 |
GUIDE
|
introduction
|
 "India will bend your mind, assault your body, flood your senses, and shred your nerves, from the moment you step off the plane into its smoky, unforgettable perfume of burning cow dung, diesel fumes, and a few thousand years of accumulated human sweat. And ultimately, if you're lucky, your old identity will break down like one of the smog-belching auto-rickshaws that clog the Indian streets-and you'll have to walk on without it, through the twisting alleys of an unknown city, with cows eating empty juice cartons from street-side garbage dumps and ash-daubed mystics chanting mantras in the gutters. It's this breakdown and the attendant possibilities for transformation – more than a specific teacher or spiritual site – that's the real blessing India has to offer." — From Here to Nirvana, Anne Cushman & Jerry Jones  ..."A
pilgrimage, or yatra, to a sacred site is not a vacation. On
a yatra, you forfeit tourism and enter into a voyage of discovery
of the Self. What's most important is not where you go, but
your attitude: your willingness to shed the crumpled skins
of your ego and open to the cosmic mysteries. Superficially,
a pilgrimage site may look like any other place in India – noisy,
garbage-strewn, crowded with picnickers
carrying radios blaring Hindi film
songs and peddlers harassing you
to buy virulently
dyed soft drinks and plastic statues
of unrecognizable deities. What
makes it mystical is your ability
to look beyond the surface."— From Here to Nirvana, Anne Cushman & Jerry Jones
|