

Ice Cream in the Jungle

Vanita churns out love ......

Everyone wants to be near her.













It ain't Baskin Robbins , Jungle Ice Cream - - tis soooo much better. Deprived of such luxuries for over a year, we all eagerly awaited some cool licks. Vanita (our beloved cook-and-everything person) spun that ice cream machine handle for hours to no avail - - in this heat, we never got off the launch pad.

We tried for three days to get the first successful batch, and even with the help of the baby, and bhiwani the dog and raja the puppy (see pic), it was cool soup, no dice, no ice - - - - but wait! Jeanetta figured out how to pre-cool the precious ambrosia and bingo, Vanita whipped up the tasssttieeesssst treat - -

Snicker Doodle ice cream - - a divine yummmm in the tummmm, with the enjoyment much heightened by the wait. Yeah Ice Cream Team!!

Important to the superb quality is our new milk Lady, (about whom we will write soon - - don't miss her pics - - she's a 1 of kind village milk matron) - - and her cows, which we've yet to meet, put out the creamiest milk ever to slide over your tongue. I guess Indian cows, being divine, naturally produce divine Self Idealized dairy.

This slick new ice cream making machine is the generous gift of generous Lee Schwing, who is not unfamiliar with such luxuries and the difficulty of producing them in rural India. Blessings to/for Lee!

??????., guess what's the plan for the next batch?

Well - - Jeanetta was strangely hankering for a childhood favorite - - candy cane ice cream without any expectation of evvveeerrr getting it here, when - - voila! - - hardlight loved ones showed up with the candy canes and the ice cream maker!! If that ain't a miracle!! So if candy cane ice cream can show up in the jungle, any wish can be granted - - caution. Of course we don't ever desire anything here.

To be sure, the next time you are here at Fire Mountain we will make your favorite - - bring your beloved flavor goodie - - we got the cream, we got the jungle, we got a shady garden in which to enjoy - - we got a handle for you to turn, we got the above pictured team to help..

Love in 108 flavors dewa and jeanetta

Don't Children Need Clean Water?

The village mayor pours the first example of community water into Sunil's hands and points out about twenty five little football shaped worms. Startled and astounded by this, my mind reeled with the possible health consequences of wormy water, what else was in the water, and how they could get clean water out of this. Without a doubt these people need effective water filters.

This area northwest of Ganeshpuri is dry, very dry. The earth is parched and cracked with the rectangular patterning of earth that has given up its last bit of moisture. We rode on Sunil’s motorcycle over 4 wheel drive roads and pathways from village to village, the thick layer of powdery earth pulverized by foot, bike, ox cart, and truck spewed out from the tires as we lurched over rocks and branches. Mud and stick, brick and clay tile roof/tin roof houses are scattered over large areas, making distribution of water and other supplies difficult.

The mayor explained to us, while taking cover from the sun under the roof of his front porch, that potable water is a problem during the hot dry months of the year when the wells become polluted with algae and other living organisms fostered by the sunlight, and it is a problem when the monsoon comes and the well s become filled with runoff and surface bacterial and organic contaminants. He explained that adults and children suffer from worms and other invasive organisms that cause stomach pains, diarrhea, physical, emotional, and mental sluggishness and related diseases.

Later we visited one of the three schools in the area, each with about 50 to 60 children. I noticed the lackluster and somewhat vacant expressions on many of their faces.

Having learned a bit about the depressing mental affects of biological invasions of parasites, I could understand what I saw and the need to get these children clean water.

The well at the school was broken. The lifting rod extending down the well was broken. It was a government well and apparently had not been fixed for some time. An estimate of about $30 was given as the cost to repair the well.





It later took us 10 minutes to walk to the well where the water was obtained for the school. So someone, probably the women, had to walk 20 minutes to fetch water, and the container they used was rather small, so that it must have taken many trips to fill the stainless steel water pot from which they all drank. I’m guessing it took more than 10 trips to fill the container.


The children were precious as all children are, and at the prompting of the teacher, they sang a little teaching song for us, and clapped their little hands in unison as they sang. They hadn’t the liveliness of really healthy children. I thought again of “parasite depression.”




We arrived at the village by the river after leaving the school and immediately the dry, dry river bed caught our attention. Remember how depressing dry river beds are? This one was no exception - - large enough to contain lots of rushing water, and not a drop in sight.





But wait - - looking further we noticed first a small pool of water created by digging down into the river bed.







The next noticeable element was the woman washing clothes by scrubbing and pounding water soaked clothes on a rock by the pond. Children were playing in and bathing in the water. The soap and dirt from the clothes oozed back into the water. A charming village sight in many ways and also a health hazard in the making. Inspection of the water itself showed clumps of biological mass floating in the water.

Just downstream, an uncomfortably short distance in terms of the pollution from the wash water pond filtrating into the drinking water, we were lead to the smaller dugout pond where the drinking water was collected. As we approached I heard the plop of at least a dozen some-things whose blurry outlines were disappearing down into the water as we approached the rim. A quick scan of the surface flotsam and the murkiness of the water lead to the following thought. I would get really thirsty and would walk the miles to town to get clean water before I would drink this water.

Reviewing in my mind, this experience of inspecting the water sources for this remote village area, actually not that far from Ganeshpuri, the first experience of the wiggling worms in the water is enough to mobilize a strong desire to help these people. Following the wormy well, visions of the vacant faces of the children at the school whose health is obviously affected by contaminated water, appear in my mind. How about walking 20 minutes, multiple times to carry water to the school because a repair of probably $30 can’t be completed.

Sri Nityananda Education Trust (SNET) can manufacture and distribute water filters that require no fuel, electricity, maintenance or supplies, and work for life times, for $25 each. We need approximately 120 filters to cover every family and school in this area. We look forward to finding those peoples of compassionate heart who will share their resources to provide bio sand water filters for the families of this neglected area.
This woman received her SNET bio sand water filter a year ago. You can tell that she is very happy with it. This is the overwhelming positive response that we hear when we return to survey the recipients' responses to having the filter. Read the recent blog discussing the latest survey: http://firemountainretreat.blogspot.com/2009/12/bio-sand-water-filters-are-improving_8605.html

Please help us to help these people in Lindy Village. Contact http://www.tmaseva.org/

The Dude-Wali: The Milk Lady

You would think her nose would be much longer, given she’s wearing that big heavy decorative ornament pierced through her nose. It’s about all you can see for the first few moments you meet her, followed quickly by the impact of her size and earthy grounded energies. I hope your mind has better controls than this one - - questions and visions arose first about eating. How can she get anything to past that thing? One look and it’s obvious she not starving, but what, cut things thin and kind of angle them in? Hold it up with one hand? Upside down eating? And, well, kissing? Would she or he lift the thing to advantage? Oh no, mercy, this mind imagined a rope tether through that thing- - oh stop this mind please. Just look at her, I don't think she is one of those tether to a tree women. Ok, mind under control, back to composure.













A milk cow matron should have some bovine qualities, and she does in spades. Cows, in India, have a relaxed ease and are often beautiful in their aura presence. She, we don’t know her name yet, has this massive, earthy and relaxed, creamy ease - - happy in her selfhood, and engaging with her easy smile. She's the cream on top.







Style-conscious? A milk lady style-conscious? Yes, she is - - each day wearing a beautiful sari combination of colorful flowing fabrics. But the ring thing in her nose really carries the day no matter what she wears. Ladies, check it out, - - it doesn’t matter about your hair or nails, or how you tip the scales - - the ring thing is all they’ll see. Shall I ask her where she got it and how much it costs, styles available and skin tone colors? I didn’t ask her about sizes. One size fits all, or can we super size for spectacular attraction and enforced weight loss? if you happen to be one of those out of control kisser, this device might just be "the ticket." We found out today from Swami Kamalakur that this huge style ring was common in the past as a special ornament for Maharashtra women. It is definitely attractive.


A short digression about our previous milkman who wore no ornament – just a smile to make Mona Lisa jealous and here’s why - - we read the smile wrong. He was discharged for watering down the milk and mixing buffalo milk with the more desirable cow’s milk to achieve monetary advantage. We thought he was an evolved and principled being, who fairly floated into our compound each day, with beautiful smile and lovely presence. We looked forward to our meeting each day, just to receive his cool-breeze darshan. Boy were we ever shocked to discover that he diluted the milk! Our perceived Milk Saint has feet of clay and swindling mind plastered over by the biggest smile. Sunil, not as naive as we newbies, discovered this by keeping a glass of milk on the shelf overnight to see how much water came to the top when the milk settled. Guess what?!! A lot - - almost half the glass. When confronted, he said - - oh no, never again - - ok, I won’t do that. Guess what? Again we caught him. Out the door and down the drain with that guy. We have found that it is pretty common for people to water down beverages or grains or whatever, with a filler to increase profits, and people actually expect it. Hmmm. The bottom line wins out over integrity again.

So, we asked our new lady from the very start if she diluted the milk, and of course she said “no.” We told her that we wanted the whole cow, not just half the cow. We have tested her. There is no water at the top in the morning, we got the whole cow. In addition, WOW is her milk divine. Creamy and balanced and wholesome, like her. We weren’t getting the real thing with the other guy. Never thought I’d be tasting milk like a fine wine - - savoring its nuances and rolling it around on my tongue - - eking out the variety of flavors and qualities present. Hmmm, apricot, lilac, overtones of bergamot, alfalfa and a long smooth green grass finish..... And the yogurt - - best just straight up with no kicker. Cows here are divine, you know, and it flows on through as udderly delicious.

We want to meet her cows and see her with them. The last guy, Mr. Smiley Face-Deceitful-Mind, when we went to meet him at his house, showed us his buffalo, and when we asked to see the cows he gestured “out there some where” with some Marathi Language we didn’t understand. From now on, “out there some where" ain’t good enough. We have to see “cow on the hoof.” From our experience so far with this very pleasant new milk lady, we expect a very nice family of cows with lots of social harmony and cowzie ease. But who knows - - as you can see, we are easily duped. We’ll take a peek and show you a slice of her home and cow life. Well, bottoms up - - as they say when drinking a great beverage. Things go better with Jungle Milk - - It’s the real thing.

31 Flavors Sadhu - - Genuine? Leading edge style setter?

There he was standing outside the gate at Fire Mountain Ashram with the big raspberry bag stretched between him and his little assistant. He looked a lot like a nomadic herdsman who had just raided a clothing store, and both curiosity and red flags flew up in this mind as we approached him. Our crew had called us to the gate and explained that he was on his way to Shirdi Sai Baba, and it was customary to give him some rice and perhaps a few treats to sustain him on his spiritual journey.




Well, Jeanetta, queen of helping the needy and everyone in general, jumped into the opportunity to help a “holy man” and quickly returned with some rice and goodies for his long trip. Don’t we love her generosity!



Upon offering the sustenance, the sadhu with amused smile and somewhat impatient air, stuck his hand in the raspberry bag and pulled out a fist full of rupee notes. Oh, I see - - its modern times and rice is just peanuts now to a new age sadhu. I didn’t get to see how much loot he had in the raspberry bag. I hope it was full and he either was off to really receive an enlightening darshan from Sai Baba in style or off to Goa to have a really good time. Darn it - - I forgot to get his email. Either way, he was a good show and you see Jeanetta giving him some rupees. You will want to remember big raspberry bags if the recession gets much worse. FYI: apparently rice is not “just peanuts” cause he accepted the rice and goodies after the rupee offering was “in the bag.”


Check out the eyes of the little guy - - abused, enslaved accomplice or returning tulku? Son of renunciate or what? Hmmmmm.




India has its many moments of wonder.....










Please check him out and let me know what you think. Should we bow and say "Namaste" or as they said on The Apprentice, "You’re fired"?

Scroll down and post a comment!!

APPROACHING MEDITATION DOME AND DYNAMIC ENERGY SCULPTURE
















GANESH GRACES THE DOME GARDEN WITH THE FRAGRANCE OF THE EXOTIC CHAMPA FLOWER FILLING THE AIR

















KAI, FERNANDO, MARK GRIFFIN, MARK BONNLANDER, LAUREN ENJOYING THEIR ARRIVAL AT FIRE MOUNTAIN















UP ON THE THIRD FLOOR TERRACE OVERLOOKING NIMBOLI WITH GURU FLAGS BLOWING IN WIND

Guru Arrives... Bliss Abounds

WEST APPRECIATES EAST

WEST APPRECIATES EAST IN NIMBOLI or GOD IN OVERLOOKED PLACES
Hey, I was raised western. In western culture, we are educated into our heads (Shiva – mental functions) and out of our bodies (Shakti – earth based, solid, time, embodied beings ). Not totally of course, but it has taken, for me, and i am assuming most westerners, a total immersion in a land and spirit based culture to appreciate the power, the immediacy, and the beauty of God-Dess worshiping in and as earth.
In India there is a daily presentation of people living in God-Dess (GD), praying to GD, supplicating benefits from GD, by means of bringing offerings of food, fruits, flowers, incense, milk, honey, and all manner of positive and delicious things to honor and invite GD’s favour and to give appreciation and recognition of GD’s value. Get this: in the west, we have become so abstracted and distanced from the flesh and blood and bones of God, that when viewing the sacred rites of Earthy GD worship, we can have thoughts of disdain with labelling like tribal or primitive, or unenlightened. But after immersion in and receiving the benefits of earthy density physical GD relating, it becomes clear that westerners (me) are missing out on a whole large spectrum of GD. For example ----
I sat in the Shiva Temple this morning, just there in the corner to the left after descending the few damp marble stairs that lead through the narrow opening to the small domed vault with the Shiva Lingam popping up out of the floor, all decked out with flowers and the customary copper drip pot of water anointing the lingam a drop at a time, a cobra head arched over the pot guarding and blessing the water. Blip blop blnk the drops hit and slide down this sacred projection of Shiva arising out of the ground after bravely, courageously diving into the depths of density to bring his seeds of knowledge and all-possibility to Shakti who, holding the power of manifestation and embodiment, not possessed by Shiva, delights in fleshing all possibilities into form. Shakti also enfleshes Shiva, who then arises as this physically birthed wisdom being (the lingam) now able on the earth level to kick ass take names and spread benefit to all. The lingam is wet and has the energetic coating of thousands and thousands of finger and forehead touches from devotees drawing the power and beneficence of their Lord Father- True Self. Each lingam has the authority of having been touched by countless thousands of people devoted to God in this form expressed by their foreheads touching the stone, their fingers pressed against the sides, some delicately just touching the top of the lingam, others bring flower garlands, they pour milk generously over the curved top, add honey for sweetness, it is kissed by babies help over the projection, etc etc. The old lady tending the Temple sweetly hands me a mat to sit on after i gesture in question, ok to sit here? I sit and open this consciousness and am delighted to be filled with a strong, pervasive, very full masculine power, relaxed like a lion is, knowing it’s strength is the greatest in the jungle. It’s a surprise, as it required no thought or invocation, just an opening to the presence held in the rock and water and flowers and incense of the place. Shiva as spirited matter - - how peaceful his power - - how secure if feel in his blessing
The feeling is so beneficial, that even though my mind wants to be fed with movement, any distraction, and a new set of stimuli to chew on , i remain seated, not wanting to leave this state of embodied powerful love. I shall remember and keep this presence alive in me and bless all i meet with this calmness born of all pervading power and wisdom.
I watch from the vantage point of non-attachment at the successive groups of people who enter to be with their God. I was told by a past teacher that god shows up however we imagine him to be. Give GD an image or a location and without delay she=he is there, because she=he is in here to start with.
Living in India puts me into direct contact with God-in-Flesh – everywhere the statues and temples and posters and clothing shows not only superficially, but contains to the core the presence and essence of GD.
Given an either-or choice of God in abstract rational enlightened thought and design vs God in form as statue and flowers and carving and body speaking mantra and fire ceremonies, and Brahmins chanting in concert, i would be put into a tilt position of stumbling to make a decision. Fortunately, it seems, i have “and” instead of just “or” available, and can have/be both. I will this afternoon enjoy placing a number of rocks on top of each other and calling it god and receiving the blessing of rock god, i shall place a mango before me and name it divine mother and eat this wondrous gift which feeds my body and soul. I shall have both east and west and the gratitude that is due such gifting. All shall be my GD

NEED FOR SEED

NEED FOR SEED
Hey Folks in the States who can so easily procure whatever you desire, please give us hand, or, uh, rather some seeds to grow with.
The situation in this part of india and perhaps most of India is that the local farmers have been led down a dysfunctional path which some of you may be aware of - - which is that the large seed and fertilizer companies and the banks have sold and loaned the farmers into insolvency and failure so that 46 farmers a day are committing suicide. Please read this article for further information about this travesty. And, what we notice here locally, is that there is now a very narrow range of food types available for purchase at the markets.
We would like to grow our own organic food for consumption at FM and also be able to help the indigenous peoples here return to true heritage seeds. When I recently asked a local what we could do for them, he said, get us good seeds. The practice has been, I am told for the large seeds companies sell the farmers on buying their hybrid “high yield” seeds, promising them riches, only find later after borrowing money from the bank, that they must buy the companies fertilizer and pesticides to make the plants produce, and the seeds of many of these hybrids and GMO plants are sterile and will not produce plants for the next wave of plantings, so the farmers must buy more. A bad year for crops can result in the farmer not being able to keep up with the bank payments and as a result he loses his land and his ability to feed his family and his respect, leading to many regrettable suicides.
Well, while we are not ready to reform the agricultural systems of India, we would like to supply ourselves¸ our workers, and the locals as it becomes possible, with healthy organic food and some simple practices which will provide more and better nourishment for us/them

GODDESS JUMPS OUT OF THE GROUND

GODDESS JUMPS OUT OF THE GROUND, WET GREEN AND VIRILE

The rains have come and the Goddess has jumped out of the ground with leaves and bushes and grass everywhere - - from dry and dusty to wet and unabashedly naked green everywhere. Suddenly the river is full again and there are rice paddies full of water promising the coming harvest of the staple of Asia. The night time, previously so quiet, is now a surround sound of chirping and throaty frog calls of various patterns and styles. Holes in the ground have appeared everywhere and we are told that the dormant frogs and crabs are coming out at night to feed and be captured by the local people who wander through the landscape, flashlights in hand, eager to catch a bunch. I could never get over a mental aversion to eating frog legs. Have you tried them? Like them? Rhoidas, our handyman and gardener says they are yummy, and crabs are the best. He and his friend bagged 200 crabs a couple of nights ago, so obviously they are here in numbers even though they are never seen during the dry periods. It continues to be rather shocking to look out and see the very intense green blanket of vegetation everywhere there was only dry grass stubble a few weeks ago.
TWO MONTHS LATER: The monsoon is essentially over now and the wetness of the ground is being baked out of the soil producing an exceedingly humid climate. The river is still high, but receding each day. Everywhere you look it is still green and lush, but the greenness is a little tattered around the edges and it is clear, the dry period will return within a month. Monsoon was so welcome. The green jungle growth and rice fields have been so enjoyable. Mount Mondagni has been swathed in a beautiful green sari of earth colors and most often she is cloaked with some misty clouds creating some mystery and intrigue. We counted 11 waterfalls coming off her flank in our view just the other day during a monsoon rain. A great variety of new natural wild edibles and non edibles have sprung up and we have learned a good deal about the vegetation here. Now we will attempt to keep our gardens alive and productive during the dry period using drip irrigation from our well and shade cloth to temper the sun overabundant gifts. Tune in later for more updates on acclimating to India.

AKKALKOT ADVENTURES

When we visited Akkalkot 4 weeks ago on our 4 day yagna to spiritual power spots, we knew this place was special, and now that we have been here for awhile it is very clear why. Please read on. Well Is it the amazingly effective ayurvedic cleansing and rejuvenation therapy that we are experiencing? – Or is it the daily rice-herb, herb- oil, or herbal wrap massage? Certainly a part of it is the lovely “doing seva for God” people who work here.

But undoubtedly the most powerful aspect of our fortuitous visit to Shivpuri just outside of Akkalkot is the power of Swami Samartha (people say he was Nityananda’s Guru,

the presence of Lord Parashuram (he spent his younger years living in and on and near Mount Mandagni),

and Shree Gajanan Maharaj who was instructed by Lord Parashuram to restore the Vedas and bring Angnihotra (healing the planet by offering oblations to the fire) to the world. These players have all passed beyond body form, and are very present here, especially at the Samadhi mandir and statue sites on the premises.

There are a lot of colourful stories on the internet about Lord Parashuram - - how he lived on Mount Mandagni, so close to our Fire Mountain retreat center, and how he escorted Goddess Vajeshwari to the location which is now the town of Vajeshwari. Then a bunch more stories of his travelling around india and being involved in many historical God happenings. His statues and pictures portray him as kind of the Arnold Schwarzenager of the God world ( oh I’ll add a picture so you can see). We are excited to visit the temple to Parashuram on the other side of Mandagni when we return to Nimboli and dig deeper into our connections with him around Nimboli. The presence and power of those mentioned so far is very palpable here, and we are enjoying being roasted in the Fire.

At Shivpuri , the ashram built by Shree Gajanan, “offering mantra and ghee-rice and other things to the fire” happens every day at Sunrise and Sunset. It is a simple and powerful ceremony, basically affirming a total surrender to God. This ashram is devoted to sending out agnihotra kits to people around the world and carrying on the work of Shree Gajanan and his Predecesors.

Wonderful soul Mohini (which means attracting) is demonstrating the Agnihotra technique to Jeanetta.

As a part of the Ashram there are multiple Samadhi mandir sites, temples, yagna sites, and the ayurvedic health clinic where we are effectively getting rejuvenated.
The kitchen staff is headed by these two gorgeous women who live in the ashram with their husbands.

So, we are half way through our 16 day Kaya Kalpa treatment program, kaya kalpa takes one beyond panachkarma cleansing and into rejuvenation, and we are very happy with the results. If we don’t actually look like “19 again” when we leave, we will probably feel like it. We experience new herbal magic every day, and the staff treats us exceedingly well. We would like to send someone here from Ganeshpuri to learn massage and the basics of ayurdevic treatment for our benefit and the benefit of visitors like you. This place is definitely not 5 star on the physical level but its up there on the spiritual level for sure. And having warm cows milk with magic herbs swathed across your forehead for an hour puts one into a whole new relationship with cows. They have their own cows here, and use the cow dung and ghee in the yagna ceremonies. It’s all very pure and non-western.

We like the results and plan to return yearly for a Kaya Kalpa Tune-up.

There’s a lot more to tell about the key players in the Asharama here, so blog-by for the next instalment. Will they achieve miraculous rejuvenation and health? 8 days left of magic will tell the tale. Your India adventurers Jeanetta (formerly Jeanette) and Dewa (formerly Dahvee) - - Names are changed not to protect the innocent, but to make correct pronunciation possible for Indian tongues.

Dewa spent his birthday here at Shivpuri and the staff presented him with a birthday cake and a special lunch. They even decorated the table with curly ques of chalk.

Our evening dinner server was a entertaining singer/dancer and taught us the Shiva-Parvati moves.