A Guide to Spirituality in Rishikesh, India

Curious by nature, I’m fascinated by everything India has to offer both culturally and spiritually … even if I sometimes have a tough time buying into it.

This works out perfectly, since my wife, Carrie, has her finger on the pulse of Rishikesh and is frequently hearing about fascinating workshops, ceremonies, meditations, yoga sessions, sound healings, pujas and more.

I’ve Been Performing & Attending Pujas…But What Are They?

A puja is a religious ritual offered to various deities, distinguished persons or special guests.  It is meant as a sign of honor, worship and devotional attention. Traditional acts of a puja include bowing, making offerings and chanting. The primary locations for a puja are in the home or at a temple, though it technically can take place anywhere.

While many pujas are long in length and double as religious ceremonies, the act of offering a puja can be as simple as sending a flower down the Ganges River and saying a prayer. In my three weeks in Rishikesh, I have attended and performed pujas of all shapes and sizes, including a sunset puja.

These common religious ceremonies are performed every evening on ghats (steps leading down to a water source or river: often the Ganges) across India. For roughly an hour, men stand alongside the water on platforms and use a variety of candles, incense, holy water, fire and other objects to pray. The men chant for most of the time while holding these objects in the air and offering them to the gods in a circular motion.

Sending Aunt Donnie Down the Ganga

On January 31, 2012, the world lost someone great. Donnie Fine was a World War II veteran, a proud member of the gay community since the 1930s when no one dared be out of the closet, a leader, an inspiration to all she met, a 91 year old who still drove and took shit from no one, and the kindest, gentlest, most wonderful and greatest Great Aunt anyone could ever have.

Through her service in WW2 and her many adventures before and after, Donnie was a traveling soul. She always loved hearing about my and Carrie’s adventures abroad and though it obviously comes with a heavy heart, I’m truly grateful that I can bring her along with me on this trip.

Amongst Indians, the highest respect one can pay the dead is to send their ashes down the Ganges River. In Varanasi, large funeral pyres along the shores naturally bring the remains into the river. In other places, such as Rishikesh, a type of puja involves sending a basket of flowers down the Ganges along with a prayer. It was in one of these baskets that I sent Donnie on her first Indian voyage; and I look forward to doing so again throughout this journey.

Satsang, Meditation & Bhajans With Vanamali

An invitation from a friend brought us to the home of Mataji Vanamali: a famous author and highly-respected woman across Rishikesh and India. Every evening, she opens her doors and invites strangers in for a prayer session/puja with meditation, mantras, chanting and satysans.

The night started with traditional India Arati (prayers), after which we spent a half-hour in silent meditation. I found this to be both incredible and frustrating, as my mind went from silence to wandering.

However, I used the techniques I learned while studying meditation in a monastery in Thailand to help focus my mind. “Breathing, Breathing, Breathing, Noisy, Thinking, Thinking, Noisy, Breathing…”

After meditation, the group came together to sing a variety of mantras and satysans. Some were led by Vanamali herself, while others were headed up by members of the group. Not knowing anything about anything, I was very relieved when she did not call on me to lead one.

Satsang With Prem Baba

Brazilian by birth, Sri Prem Baba is known as a true father of love (prem – love, baba – father).

Carrie and I attended one of his daily satsangs (prayer sessions) and, along with a roomful of foreign revelers, were moved by the beautiful songs and music as well as his gentle voice, teachings, smiling face and legions of devotees.

In the weeks since, we have seen him around town leading a cleanup session and have noticed his photo in many businesses and homes.

Most recently, we learned that Lauren’s next door neighbor is one of his disciples and has taken him as her guru, which means that she has vowed to follow his teachings and see him once a year for the rest of her life, as well as to practice his spiritual ways daily.

Hare Krishna Ceremony

The Hare Krishna population in Rishikesh is a big and beautiful one, often marching down the street chanting and sharing their love with all those they pass.

One evening, I joined Lauren and a couple of other girls from the yoga course for a visit to the ghats where the Hare Krishnas were having a religious ceremony full of songs and dancing.

SPIRITUAL WORKSHOPS

Laughing Yoga

I would barely use the word Yoga to describe this hilarious experience. For 45 minutes, we listened to stories, physically interacted with each other, danced in circles around the room chanting “ho, ho, hahaha,” clapped our hands and summoned the deepest belly laughs we could muster.

In the beginning, the laughs were a bit forced and tough to come by. That quickly changed, however, as the joy of letting go naturally produced an environment where the chuckles flowed naturally. By the time we closed the session, everyone had a huge smile on their face that lasted all night.

To this day, Carrie and I still laugh out loud when one of us says, “ho, ho, hahaha.”

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Quantum Healing

The idea is that all people have an aura of energy around them and quantum physics allows us to create a healing wave by placing a hand in front of the body. Once the wave is started, the standing person begins to wobble and will fall down backwards. At no time is the faller under hypnosis or out of their own body, but the whole feeling is quite powerful.

During the workshop that Carrie and I attended, I stood next to the teacher extremely skeptical and completely ready to make myself fall as to avoid being “that guy who didn’t fall.” But sure enough, after about 30 seconds I actually felt the wave and fell backwards, enjoying the full experience.

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Sound Healing

On the night of the full moon, Carrie and I revisited one of our favorite experiences from our previous trip to India: a sound healing workshop. The first half of the evening involved us all standing in place, putting our hands over our chakras, letting out baggage that was no longer needed and inviting love in its place. All the while, we were using our hands, bodies and sounds to facilitate the change.

Later, after we got in touch with all seven chakras, we laid in a large circle with our feet facing inwards. The woman running the workshop spent the next hour or so bathing all of us in the sounds and vibrations of gongs, didgeridoos, bells, flutes, healing bowls and more.

My favorite was by far the didgeridoo, which reminded me of the smoke monster from Lost as it came closer. I also may or may not have fallen asleep for a bit of it, but regardless the experience was quite powerful.

For more stories from my time in Rishikesh, check out:

• Relaxation, Spirituality, Tourism and the Ganga
• Observations From Three Weeks in Rishikesh, India: This & That