Rishikesh | gettingoutalive

Rishikesh circa 1968.

Undeveloped. A sleepy town of approximately 20,000 souls. Essentially a collection of isolated ashrams and small neighborhoods. It was primarily for dedicated Hindu pilgrims and ascetic monks (sadhus). Considered a sacred spiritual capital where meditation is believed to lead directly to Moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth), Rishikesh has served for centuries as an ideal environment for those who have renounced worldly life to focus on intense spiritual practice, penance, and the study of the ancient Hindu scriptures. There are laws against the possession of alcohol and meat products within the city limits to this day.

The Ganges River descends from the Himalayas and enters the plains at Rishikesh. The Holy Ganges is believed to originate from the hair of Lord Shiva, one of the three primary gods of Hinduism, as a lessening of the overwhelming destruction that would have befallen the people along its banks were it to be unleashed with no restraints. Its waters are clean there to this day.

In 1968 Rishikesh was still an ideal place for isolation and solitude. The surrounding forested hills and natural caves provided the deep quiet and stillness required for advanced meditation and sadhana – the conscious effort to refine one’s inner and outer self.

February, 1968, brought cataclysmic change to Rishikesh.

George Harrison’s wife, Pattie Boyd, had enthusiastically recommended Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s lecture at the Hilton in London on August 24, 1967. John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison attended (Ringo was admirably with his wife, Mauareen, who had just given birth to their son, Jason.) After the public lecture they had a 90-minute private audience with the Maharishi.

The Fabulous Four cancelled their recording sessions to travel with the Maharishi by train to a 10-day retreat in Bangor, North Wales. It wasn’t long before they made the pilgrimage to Rishikesh to the Maharishi’s ashram, The International Academy of Meditation (today known as The Beatles’ Ashram) – 84 beehive-shaped meditation huts. 84 holds spiritual significance, representing the 8.4 million species believed to exist in Hindu philosophy or the 84 classic yoga postures.

Between February 1968 when the Beatles first came to Rishikesh to study at the ashram until mid-June 1968 when they made a dramatic departure from the ashram, later claiming rumors regarding the Maharishi’s inappropriate behavior toward female students (including Mia Farrow), Rishikesh’s population exploded from 20,000 to approximately double that. By 2011 the population was estimated to be 70,000. Today there are almost 250,000 residents in Rishikesh.

Aside from the rumors of inappropriate behavior, sadly a common rumor attached to many gurus (Bikram Choudhury, Yogi Bharani, K Pattabhi Jois, Amir Desai, Kausthub Desikachar and Osho, to name just a few), there were significant differences in lifestyle. The Maharishi strongly opposed the use of drugs particularly hallucinogens like LSD. He was repeatedly angry with the Beatles’ violation of the ashram rules by using drugs.

At the time, the Beatles, or some of the Beatles, felt that the Maharishi was exploiting their name for financial gain. In later years, however, both George Harrison and Paul McCartney expressed doubt about that initial judgment. Harrison visited the Maharishi in 1993 to ask forgiveness.

It’s my personal belief that the Maharishi, rumored to have been brought up in a comfortable, high status family, was familiar with the possibilities improved finances could provide for the spreading of Transcendental Meditation worldwide as well as in Rishikesh. He was a bit of an enigma which opened him up to detractors and devoted followers. When he traveled to spread his philosophy and practices he spared no expense. Private helicopters, private airplanes, an expensive car and driver. In his daily life he saw material wealthy as irrelevant, wearing simple robes, keeping a strict vegetarian diet, and living in the ashram under the same conditions as his followers.

I’ve experienced two yoga gurus in Rishikesh – both young men; one a Sikh and one a Hindu. I began learning with each of them when they were more or less just beginning to teach. One was an excellent teacher and very devoted to Ayurvedic practices. The other (the Sikh) was quite sweet and, while my own yoga practice was on a higher level than his, I enjoyed his approach to life and the practice.

They both started out with the age old practice of Dana – there’s no set price for paying the teacher; one pays as she sees fit or can afford. As a Westerner, and a yoga teacher myself, I always paid well. But after a year or two each started charging a set price. The Sikh had started teaching Europeans, primarily Germans and Brits, online and was charging a pretty exorbitant price. The other guru charged a reasonable amount but preferred to teach 4 or 5 students at a time so that he could earn more. Reasonable but annoying as I no longer practiced yoga with him but my husband, who was a reluctant yogi, had started going every day and didn’t feel comfortable in a group.

The point being that there may be a cultural element involved in the world of remuneration when Westerners and Indians find themselves in new and unexplored waters. The Beatles and the Maharishi. Myself and my two yoga gurus.

While George Harrison remained the most dedicated to Indian spirituality and meditation, Paul McCartney and John Lennon both continued to practice Transcendental Mediation after their split from the Maharishi. Though other than Harrison’s trip to Rishikesh to ask forgiveness they did not spend more time in India, McCartney met up with the Maharishi again in Holland in 2008. John Lennon, the most angered and disillusioned, (writing “Sexy Sadie” about the Maharishi) summarized his feelings in The Beatles Anthology saying “We believe in meditation, but not the Maharishi.”

Fair enough.

The world of Eastern philosophy and the meditative way of life is not our Western philosophy or way of life. It has much to offer. My 30 years of study has certainly changed my life – and only for the better. Entry into that world should be done with care and understanding. There are adjustments to be made for it to be compatible with our lives. There are many young people, and not-so-young people, who have lost themselves and become mostly confused as a result of dabbling, or following the wrong teacher, too deeply and too far.

The town of Rishikesh has suffered from the reverse process; the uncontrolled, reckless entry of Western philosophy and way of life.

Noisy, crowded, commercial, chaotic, only the beauty of the mighty Ganges and the sweetness of the native population continue to save it from totally losing itself in confusion.

Walking down the street, both sides are filled with shops. Honking horns of motorcycles and jeeps carrying rafts keep pedestrians jumping out of the way. Many shopkeepers try to take advantage of language differences. Their currency- rupees – is not strong and often they want to make what amounts to an additional dollar, and, really, who can blame them, and, for most of us, who cares? But just this week I had a shop owner try to charge more than double the international price of gold.

That didn’t used to happen. It’s still an anomaly but not a good sign.

And, yet, as I write I can hear the evening Puja ceremony across the river and look out on the Ganges and anticipate a pleasant, perhaps familiar, server at one of our favorite restaurants. It will cost the equivalent of $3 or $4 and be delicious. I know that I’ll sit on the ghat tomorrow and watch the Ganges flowing past me and spend a pleasant two or three hours just being in the serenity that is still Rishikesh off the beaten path.

Rishikesh is still a place where one can…just be.

Namaste

My partner and I spent 10 days in Rishikesh in 2016 and 3 weeks there so far on our current trip. We’ve decided to go back for another 10 days in April. We ran into many people there who told us they’ve been coming to Rishikesh every winter for the past 6 years, or 10 years or an incredible 20 years. One young person we spoke with last night (in Delhi) said he was there a month ago and finds that something about it is pulling him back.

So what is it about Rishikesh?

Rishikesh is a small city of a little over 100,000 people. It sits on both banks of The Ganges with two lovely suspension bridges spanning the river.

On one bridge, Ram Jhula, a few cows and monkeys maneuver between the foot traffic, motorcycles, carts, and bicycles. Things get busy on Ram by 9:30 am and don’t let up until twelve hours later, when the cacophony of horns and bicycle bells finally stops.

On the other, Laxman Jhula, they’ve recently installed barriers so there are no motorcycles or bicycles, but the monkeys there are far more numerous and aggressive (I was bitten by a monkey there in 2016).

The small streets and alleyways are full of signs enticing people to take classes of all kinds – 200, 300, and 500 hour yoga certification courses, meditation classes, Hindi classes, music lessons of all kinds (harmonium, chanting, tabla, sitar to name a few), Ayurvedic massage and therapy classes – all for very low prices.

Some signs are in Hebrew, and many local people can speak a little Hebrew – a sign of how many Israelis visit and how much we make our presence felt wherever we are (for good and for bad – but mostly for good). In general, the average Indian is a big supporter of Israel, and especially of Bibi Netanyahu, expressing admiration for our strength in the face of great adversity. They enjoy the Israeli bonhomie and exuberance, responding to Israeli travelers’ warmth with readily extended friendship.

We’ve met with kindness, extraordinary customer service, warmth, and beauty all over India. We’ve been awed by the colors, the noise, the crowds of the huge cities and the striking isolation of much of the beaches, jungles, and countryside. And, still, Rishikesh inspires an attachment that’s different.

Maybe it’s The Ganges. Considered holy, originating from the matted hair of the Hindu god, Shiva, The Ganges starts in the western Himalayas, emptying finally into the Bay of Bengal. It becomes continually more polluted as it flows south and east. In Rishikesh it’s relatively clean. It also manages to be majestic and serene at the same time.

Half an hour before sunset, students and teachers from ashrams and schools congregate in their respective uniforms to sit by the river to prepare for the Puja ceremony. They chant to the music of the harmonium and the dholak drum. The ceremony culminates in fires being lit in small baskets of flowers, which are then put in the water to float downstream. As a Hindu ritual of reverence to the mother river, it is very removed from my own religion and culture. Yet the sound of the music and the sight of the small fires floating on the water are beautiful and moving. The respect for and love of the divine and nature found in India is close to my heart regardless of the different directions and beliefs that take us there.

Rishikesh is probably known best as the yoga center of India. Yoga practitioners from all over the world come to practice with Rishikesh yogis. Many of them come to take certification courses of varying lengths. From late February to mid-May it’s common to see people of all ages, speaking many different languages, walking through the streets of Rishikesh with a yoga mat slung over a shoulder.

The city is equally well-known as a spiritual center, hosting gurus such as Moojii for annual month-long retreats. Preparations begin several weeks in advance and in addition to meditation and satsang sessions for registered retreatants, a daily public talk with a Q&A session is open to all.

Orange is the color of Rishikesh. It is a sacred color in Hinduism, representing fire and the burning away of impurities. It’s the color worn by holy men…and many tourists. It brightens the atmosphere and, though thought garish in Western countries, is the norm in Rishikesh, just as the sound of bells – on anklets, cow collars and bags – is commonplace and cheery.

The Ganges, the chanting and music in the air, yoga, meditation, classes, cheery colors and sounds, cows and monkeys and dogs living in harmony with Sadus, spiritual seekers, tourists, shopkeepers and teachers. It’s all part of the magic of Rishikesh. But ultimately I really don’t know what it is about Rishikesh that imbues so many of us with peacefulness and calm smiles and burrows deep into our hearts.