Crossplanet

In this 2007 travel to India, Amritsar will have a special place, in my memory and in my heart. I stayed 2 days in this dusty city, a regular indian city, not worth mentionning if it wasn't for the Golden Temple. Quoting somebody on the train, I would say that "this is something the Sikh community ought to be proud of". Not only because it's beautiful beyond words, but also for the atmosphere in the complex.

Beautiful and much more. It's hard for me to describe the beauty of this Hari Mandir, standing humbly in the middle of the water, all gold and marmor, but not the flashy kind, the beauty of simplicity. Then all around the different buildings, community kitchen, library, museum, everything so clean and simple. 

And then the atmosphere... All day long musicians sing the ragas of the Holy book and give the rythm of all activities. All kinds of people are there, Sikh people of course, but also Hindus, Muslims, Indians and foreigners, all together in an atmosphere of peace and tolerance. The whole complex works on voluntary work, everybody is welcome in the kitchen, to do dishes, for the cleaning, etc... And it's really interesting to see that how things can run smoothly without any particular organization.

I spent the whole day in the temple, deambulating, bathing in the Amrit Sarovar, eating with the others, washing dishes, or just sitting to watch life flowing, enjoying the peace.

Then I went to Dharamsala, and after 8 hours of a chaotic journey in a crowded local bus, on roads half-destroyed by the heavy rains, I found myself in McLeod Ganj, another temple of peace, with the Tibetan community. What a contrast! After 3 weeks in the heat and moisture of the Rajasthan and northern India, here it's cool and misty, with heavy rains also. 

And here I have found pure magic and enchantment, it's been love at first site. Thinking back about my choices about this journey, it's funny how I chose to come to the mountains. Usually when it comes to holidays, I only want beaches and ocean. But I know now that every step I took was leading me here. I spent the last days walking in the montains, walking the mani path around the temple reflecting on prayers flags, meditating in the temple, doing yoga too. I'm happy here.