Each year when I go to India I order books of the WTT to replenish what has been going out during the previous year with the free book distribution. This year I am traveling along and two days ago the balance of a friend showed that the weight of my exceeded by far the luggage limits.

I listened inside what to do and then informed yesterday morning the group about it. I said, whosoever wants to help taking books and bringing / giving them for May Call in Switzerland in May could come to my room, even if if it is just for one or 2 books. Although all also had full suitcases, many came and took a few books. Now many of the books are traveling different ways and my luggage is again well within the limits… And I feel thankful about this experience.

The theme of the seminar was The Pythagorean Decad – the Cosmic Person in relation to us as the microcosm – I didn’t mention it in the blog, might be too specific of most readers… This morning I had to think of a paper artwork I did autumn 1990. It was about the manifestation of the cosmic person and the macro-micorcosm relation. The work was done with transparent paper glued on the glass of a door and I dissolved it when we left that apartment in April 1992. It shows how from the One the Three come out, then the 5 and man, the microcosm, surrounded by the 5 elements. You can see it as a little visual summary of the seminar. I haven’t published it elsewhere up to now – it’s a primer

So like the first post on my journey to India started with a painting this last post also concludes with a little work of art. I’ll depart this afternoon and might visit a friend during the stop in Hyderabad.

The silent energy of his presence filled the whole room when he entered, and it was very beautiful to witness the two masters together.

I couldn’t follow typing the words he was saying, I just noted a few sentences I give here as a short extract:

“The Jagad Guru (World Tacher) has so many forms, yet one guru, one God, one form. The worship is to every form. We don’t know where we go, from where we have come. But man is not his body, man is not his mind. Jivatman is in the body. Together we are here for a while. We meet in truth. God has to be experienced. Is it my experience? No, we are with God. He is in air, water, earth, fire, ether. Each one of us we should be conscious that we are beyond the body. I have passed through many births and lives. The light shows you the path, that is the Guru. There is no language, no classification. His silence is , he is our father, protector. That is behind, the Sat Guru. Mind is talking too much. Mental silence makes you get out of the noise. Silence is there, we call it pranava, OM. God is not man-made. Think of one Guru in many gurus, one God in many forms. What is not truth is not the light.”

Sri Kumar honouring Sivananda Murthi Garu with a shawl and touching his feet

The Master of Bhimili, Sivananda Murthi Garu

We immediately afterwards left for another beautiful concert with Dr. Balamurali Krishna and his musicians, it was very impressive. Again Sri Kumar led a short meditation before the concert and afterwards honoured the musicians.

This morning Sri Kumar told us some interesting points about what he had said yesterday to the musicians and the public, for all was in Telugu. Again my notes are not complete and might contain mistakes:

“Balamurali was asked to sing some things from the book, but it was not good. That he did 50 years ago. Now he is in a kind of creativity, he is so far away into creativity, you can’t make him do things which are so much back. I spoke to the public, you should learn of such persons to be creative. It is only non-creative minds that go by structures. By 7 years he knew the musical system. He did not learn music in this life, he came back to give music. He is different from those who learn and accomplish. He has accomplished in previous lives and has come back. I also said, he is chosen by music, he did not chose. I also said, there are people who chose wisdom and try to follow, there are some others whom wisdom chooses. He belongs to the second category, not the first. Some people are born, even by birth they have not to learn, they cannot be compared with others.

He once was given 10 minutes time to sing in French (before members of the French government), he went back, looked to the language and music, came back and sung to the astonishment of all. This would be impossible for a normal mind. He was always very humorous, even yesterday. He said, there is a beautiful young lady by my side, I cannot sing. He is a very humorous person, very simple. He always says, I don’t know music, music knows me.

He comes from Andhra Pradesh, he has been given 14 doctorates all over the world, doctorate of letters. It is an honour. Outside India he has many awards, but not here. I said yesterday that no prophet is ever recognised in his native land. Yesterday I spoke of him, he told me he felt happy about what I said. He wants to come to my bureau now at 10 o’clock, so I wait for his phone call.
Our honouring him is nothing for him, it is honouring ourselves. He is above such things.”

The occasion for the article was the close of a long legal fight, a drama over the legacy of the Tataguni estate owned by Roerich’s wife, the late actress Devaki Rani, niece of Rabindranath Tagore. The litigation had started right after Roerichs death and only now came to and end with a decision of the Indian Supreme Court entrusting the State government with the responsibility of maintaining the estate, which contains numerous paintings by Nicholas ans Svetoslav Roerich. However, the paintings have suffered fungal infestation with many of them flaking. Experts are now chemically treating each of these affected paintings, a process that might take over a year.

I was happy to hear about this news, for I love Nicholas Roerich’s paintings very much and have blogged about him already at several occasions. There is a website of the Roerich and Devika Rani Roerich Estate Board, which gives paintings of Svetoslav and Nicholas Roerich – though it hasn’t been updated for years.

I had to think of Nicholas Roerich yesterday evening when two items were distributed to the group which members from the Littoral Group, Santa Fe, Argentina, had brought: A red sign of the Agni Yoga society founded by Roerich and his wife, with the 3 red dots in a circle, and a photo from the highest mountain of the Andes, the Aconcagua, shining in blue like Roerich’s paintings and saying – From the South of the South,with love – thank you Marta!

Newspaper clippings from the Deccan Herald

It was a very special encounter. In spite of his high age – nearly 82 – he is full of vital energy and joy. One of his disciples explained a bit about him, he then gave us a short taste of his beautiful dynamic voice.

Sri Kumar presented him to us as the most respected Indian musician of today. We were invited to ask him questions about music, and there was the question about how a traditional musician can be creative, being traditional. He said that like the day is always following the tradition of morning, noon, evening and night and there is all life being expressed in it. Sri Kumar added that life, being original, is always “apurva”, never before, always fresh and new.

We were invited to listen to a concert by Dr. Balamurali Krishna – the first of 3 days of concert in a big hall. Before we had our thanksgiving meeting in the afternoon at the end of an outstanding and fascinating seminar. The group expressed their thanks also in a traditional Indian, but ever new way by presenting clothes to Sri Kumar, Kumari Garu and the Indian members who had done a great job to make our stay so well.

Dorle, who did the German translation, saying some words of thanks – Julieta, who translated into Spanish, followed next.

At 5.15 pm we left with the busses – I was in a real “old-style” Indian bus, with a coconut-offering in the front of the bus and a motor roaring like an old ship engine.

In the bus some ladies were decorating their hair with flower garlands….

And then the ride through the evening traffic began. I enjoyed observing the traffic jam, but wouldn’t have dared to drive myself.

At one crossroad at the red lights I observed the meeting of old and modern India – a lady phoning and a saddhu sitting under a tree in mids of the traffic noise.

Finally arriving at the hall I was lucky to get a seat in the second row – but in the cold wind of air condition – brrr. Nevertheless, I said to myself, observing the huge hall filling, I think, with about 1500 persons.

At first Sri Kumar conducted a short evening meditation. Then Dr. Balamurali Krishna and the musicians were given a warm welcome and the concert began.

The singer was presented with the words that in his early childhood he was celebrated as a child prodigy and that now he is an ageless prodigy – and this he really is. I very much enjoyed observing him on the screen, where you could see his face bubbling with joy, while his voice produced sounds of an incredible lightness and variety, and the musicians adding to the splendour.They were playing raga compositions he had done himself. There was a flute player without, whose whistling was a real art, sounding like a piccolo flute. And a mouth-harp player creating sounds like an electronic percussion. The vina player and the two percussionists also were very impressive.

I liked one story told about the musician: In 1975 or so he gave a concert in Kerala. Suddenly while performing in the open air a little girl came onto the stage and sat on his lap. He immediately started to compose a song about this encounter – which he was singing to us. After the song was over, the girl stood up and disappeared into the crowd. Nobody knew who she was and she couldn’t be found again.

This morning, Thursday, we first had a fire ritual, later followed by a question-answer series, before at 11 o’clock 2 of the musicians came into our retreat centre – the whistler and the mouth-harp player (an Indian friend wrote to me that it is called morsing). Together with a young Indian brother who is a well-known percussionist, they explained to us their art and gave us a beautiful short concert in the lecture hall. In the evening we will go to the second recital  -  while already a number of group members are leaving. I’ll be departing tomorrow afternoon.

Playing flute without a flute

Crossing the Godavari river bridge at Rajahmundry on the way back in the evening

We arrived past 10 – a quick jump into bed and up again early next morning. This morning, Tuesday, we had the final lecture by Sri Kumar followed by a first question-answer session. Again very intense – and though the look into the calendar says that the end is quickly approaching, I can’t “believe” it, the time is running so fast.

In the afternoon the busses brought us to the Daspalla hotel for a conference organised by the WTT and the Circle of Good Will India. Besides our group and members of WTT India there were a number of guest like the mayor of Visakhapatnam, the head of police and of another department the name I have forgotten. And quite some media people taking photos of the speakers and us. An Indian brother had told us before that normally they don’t invite the media, but they wanted to inform the public that the work the WTT is doing is beyond being a “Homoeo dispensary organisation” as they are perceived in the public.

First we had our evening meditation, then the conference started. The theme of the talks was Spiritual Fusion of East and West. Sri Kumar gave the introductory note. I liked very much how he spoke about the foundation of the World Teacher Trust by the establishment of Spiritual Hierarchy at the transition from Dwapara to Kali Yuga, the dark age in which we are living now. Some extracts from my notes, not literally:

“The World Teacher means Jagad Guru. We worship him in every person as the 2nd Logos or Vishnu who presides over the creation and who establishes and protects the law and order. The divine energy functions and expresses through the outstanding persons who contribute to the well-being of society serving the fellow beings and helping them to uplift society… The World Teacher is a principle available to those who seek from the Divine the ability to serve society better… The key is not to seek for you but for others. Many politicians were guided by Lord Maitreya and the invisible government.

He explained how Maitreya was a disciple of Parasara and how Krishna installed him at the time of his passing as the world teacher for this dark age, how he had learned before to live in several bodies at a time and continue living. This is mentioned at several places in the Puranas, but the Indians in general haven’t realised the role and importance of Lord Maitreya and the group of Masters he formed for this work, they have focused more on worshipping Krishna than on understanding the work Maitreya does. He is the teacher for the entire humanity and not the east or west. It is an all-inclusive path and not a path of sectarianism or exclusion. Each one can relate to him, the one cosmic energy, through prayer and meditation. “I could meet many truth seekers that seek the truth beyond religion. There is not religion higher than Truth”, as theosophy says.

Afterwards there were talks by 6 members of the group from the 6 countries present at the group living, speaking about their experience with the teachings in their lives. And then the two guests of honour. It was impressive to observe the different characters expressing.

Afterwards an excellent dinner was served – and I had to pay attention to my diet…

The group before the start of the conference

After dinner talks

Where are we, we asked ourselves. What kind of a temple is it? We got nice big rooms, took a shower, then went with the busses to the temple compound.

At the beginning of the compound we left the busses. We saw a huge statue which we didn’t know. Later I heard it is representing Annamacharya, a singer-initiated who lived about 500 years ago and inspires many people even today.

We entered the temple through a huge gate and went around the inner temple.

The name of the temple is Dwaraka Tirumala, but I still had no idea what it was all about. We could read nothing, only Telugu letters. I followed closely Sri Kumar and Kumari and had the good luck to go with him into the innermost part of the temple. Two Vedic priest conducted a ritual and Sri Kumar was being honoured. We received flowers and sweets, then we went to a little side-shrine in the inner, where a mother goddess was standing, and then to another little shrine with another mother goddess. Some meters away Sri Kumar sat on the floor. There was a carpet and I sat there directly in front.

Then the Vedic priests came, offered him a seat, decorated him with a pink shawl and started reciting. Different priest sang in different modes.

Then they showered rice over him and also spread rice over us. We received a laddu, an Indian sweet. Then Sri Kumar started to talk, explaining what we had been witnessing, but not understanding

He said that in India, there are 4 most energetic spots, and we are at one of them. One is in the north, one in the south, one in the east, and this one is in the west. 5.500 years ago, after the departure of Lord Krishna, a sage went from Dwaraka, where Lord Krishna lived at the east coast of India, to this area to meditate. After intense worship he realised in himself the cosmic person in his upper 4 centres, the sahasrara, the ajna, the heart and the solar plexus centre – and as a sign of his realisation there was a stone statue of the Lord manifesting from out of the earth, but also only part of the four upper centres. After his realisation he went away from this place, not telling anyone of the place. But a king in the area had a dream where he saw all that had happened. He ordered his soldiers to seek everywhere in this forest area to find the manifested statue, and he explained where he had seen it in his dream. They found it after 4 days of search and were thrilled. The king had another dream where the Lord told him to construct a temple there. Since the feet are worshipped as the expression of the divine, but there were no feet at this statue, they made a stone statue of the same kind as the manifested statue and put it behind the smaller statue. The one of the forms of the Divine Mother represents Bhur-Devi, the gross matter, the other Sri Devi, the subtle nature. This is what we had seen in the innermost of the temple, but not understood.

Sri Kumar continued saying that the priests are continuously magnetising the place by singing mantrams and hymns, and we had listened to short extracts of the four vedas. There are many marriages conducted at this place, often 100 a day, and they are said to be very stable. The Lord worshipped at this place is Lord Venkateshvara, like in Tirupati, and it has the same energy as the place of the Lord of the 7 Hills. The head of the temple had organised the hounouring of Sri Kumar and gave him 2 new DVDs about the temple and everybody received a little commemorative shield with an image of the Lord in the two forms.

We were all very touched by the holy vibrations of the place and the auspicious ritual we participated in. Tomorrow morning we will be again at the temple for morning meditation.

After breakfast we started a little barefooted tour to see two temples in the surroundings. The first was a huge temple of the Hare Krishna-movement. Of course there was again “photography prohibited”, but I remembered well that Krishna didn’t obey to what his step-mother wanted him to do nor did he follow imposed rules – so I prefered to follow him and tooks some nice pics.

There is a bridge-walk around the temple with 10 little shrines with statues of the 10 avatars.

Inside the temple.

There were a black statue of Krishna and a white one of Radha as well as three figures of Krishna, his brother Balarama and his sister Subhadra. Whereas Krishna (meaning black) stands for the background of creation, Balarama symbolises time and Subhadra the existence protected by the two others, as Navanetam explained.

Some people of the temple then started explaining about the Iskon-Society, the Hare-Krishna movement and distributed a booklet about their mission, which I discretely put back on a chair and went down to take some pics of the beautiful lotuses in a little pond.

We went through a little park with statues of avataras of Vishnu, had a look into the devotional objects store and then continued to the next temple. It was very different – grey colours with black and grey ornaments – a temple of Lord Subramanyam, a son of Lord Shiva representing Mars. There was a huge copper pillar in front of the temple, the metal of Mars.

In a side-shrine there was a black Ganesha and in the main shrine there was a statue of Subramanyam all in gold and silver. Navaneetam said they used several kilos of gold and silver, symbolising the solar and lunar energies, to manifest a powerful energy for the statue. I loved the sober, focused energy, which had nothing emotional. There was a fire place and they were giving us some vibhuti – holy ash – as a blessing.

The priest conducting a little ritual with camphor

A triangular mirror reflecting the shrine

The group sitting in front of the shrine

There was a beautiful view from the terrace of the temple over the Godavari river over to the long bridge of Rajahmundry.

We then returned to the WTT centre for breakfast and a little pause. At 3.30 pm we will leave the centre to spend the night at a temple 2.5 hs away from here.

The WTT building in Rajahmundry

Looking out of the bus – the poster of our group living

Navaneetam, Uma and Ravishankar, our Indian friends

At 3 pm our three busses started for the 5 hs trip. We had a joyous time in the bus, with some rhythmic music giving the soundtrack to the “cinema” outside – street scenes with little shops, families squashed into Tucktucks or on scooters, colourful trucks with a lot of smoke. And here and there a little pause. A superb sunset between two hills. while we were having a coffee break.

Sri Kumar and Kumari joined us for the coffee break

Sunset on the highway

At about 9 o’clock we arrived at the building of the WTT in Rajahmundry. It was my 3rd visit – at the first one in 2008 the 4 storey house was still under construction. Now they have completed everything, with a huge dining hall at the ground floor, a a prayer hall of the same size at the first floor, and another big hall, where we passed our night on mattresses.
A warm welcome at the centre

Serving the dinner

At dinner table

Morning meditation

A picture of Rishi Agastya / Master Jupiter on the altar

A big statue of Master CVV on the top of the building

Sunrise

Sunday morning after meditation, while the others were preparing for the bath in the river, I went up to the roof of the house where there is a big statue of Master CVV – and from behind the morning sun started unfolding its glory. Aquarius new moon day or, according to the lunar calendar they use here, Capricorn new moon.

We went to the Ghats, the place at the Godavari River where the pilgrims take their bath. The whole area is full of temples of different movements. We put off our clothes, and then entered into the warm river. An incredible atmosphere. I swam out into the large river and at some place where I could stand, I started greeting the sun singing the Gayatri mantram, the song to the inner sun behind the physical sun. Others joined and so we stood there for a while in the river, absorbed in the beauty of the ambiance. – no pics while swimming

At Rajahmundry there are big pilgrimage gatherings. Whereas in Varanasi/Benares there is a big Kumbha Mela each time Jupiter passes through Aquarius every 12 years, here there is a Kumbha Mela each time when Jupiter passes through Leo.

After the bath we returned to the centre for breakfast.

In front of the school there is a little Ganesha temple and in front of Ganesha there is his vehicle, the rat. Ganesha symbolises cosmic wisdom, the rat clever intelligence. So when wisdom mounts on intelligence, it becomes practical. So going around the Ganesha shrine and ringing the bell means activating these qualities, especially the one of sound, which Ganesha, who is the cosmic Jupiter, rules over.

The rat looking at Ganesha, ready for a ride

In front of the school rows of students greeted us with Namaskarams. We got some petals to put in front of a picture of Master EK in the entrance area.

Since the last time I had been there 1 or 2 years ago the school had been repainted and was very neat and clean. It is lying at the outskirts of the city, in front of a mountain, so it is very beautifully located close to nature.

In the spacious inner court there were rows of chairs waiting for us.

Sri Kumar and Kumari greeting the students looking down from the different floors.

At the open side of the court there is a little shrine with a statue of Master CVV under a huge Ficus Religiosa tree, where out of one stem three stems are growing. The tree is considered auspicious for learning and meditating, and it is related to the cosmic teacher principle called Lord Dattatreya, who is depicted as a youth having three heads, surrounded by four dogs (four dimensions of knowledge, the 4 Vedas) and with a cow, representing the cosmic nourishing mother principle.

After some words of welcome we went to have a look into the different classrooms where shining eyes were looking at us and and folded hands greeting a warm welcome. It is touching the heart to see the loved expressed by these children and teachers, the latter having worked there often for many years now.

Then different dance, yoga and “human-tower” presentations began. Girls dressed in colourful saris presented folk dances, but with a spiritual background: a group of boys rushed in, surrounding them and holding plates with words like “corruption, greed, misuse”, which are destroying the fundamentals of culture. And through education a strong basis is created to withstand these onslaughts. Lovely to see them singing “India, India, oh my India”.

The highlight were three classical Indian dances by Soundarya, the daughter of Uma and Navaneetam, secretary of WTT. I had asked her before if she could do some dances for the group, and she replied, It is up to my father to decide. A good decision…

The dances were accompanied by (I think) her dance teacher’s rhythmical rap-like singing: tak takatak-takataktak, and sharp cymbal sounds, very intense.

But group members also gave some presentations – a Spanish lady a short Indian dance, an Argentinean young man a typical Argentinean song – and then two Argentineans a very lively version of the Gayatri-mantram which they do in their Sunday morning Mithila-groups in Olavarría – a beautiful fusion of East and West:

Sri Kumar used the pauses for sending some SMS – and later gave a short talk  about the background of the school:

“Every responsible person tries to supply to the society what has been his inspiration. Every initiate is a teacher and thinks of uplifting the human awareness and thereby leading the humans. In that context Master EK thought of such a school to transmit something which can be carried into society in a matter of 25, 30 years. Things that carry some spiritual value we supply to them… Master EK in October 1977 thought that he should set up a school, a continuous education that caters to the human needs. … 1996 we had the premises of this building, in 1977 we started building the school…. The Western groups have contributed and also local groups. The school is well conceived.”

He then presented the members of the management board who guide the school.

Afterwards we had a beautiful lunch  – and then the group picture before the busses brought us back to the retreat centre.

The little Krishna statue at the entrance of the school

In the evening we went by feet to the Babatarini temple at the beach road in Visakhapatnam. It was not allowed to take photos inside, so here are my pic from the outside and some descriptions, so that you can make your own inner images (oh, my pic was made inside – but I think no-one saw it except God, and he twinkled with his eye

The temple is a replica of a big temple in Calcutta, where Sri Ramakrishna used to meditate and have his visions of the divine Mother. There is this main building you see on the photo and a little side-temple. At first we salutated Ganesha at the entrance and then had “darshan” (the gracing view) of the divine mother as Kali. Normally Kali is frightening for the people, for she symbolises the dissolving-destructing aspect of the divine – but what would happen if everything would always be growing and nothing dissolved? She is depicted in black and red, showing her tongue for licking up the evil. She was clad in saris – normally you see skulls and heads cut as garlands. She stands on Lord Shiva sleeping under her feet. This symbolises that Shiva, the Will aspect of the divine, is sleeping as long as creation exists, for he is the background, and the mother, the form-aspect is dancing – evolving on the basis of this background. Besides there was a tiny statue of Sri Ramakrishna meditating.

We had a short meditation besides the temple and then went again to the “darshan” of the Mother. The priest did a short ritual with camphor waving flames to all of us, symbol of purification. Then we went to the little side temple with a Shiva lingam here some water is drippling from above as a continuous water ritual.Int he background there is a huge image of  Kali in blue – and here you see the skulls and heads…

Again some short ritual by the priest, then I was asked to give some explanations. I mentioned the above and that inside this side temple there is something special:  There is mercury alchemically treated. Normally mercury, symbol of our mind, is always liquid and difficult to hold – like our thoughts. But this mercury here has been stabilised through the treatment, the effect of which causes a stabilising influence on the minds present.

Sri Kumar is in the managing board of the temple run by 2 elderly ladies as a service activity. They also do good-will work for the needy.

After breakfast three busses took us 105 Westerners out along the beach road to the Planetary Healing centre. I had already visited it at the beginning of the seminar. Now it was not just a visit, but our morning lecture with Sri Kumar around the beautifully garlanded Maitreya Statue.

All the electronic devices had to be installed – and then electricity. It was on and off – but for the micros they had a big car battery. It was not so easy for me to follow the lecture with the crows crowing and the other noises around – and my bad ears. So I sat as close as I could on the ground typing my notes:

“The centre was inaugurated in January 1995 when the groups from the east and west were together. The healing centre is conceived with the energy of number 7, it is also the number of the sun whose other number is number 1. The centre is conceived with dimensions of number 10. 7 times 7 is the diameter of the circle of the healing centre, 7 times 7 is the height of the pyramid, upon the pyramid the dome of 7 feet is erected. Within the healing centre 7 circles are prepared from the centre to the circumference, and circular meditations are contemplated through the sacred word OM. The centre is surrounded by water and is therefore unaffected by the surrounded energy and is linked to the ether. If one sits in the healing centre and invokes OM the vertical line which is established from above downward can be experienced in our cerebro-spinal column. In the centre of the circular healing centre we have set up a 7 feet high pillar. The three divine aspects on the surface, on the top of which a global stone which is an agate… which was brought from South America, from Iguazu, and it means all that is in India and America. Ever since the centre is maintained, he is also living here and taking care, his family is near, the lady decided to live here. It is a peaceful place and it is visited regularly and we make a regular visit in January. During the day here after lunch you may go round and experience the place and get also into the healing centre, invoke OM 21 times and stay in meditation for a desirable period. That is how everything formed of the healing centre….”

The centre was designed by Sri Kumar on proposal of a gentleman now living there with his wife and maintaining the place as a service activity.

After lecture we assembled in the Healing Centre for 21 OM and meditation. I was one of the last ones, first I mailed my notes to the mailing list – thanks to the web connection of Jayadev

A thrilling experience – group meditation in the Healing Centre

Afterwards our Indian brothers had already prepared a beautiful lunch under the trees at the Buddha statue – all brought here from the Retreat Centre – and we only had to enjoy it. Later, after a good siesta (and me using the internet-drive from Jayadev for writing until the battery was down) we went to Ramadri, also called Hamsavanam, the place, where the Swan (of the inner pulsation) lives.

Ravishankar at the entrance of Ramadri

A beautiful mandala on the floor at the entrance

Hanuman is the servant of Sri Rama (cf. the great epics Ramayana), the divine incarnation in Lemurian times.

There is a huge Hanuman statue on the ground, the beginning of the development of the site, erecting in 2000. Since then it has grown a lot. Now there is also a Mithila school for free school for children of poor families from the neighbour villages, financed and organised by the Circle of Good Will, India. The children were coming to present us a rose.

Later we went on for the feeding of the cows. Cow service is regarded as a sacred activity, and they keep the cows also to provide free milk / meals to the children. The cows were very keen on the bananas – and I jokingly said, now they get banana milk.

Sri Kumar later explained that the place is also called the Ocimum Sanctum, and ocimum is the Latin name for Tulsi or Tulasi, the Holy Basil. On all the little stupas and elsewhere there grow many, many little bushes of Tulsi – and  friends from Africa and Germany had asked me to bring some Tusi seeds – a friend in Germany had managed to grow at home the Tulsi plant and others got interested. It is a very holy plant in India and you find it at nearly every temple.

In Ramadri they have now 364 such little stupas with tulsi on the top – and under it there is each time a stone box containing 1000 booklets with 10.000 times written Sri Ram in it. Ram is the seed sound of cosmic fire, burning all impurities and expressing the fire of divine will. Writing the name is a strong spiritual discipline. There were nine such boxes now being installed with a little ritual conducted by couples of the group:

I later went around the site to visit all the little shrines – a miniature pilgrimage. I particularly love the shrine of the 9 planets – statues of the planetary spirits and of Rahu and Ketu, the north and south node, which can cover the influences of the other planets and thus create difficulties, so they are considered important by spiritual astrology.

Statue of Lord Shiva under a banyan tree – there is a lovely little “Ganga” (Ganges) in the tuft of his hair. – of course I had to ring the bell – the vibrations purifying the surroundings.

Statue of the divine mother – where I left the rose I got from the children

Later we sat in the little amphitheater with a grand view over the ocean and the horizon merging with the sky. Sri Kumar and Kumari presented some gifts to the couples who had done the rituals. Then we had a short but fantastic evening meditation with some bats flying around and Venus rising behind the mountain. Afterwards we got some packets with rice and sweets as “prasad” (gift after a ritual), then the busses brought us back through the night to Visakhapatnam.