Guruji, Sharath and His Holiness!

As if it just couldn’t get any better! Here I am practicing at Guruji’s home and shala, the birthplace of Ashtanga here in Mysore. I’m eating my breakfast with Mags and I hear, “So are you going to see the Dalai Lama?” I’m like holy crap, what! They say, “yeah, he is coming to Mysore tomorrow morning (the 18th) and then to Bylakuppe, the Tibetan Refugee Settlement, for 2 weeks.” I’m blown away!

Saturday is no yoga practice as always, Monday is a holiday, Maha Shivaratri, and Tuesday is a moon day. What better days then to have a driver take us 85 km to Bylakuppe. Since it is a Tibetan Refuge Settlement, you can not stay there without a permit. These permits take about 4 months to get, so we will go up for the day and hopefully see His Holiness. I was fortunate to see him in Seattle last year, so this is truly a blessing to be graced with his being again this year. We’ll go straight to the Golden Temple.

Sunday afternoons Sharath holds what is called “conference” at the shala. Everyone gathers and Sharath talks about anything about yoga or the practice. These usually last about 15 minutes. Sharath started and then the family came in and started talking in their language. Sharath called the end of the conference right then and said Guruji was not well and they had to take him to the emergency room. He is 94 and is very thin, he can barely eat anything and they have him on medications. He’s there now in the intensive care unit. I hear he is in good spirits, but it is so sad. He is a such a great man and a great guru. I have always had this thing with my life where I am in the right place at that right time. I don’t want that to be true on this venture here in Mysore.

We are settled into our new place. We have a great room and the the whole downstairs of a house to ourselves. There are 2 other bedrooms for rent on this level, but no one is here. That has given us the full run of the downstairs, with a living room, a kitchen and a tub. Yes a tub to ourselves! Our bed is a great 4 poster bed with a mosquito net, so we have been sleeping like babies. I have decided not to actually run a bath since Mags occasionally likes to sip her bath water. There is a nice shower head over the middle of the tub, so showers it is for now.

My practice is going well. Our babysitter didn’t understand me when I said we moved, so I had to miss 2 days of practice, till I could catch up with her and the translator to let her know we were in our new place. All is good and we are back on track. My sanskrit class is going smoother and I am actually writing some words now. I have to use a cheat sheet, but I feel a bit more confident.

Manju, the tailor, gave me one of the dresses he made for me. He did a great job and I am super excited to see the pants with the embroidery. I said I want the clothes to represent “color and happy.” I definitely got that and am very happy! He is also making pants for Ray. We’ll see how they turn out as Ray swears he is a 34 length, but Manju says it’s not possible at his height. I said 36 max, so Ray may have to roll them up a bit, but Manju would not budge on making them 34. He even had a few of the guys stop and he took his tape measure out to prove that Ray is longer than a 34. I smiled and gave up.

Mags lost her playmate from Nepal, Sharmilia. Her mom is due in 2 weeks with their 2nd child, but she was so homesick and driving her husband crazy to go home, so they left. They were completely poor and actually starving there, Sharmilia weighed half her weight that she is now. But her mom wouldn’t have it, so they left last nite for Nepal. They have to take 2 trains, a bus and walk for 2 days to get back to their village. It is so sad, and I know she will probably have the baby on this journey. I am wishing Sharmilia and her family good wishes.

We’re still feeding the dogs around town. I keep looking for the momma dog, but I am pretty sure they must have poisoned her too with her puppies. Our spay/nueter for the dogs begins first of March.

This week we are going to venture a bit and go to the Mysore Palace and a few of the temples. Time to explore more of Mysore than the coconut stand, the shala, restaurants and pool.

I am missing Ray very much and wishing he would come out here. He is the middle of the kitchen and the basement remodel so I don’t think we’ll be seeing him.  We skype with him almost every morning our time, so that is helpful. He even gets to see a mini Maggie tantrum once in a while. I guess when he gets really sad for us, I can just skype him when Mags is melting down, so he can be thankful for the quietness he has right now.