Day 1 Inaguaration

July 5, 2009

Today we had a very relaxed schedule with the option to attend asana class – I opted out of the 6:00am and 8:00am class. I figured I wanted to get well rested. What did however get me out of bed was that one of only two meals is served at 10:00am.

We got a tour of the ashram facilities and some of the temples by Swami Ambika Saraswati – a tiny elderly, white, British woman in her 60’s likely, who looked more like a boy in her baggy orange clad – elastic pants and t-shirt – and short hair. She has the funniest sense of humor and exudes sincerity when she speaks.

I attended my first yoga class today. It was held outdoors in the middle of the ashram. It was really nice feeling the sun tingling my skin cells, though many of us also got sunburned from resting in sivasana with the sun on us. More than anything I attended the optional class to do a little damage check – I definitely wasn’t at peak performance, but was able to get through the class with dignity, although, I have to say the hour and a half class felt like the longest class I’ve ever attended.

At night we had our official inaguaration ceremony. It was quite nice actually. Each one of us were called to the front of the auditorium/satsang hall and were handed our uniforms and TTC manual – aka our Bible - for the course by Swamiji’s who blessed our upcoming study with tilaks of ash, sandalwood and kum kum. The class is HUGE. There are over 80 of us in the TTC alone. It is a bit overwhelming, but seemed more manageable after each one of us introduced ourselves in front of the entire class. There are some great stories here – someone who’s husband promised them he would allow her to attend a TTC on their wedding day 20 years ago; a former policeman who combat depression after two tragic murder and hostage incidences that left his partners killed; and a man who is suffering from polio that was able to stave off death through yoga. These people are here with a mission and a vision.

I’m taking my time to get adjusted here, and I will definitely need the time. This place feels very strange to me in a Hare Rama Hare Krishna kind of way. There are only three Indians in my TTC class and two Indian instructors. All these white people are named after hindu gods and goddesses and sing bajans like their lives depend on it. It’s a bit creepy and weird, but I’ve caught myself analyzing the experience through this lens and stopped.

The other thing I caught myself doing is comparing things here with what I had experienced in Uttarkashi. I feel the main difference around the food. In Uttarkashi, we sat on the ground and ate in silence with our hands. Here people are chit-chatting away, eating with utensils on picnic tables. Before the food is served, we all hold hands around the room and sing Hare Rama Hare Krishna. Once again, I caught myself judging the ashram and my experience stopped myself. This was a new experience and I wanted to take it in with an open mind and an open heart.