Life in the Ashram, Two: Joyous Nature-Happy Passover and Easter!

Dear friends, although this is a day belated, the joys of Easter and Passover linger in the riotous abundance of nature here in the ashram. I am sadly ignorant of most of the names of the multitudinous varieties of flora and fauna I encounter, so my descriptions will be brief; instead, I will merely share a few pics I found on the internet of what I am seeing--granted, a very minute and terribly inadequate snippet--but something to give you a little taste just the same. 

The lavender flower that you see above is one I frequently pick up on my morning walks through the gardens. I do this daily, while it is still relatively cool...which means it has to be before 8 a.m.! (Stay tuned for a special blog post just on Indian heat!) 

My usual routine is to do some hatha yoga postures in my room, then head out by 7 a.m. and spend a half-hour looping around the large field called Dakshin Kashi before winding my way through the myriad garden paths. I pick up wonderful specimens of flowers as I traverse: they fall from the tops of the tall trees, and sometimes land at my feet! It is truly wonderful. 

The above is one of my absolute favorites, and this name I DO know, since I asked our master gardener: It has a fancy Latin name, but the common name is the Copper Pod Tree. The blossoms, as you can see, are a brilliant yellow.  They are also multi-petaled, delicate little things with thin stripes of red coursing through them. What a feast for the eyes! My heart sings just gazing upon them. They drop their blossoms by the hundreds daily; part of my seva is picking them up off of the pavement...but stay tuned for the next blog posting when I write about this in more detail. 

The above is an image of the Tulsi plant, known for its many medicinal properties as well as sacred uses in various Indian ceremonies. There are many other trees and shrubberies in the ashram of this ilk; unfortunately I am shamefully ignorant of what they are.

On to the fauna:

I am, and always have been, a great lover of frogs.  The ones I have seen here are massive! I stumbled across this guy in the dim, early morning light of the hallway of the building I stay in; at first, I thought it was a large clump of dust and detritus--India is a very dusty place and the floors are frequently covered in such stuff. (None of the building's residential floors are enclosed; only the individual rooms are.)  When I bent down closer to look, I was startled to discover it was alive.  He tried to hop away, but I captured him and put him outside in the wet grass. Frog rescuer! It made me quite happy, indeed.

This beautiful createure, the rat snake, is completely harmless; in fact, as with most snakes, this one is an asset to any garden. He helps to keep the rodent population in check. I saw this fellow slithering leisurely across a lawn just this morning! What a gift.

These monstrous, black bumble bees are everywhere, collecting pollen, joyfully buzzing about. Their hives are a monstrosity; unfathomably, several are hanging under the eaves of various buildings on the grounds. How does the weight of them not send them crashing to the ground?! One of nature's great mysteries, to be sure.

In addition to all of the above, there are flocks of massive, elegant white egrets that congregate on the giant, grassy field of Daksin Kashi.  When the sprinklers come on, they fairly dance under the whirling spray. They fan their giant wings and strut about gloriously. How they make me laugh!

Then, there is the occasional mole or rat that likes to hide behind the stacks of wool blankets that are kept in the large, open air hall where we gather for meetings. One scurryed out not long ago... The Indian ladies shrieked and ran away, but the little creature was surely much more frightened. Mostly, we only find what they leave behind: little black droppings.

There is a small species of Indian chipmunk that chomps on any variety of nuts in the treetops and throws down the empty shells at unwitting humans down below.

I perpetually witness beautiful, large butterflies of great varieties flitting about the palm fronds, flowers and garden grasses.

We frequently see great assortments of lizards of all sizes, as well as a few shy chameleons, climbing trees and walls pretty much anywhere one happens to look.

Glancing down, one will see tiny centipedes and loads of ants, including the ferociously biting red ant that particularly thrives on the sticky, black mango blossoms that we have to clean up. They have no qualms about taking a chomp out of a leg or arm of anyone attempting to sweep up the blossoms! And those little buggers hurt like heck.

There are many, many more to be sure.

Yes, I imagine you wish you could see actual photos of the amazing ashram grounds with its vast abundance of such flora and fauna. I wish I could provide them for you. But alas, this will never be possible. I respect their rules, after all, and not having the ability to do this is but a small sacrifice in light of all I gain by being here.

Whenever I hear about the travails of people elsewhere in the world, my heart goes out to them, truly. My heart goes out to you, dear reader!

Here, I am free to roam about in the magnificent natural ashram world, reveling in the magnificence of an unending display of dazzling color. The greens are so vibrant they almost hurt the eyes. The sounds of what must be hundreds of birds greet me in the morning, and continue all day long, only to be replaced by the buzzing of a zillion cicadas once darkness sets in. My heart soars listening to all of their songs, and I periodically do my best to mimic my favorite--the Koyal bird --which must have a repertoire of at least 20 different calls. (Photo below.)

Fat flower blossoms plop down from branches throughout the day, splashing the paths with yet more color. The sky is almost always blue--if a haze creeps in from the increasing heat, it soon gives way to clearer skies, or big, puffy clouds. What joy there is in nature!

And so it is that, on this occasion of the celebration of rebirth and renewal which both Easter and Passover constitute, I send you all my heartfelt wishes for your own renewal and rebirth in these trying times. As has been pointed out to us here, again and again through the spiritual teachings, we are here to face the challenges in our lives and come through them triumphant and transformed.

We meditate, quiet our minds, find a peace in the depths of our beings that is impervious to "the crash of breaking worlds", as a sage once so aptly described it. My friends, the world as we know it is indeed  breaking apart. It is always a choice as to how we cope with it. The best way--so simple--is to stay positive, make the best out of the situation, and remain cheerful no matter what. There is always the duality in life:  the light and the dark. We can certainly choose to move toward that light.

My last, most simple suggestion:
Go be in nature: if you cannot do it physically, do it virtually. It is a great balm in times of trouble. Think of the plants and creatures and rejoice.
They are....why not us?!