I always seemed to come to these places by accident when they do a ceremony.
This is the Ganges river, if it was any other river you would see nothing special at all.
My roommate insisted I take this picture.
I said, oh look I have a babushka! and I giggled.
He didn't giggle at all.
I think this was the daily morning lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam.
This is where I stayed most of the time in Mayapur.
It's an ashram and guest house as well.
So, because I am "some guy" I stayed in the guest house and paid money for each night.
But it looks like they also have rooms that are free if you commit to being a monk of this particular ashram, and they also give you food too, so long as you follow all their rules.
Temporary Mandala
A lesson in impermanence.
These, I think, are most popular in Tibet and Nepal.
I saw this one come and go 1-3 times per week.
Final day with the deities.
It took me almost the whole month to understand how deity worship actually works in this culture.
From our Western perspective, we kind of naturally assume its some kind of idol worship. But it is not --- and it's too difficult to explain concisely here. Ask me later!
Elephant Procession
Because...I don't know why actually!
One of my favorite experiences with Art is when I walk past a piece, and in the periphery of my vision, the sheer accuracy makes my heart skip a beat.
When the children are dancing, you know it's good.
I made a video recording of this;
Never went inside this one, but it definitely looked cool!
The Russian Party.
My roommate, a Russian speaker, found out about this little shindig, including free food and kirtan, so we went. This was after getting free food somewhere else :)
March 2 - His Birthday.
So crowded this day, but it's the best day of the year to come here, so glad I made it.
It's THE name that's important, not WHICH name.
This simple truth has been known and exercised for millennia, but has recently become endangered/extinct in the West.
Ratha Yatra - Chariot Festival
These can be found all over the world, first time for me though.
So, they have a chariot, and two big ropes, and you can hop on the rope and help pull it around if you want.
And they throw food at you.
Pretty decent.
