11 days ago, early morning of December 22nd, I landed in Bengaluru, India. I had tried a few times to put down my impressions of the journey, but unlike other years, it didn’t work out well this time. It was a time when Mercury was going retrograde and there were various digital and physical obstacles to be overcome – read more below…
On arrival at Bengaluru airport, I met already Mark, my friend coming from Seattle, USA, via Frankfurt, and me, via Abu Dhabi. He just passed by on the other side of the immigration desk where I was standing: “Hey Mark”, I called him through the hall. An incredible coincidence at around 4 am.
A little later, we were sitting in the taxi with Raveen, the driver who accompanied us the following days – to Sadguru Tapovana, the center of WTT-Bangalore, to Master Mountain in the Nilagiris, back to Tapovana, and on Dec. 30, back to the airport.
On 22 Dec. afternoon, we had a long exchange with Sri Joshi, the head of the Tapovana group. I had asked him to tell us about how Tapovana developed over the last decades – and Mark kept his GoPro camera recording. We thought of doing a little video report. So, Sri Joshi went with us through the rooms of his house and showed us where Master Kumar used to live. Later, after the evening prayer, he took us on a walk through the streets in the neighborhood, and we attentively listened to what he shared with us.
Next morning after breakfast, we started on the tour to Master Mountain, the WTT center at Kodanadu in the Nilagiris. We arrived in the late afternoon already. Two Spanish friends – Marta and Fernando – and Shreya, a young lady from the US of Indian family origin, were there already, having participated in the winter solstice celebration of WTT Bangalore group.
We had beautiful time together, meditating exchanging, contemplating nature. Here is a fragment of my notes from the days in the Nilagiris:
“There is sunshine outside lighting the beautiful relief of the Master Mountain in the Nilagiris, the Blue Mountains of South India. It is full moon today – and as per the lunar calendar in use here, it is Sagittarius full moon, celebrated as the birthday of Lord Dattatreya, while as per the solar calendar, it is Capricorn full moon. It is 6 days ago now, that I had started from Switzerland, and this morning, I had written a little report about the events of the last days until some computer conflict with internet interruption made the text disappear into “digital nirvana” – difficulties are still continuing. My friend Mark from Seattle, with whom I am traveling and a good astrologer, mentioned that we are in times of Mercury retrograde and therefore difficulties with communication issues.
There is a great silence in the ambiance and a soft golden light now. Yesterday and part of the day before, a strong storm was raging and we were surrounded by clouds – time to go inside. ….”
On Tuesday 26th morning, after a little fire ritual, the 3 friends returned already to Tapovana, while Mark and me stayed for one more day in the mountain. Raveen, the driver, returned from Bangalore in the night and brought us then back the next morning – for him, long rides up and down the mountains…
27 Dec. in the morning, there was a breathtaking sunrise over Master Mountain – from darkness to light, through many shades of blue and fire. Filled with these overwhelming impressions, we started the journey back.
Later, the return journey started. After some kilometers, the taxi driver made short stop at a temple of the Todas, a native people living in the Nilagiris.
