please check www.ektaparishad.com for updates on the land rights movement and the samwad yatra (jeep pilgrimage)
(Pour nos nouvelles en francais regarder sur www.marchedoucementsurlaterre.
kate:
With the onset of the monsoon we changed our plan to sleep out on the mountain... someone at the Ramana Maharshi ashram recommended a lodging house nearby. I am touched to find that it is being run by a very young man (20 yrs?) who seems to be on the verge of breaking down from exhaustion - he tells us that he has come from another region and taken on this challenge, not for business reasons but from a sense of divine calling... i feel his sincerity and earnestness. Maharshi also left everything behind him at age 16 and came to the mountain to lead a life of silent worship, until his death in 1950 - his life has been compared to that of 'a perfect seed, germinating in the sacred soil and receiving the showering nectar of the Lord's grace and growing in the sustaining power of austerity'.
After 3 days at Thiruvannamalai we head for Auroville where our dear friend Rosa (from L'Arche days) now lives. At the bus station we are confronted with the need to 'lighten-up' as once again we find that people refuse to allow anyone to get on with cumbersome bags. We leave our cosy capes & handy wheels behind, hoping they'll be useful to someone else...
By the time we get to Rosa's Sebastien is feeling quite tired/not himself. Nevertheless we feel very lucky to visit with Rosa & Jurgen in the gardens at the heart of Auroville - a city which would like to be a bridge between the past and the future, a place of seeking (from a maximum of diversity) to live unity. If you would like to know more about this modern day 'holy experiment', launched in 1968 by a french woman, Mirra Alfassa, i recommend a look at www.auroville.org
The following day is Saturday 29th - day for meeting up with Ekta Parishad. Sebastien is not feeling too good, but we head off towards Cuddalore hoping things will improve. Bumpy bus rides, incredibly noisy bus station - almost impossible to understand Ravi on the other end of the 'phone as we try to meet up... how lovely to finally come together; Ravi and a young woman from Ekta's 'youth parliament' coming to meet and guide us to the house where the circle of supporters is gathered for introductions. After a generous lunch provided by the young people and the association hosting the group, we head off for the public meeting in 3 vehicles. On arrival a group of drummers travelling with the yatra brings us together, then the intention of the yatra is outlined - gathering the stories of people who want access to land, water, the forest and to use those stories to apply pressure on the government to honour its promises. The main part of the meeting is given to listening to the testimonies of local people (the recorded testimonies can be found on the Ekta website)... i find it heart-rending to hear what people are up against, and awful to feel the weight and pressure of a system blindly intent on profit.
Sensing the dignity and intelligence with which people understand their situations, i am reminded of the struggles of working people in Europe at the time of the industrial revolution.
I feel some fear - knowing from our own history something about the levels of violence which a system based on greed is willing to use... i notice how i especially fear the increasingly subtle/psychological forms we have developed over the past few centuries; and remind myself to stay focussed in the present and in the heart
i am impressed with the depth and quality of Rajagopal's listening as each person speaks.
A young man interprets from tamil for us and a group of Belgians also with the yatra, he too would like to find some land where he could farm... his situation is similar to that of a number of young people in France who would like to come out of the cities to become small farmers and find it very difficult to get access to land; whilst farmers' children are often feeling disaffected or unable to continue to make a living from farming unless they are already wealthy enough to have gone into industrial farming.
The yatra moves forward in short journeys in heavy traffic, Sebastien is suffering and the stop and start movements are making me car-sick. We are both very glad to arrive at a gandhian 'centre for post-development training' for the night. Rajagopal and most of the group sleep on the floor in the library, we and another couple are given dormitory space...
in the morning i regretfully see the yatra move off without us after only 18hrs together. We stay on another night hoping the rest will enable Sebastien to recover. It is an opportunity to catch up with the indian point of view on ecological and social matters including north/south issues; i thoroughly recommend the indian magazine 'Down to Earth' to anyone who'd like a different perspective.
The centre backs onto the beach (Indian ocean) and it is soothing to sit by sea for short periods (most of the time staying out of the heat indoors). The following day with no improvement in health we decide to return to Auroville - first attempts at hitch-hiking in India work very well. Two lifts in small open trucks (me sitting in the back) get us to Auroville where we find a guest house and are settled into a little garden room (with loo round the back, so a bucket is essential in the room at present!)
Alternate days of sun and heavy rain... how delicious to walk barefoot on the sandy, red-earth paths; avoiding where possible the main paths with their almost constant traffic of motorbikes. My soul, and for the most part my body, relish the cooler weather - though my feet are going mouldy in the constant warm dampness. Having washed our hemp clothes they took over 10 days to dry - even under overhead fans (which just seem to stir the dampness!)
Sebastien receives treatment from the Auroville health centre. I run about organizing what we need... and stumble on a book (translated) of sanskrit poetry written around the time of Jesus' birth and recounting the coming together of Shiva & Parvati (the masculine & feminine aspects of God) - i feel nourished by the beauty of the poetry describing the life of the soul in resonnance with nature.
On our 3rd day in Auroville i discover 'Joy guest house & NVC* centre' just across the road - with a delightful permaculture garden. There i meet Shammi who knows a quaker farmer in Madhya Pradesh and immediately gives me the 'phone number... all this feels rather like sun after grey, openings after confusion.
The following day we are both very pleased to attend an NVC practice group at 'Joy' where i meet someone who knows a dear friend of mine in England!
I have been struggling inwardly with some of the paradoxes (or contradictions?) inherent in a place with such high ideals as Auroville... and it is very helpful to me to find a place where i can truthfully express what i am feeling and be helped to find language to more fully own my feelings.
Friday 4th November: i am so happy to read some emails from home and feel boosted by those loving connections, and by a tender email from Rajagopal suggesting a farm we might visit later in Uttar Pradesh (a Vinoba ashram).
In the afternoon we go to the weekly open-day at Sadhana Forest, a reforestation project on the edge of Auroville, and are increasingly filled with joy as Aviram describes what they are doing there and in Haiti. They are a small community concentrating on reforestation/sustainable living based on a 4 point framework: 1 they are in a gift economy (dependant on grace/trust); 2 their veganism is their expression of non-violence (love of animals, people & the forest - all of which are endangered by the cost of a meat-eating diet); 3 a policy of total inclusion (no-one is refused, all are made welcome); 4 locally relevant (they use materials & technology available locally & to all). The reforestation acheived in desert conditions is to us impressive, as is their work with the local villages, and the sustainability of their lifestyle. We are touched by the project launched in Haiti to create a food forest on 6,500 acres - in an area where people are living in such deprivation that they are pushed to sell their children that the others may survive.
On speaking to Aviram we are further delighted to discover that he comes to France from time to time and that there is a supporting group in France... i feel hopeful about the possibilities for a Sadhana/Saint Jacut-les-Pins link around trees/forestry and human community. (see www.sadhanaforest.com )
Sebastien is now well recovered and we need to discern whether we take the time here to learn more from this project or move on towards rejoining the yatra... maybe there is time for both?
with love
kate
*Nonviolent Communication as taught by Marshall Rosenberg
(Pour nos nouvelles en francais regarder sur www.marchedoucementsurlaterre.
kate:
With the onset of the monsoon we changed our plan to sleep out on the mountain... someone at the Ramana Maharshi ashram recommended a lodging house nearby. I am touched to find that it is being run by a very young man (20 yrs?) who seems to be on the verge of breaking down from exhaustion - he tells us that he has come from another region and taken on this challenge, not for business reasons but from a sense of divine calling... i feel his sincerity and earnestness. Maharshi also left everything behind him at age 16 and came to the mountain to lead a life of silent worship, until his death in 1950 - his life has been compared to that of 'a perfect seed, germinating in the sacred soil and receiving the showering nectar of the Lord's grace and growing in the sustaining power of austerity'.
After 3 days at Thiruvannamalai we head for Auroville where our dear friend Rosa (from L'Arche days) now lives. At the bus station we are confronted with the need to 'lighten-up' as once again we find that people refuse to allow anyone to get on with cumbersome bags. We leave our cosy capes & handy wheels behind, hoping they'll be useful to someone else...
By the time we get to Rosa's Sebastien is feeling quite tired/not himself. Nevertheless we feel very lucky to visit with Rosa & Jurgen in the gardens at the heart of Auroville - a city which would like to be a bridge between the past and the future, a place of seeking (from a maximum of diversity) to live unity. If you would like to know more about this modern day 'holy experiment', launched in 1968 by a french woman, Mirra Alfassa, i recommend a look at www.auroville.org
The following day is Saturday 29th - day for meeting up with Ekta Parishad. Sebastien is not feeling too good, but we head off towards Cuddalore hoping things will improve. Bumpy bus rides, incredibly noisy bus station - almost impossible to understand Ravi on the other end of the 'phone as we try to meet up... how lovely to finally come together; Ravi and a young woman from Ekta's 'youth parliament' coming to meet and guide us to the house where the circle of supporters is gathered for introductions. After a generous lunch provided by the young people and the association hosting the group, we head off for the public meeting in 3 vehicles. On arrival a group of drummers travelling with the yatra brings us together, then the intention of the yatra is outlined - gathering the stories of people who want access to land, water, the forest and to use those stories to apply pressure on the government to honour its promises. The main part of the meeting is given to listening to the testimonies of local people (the recorded testimonies can be found on the Ekta website)... i find it heart-rending to hear what people are up against, and awful to feel the weight and pressure of a system blindly intent on profit.
Sensing the dignity and intelligence with which people understand their situations, i am reminded of the struggles of working people in Europe at the time of the industrial revolution.
I feel some fear - knowing from our own history something about the levels of violence which a system based on greed is willing to use... i notice how i especially fear the increasingly subtle/psychological forms we have developed over the past few centuries; and remind myself to stay focussed in the present and in the heart
i am impressed with the depth and quality of Rajagopal's listening as each person speaks.
A young man interprets from tamil for us and a group of Belgians also with the yatra, he too would like to find some land where he could farm... his situation is similar to that of a number of young people in France who would like to come out of the cities to become small farmers and find it very difficult to get access to land; whilst farmers' children are often feeling disaffected or unable to continue to make a living from farming unless they are already wealthy enough to have gone into industrial farming.
The yatra moves forward in short journeys in heavy traffic, Sebastien is suffering and the stop and start movements are making me car-sick. We are both very glad to arrive at a gandhian 'centre for post-development training' for the night. Rajagopal and most of the group sleep on the floor in the library, we and another couple are given dormitory space...
in the morning i regretfully see the yatra move off without us after only 18hrs together. We stay on another night hoping the rest will enable Sebastien to recover. It is an opportunity to catch up with the indian point of view on ecological and social matters including north/south issues; i thoroughly recommend the indian magazine 'Down to Earth' to anyone who'd like a different perspective.
The centre backs onto the beach (Indian ocean) and it is soothing to sit by sea for short periods (most of the time staying out of the heat indoors). The following day with no improvement in health we decide to return to Auroville - first attempts at hitch-hiking in India work very well. Two lifts in small open trucks (me sitting in the back) get us to Auroville where we find a guest house and are settled into a little garden room (with loo round the back, so a bucket is essential in the room at present!)
Alternate days of sun and heavy rain... how delicious to walk barefoot on the sandy, red-earth paths; avoiding where possible the main paths with their almost constant traffic of motorbikes. My soul, and for the most part my body, relish the cooler weather - though my feet are going mouldy in the constant warm dampness. Having washed our hemp clothes they took over 10 days to dry - even under overhead fans (which just seem to stir the dampness!)
Sebastien receives treatment from the Auroville health centre. I run about organizing what we need... and stumble on a book (translated) of sanskrit poetry written around the time of Jesus' birth and recounting the coming together of Shiva & Parvati (the masculine & feminine aspects of God) - i feel nourished by the beauty of the poetry describing the life of the soul in resonnance with nature.
On our 3rd day in Auroville i discover 'Joy guest house & NVC* centre' just across the road - with a delightful permaculture garden. There i meet Shammi who knows a quaker farmer in Madhya Pradesh and immediately gives me the 'phone number... all this feels rather like sun after grey, openings after confusion.
The following day we are both very pleased to attend an NVC practice group at 'Joy' where i meet someone who knows a dear friend of mine in England!
I have been struggling inwardly with some of the paradoxes (or contradictions?) inherent in a place with such high ideals as Auroville... and it is very helpful to me to find a place where i can truthfully express what i am feeling and be helped to find language to more fully own my feelings.
Friday 4th November: i am so happy to read some emails from home and feel boosted by those loving connections, and by a tender email from Rajagopal suggesting a farm we might visit later in Uttar Pradesh (a Vinoba ashram).
In the afternoon we go to the weekly open-day at Sadhana Forest, a reforestation project on the edge of Auroville, and are increasingly filled with joy as Aviram describes what they are doing there and in Haiti. They are a small community concentrating on reforestation/sustainable living based on a 4 point framework: 1 they are in a gift economy (dependant on grace/trust); 2 their veganism is their expression of non-violence (love of animals, people & the forest - all of which are endangered by the cost of a meat-eating diet); 3 a policy of total inclusion (no-one is refused, all are made welcome); 4 locally relevant (they use materials & technology available locally & to all). The reforestation acheived in desert conditions is to us impressive, as is their work with the local villages, and the sustainability of their lifestyle. We are touched by the project launched in Haiti to create a food forest on 6,500 acres - in an area where people are living in such deprivation that they are pushed to sell their children that the others may survive.
On speaking to Aviram we are further delighted to discover that he comes to France from time to time and that there is a supporting group in France... i feel hopeful about the possibilities for a Sadhana/Saint Jacut-les-Pins link around trees/forestry and human community. (see www.sadhanaforest.com )
Sebastien is now well recovered and we need to discern whether we take the time here to learn more from this project or move on towards rejoining the yatra... maybe there is time for both?
with love
kate
*Nonviolent Communication as taught by Marshall Rosenberg
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