WISDOM: "There is only one success: to be able to spend your life in your own way." Christopher Morley
SOUL TRAVEL: "MADAM, ARE YOU COMFORTABLE?"
Here's Wilbur!
All guides are not created equal. Most, however, are upbeat, knowledgeable, sociable, keep the logistics running smoothly, and aim to please. (Perfect training for a spouse.) Then there was Wilbur. Wilbur billed himself as an Archeologist and Anthropologist Specialist. He was my guide for the first seven days of my trip in Tamil Nadu through temple country. Wilbur loved his knowledge and passed it on with enthusiastic abandon, but refused to notice my eyes glazing over. "It is called 'pacing'," I tried to explain to him. Adding to my frustration was his heavily accented English. When I asked a question, he often cut me off and gave an answer based on what he assumed I was asking. If I asked him to repeat what he said, he only said it louder. The situation was exacerbated by the complexity of the information about the culture and Hindu religion he was trying to relate.
Hundreds of deities embellish the Hindu religion. Symbols abound in every painting or sculpture. Each position of the hands, fingers, legs, arms, and head has meaning. The mythology, epitomized by the epic tale called the Ramayana, and all the images, which include conch shells, cobras, lingams, the lotus flower, and animals, notably the elephant, monkey, tiger and lion, is fascinating. I really did want to learn but it was easy to get overwhelmed. Following is an example why:
The three main Gods in the Hindu religion are Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer. These represent the three basic processes in human life (birth, life and death). Brahma is omniscient and has four heads. (He had five, but Shiva, who has a temper, lopped one off.) There are only a few temples to Brahma. One of my guides suggested it was because Brahma was perfect and no one could relate to him. (So, if you don't have many friends, stop being so perfect.)
Vishnu has ten incarnations (avatars), many in animal form. The tenth one has yet to show up. Rama was an incarnation of Vishnu and the Ramayana saga relates the story of the kidnapping of Rama's wife, Sita, by Ravena (evil) and the band of monkeys that outwitted Ravena and returned Sita to Rama. Hence, they have the monkey god, Hanuman. Vishnu's 8th incarnation was Krishna. Buddha was cleverly added as the ninth incarnation by the Brahmins (priests) when the Hindus were threatened by the growth of Buddhism. Everything is politics.
Shiva is perhaps the most interesting of the main gods and, of the temples I visited, most of them were to Shiva. When Shiva became angry with his son, Ganesh, he chopped off his head and, after suffering a bout of guilt, he looked around for a new head and came upon one of an elephant. Hence, the god, Ganesh -- half man, half elephant and my favorite. Ganesh is the God of luck, happiness and good fortune. Shiva's main symbol is the cobra. In a large temple complex in Madurai, a statue of Shiva is represented as a black, contorted figure in one of his rages. Worshippers buy small balls of butter to throw at him to calm him down. Unique solution for conflict, I thought. But somewhat messy for use at the office.
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The gods all have "vehicles." Shiva travels by bull (Nandi); Vishnu on the back of a Garuda which is an eagle with human features; and Ganesh, by rat. Wilbur displayed some impatience with me one day because I did not immediately identify a statue of Vishnu. I had failed to notice the bird-like wings behind the statue. But, I got it right the next time. And, all of this is just the tip of the temple lore.
Wilbur kept pointing out the L-shaped positions of the legs of many of the figures, and the figures'arms that often pointed in the opposite direction. Many of the figures have several arms, a symbol of power. Wilbur would superimpose the lines of the swastika on top of the figures and told me the replication was intentional. The actual symbol of the swastika is a few thousand years old. I do not know when it became such an important Hindu symbol. I also noticed a swastika in a magnificent bas relief silver door in a Jain temple. When I visited Northern India a few years ago, a guide told me that Hitler took the symbol of the swastika and reversed the arms. On this trip, I saw it displayed in temples with the arms going both ways. Some guides, in their zealousness to please, will provide plausible answers to questions, but not necessarily the right answer. And, sometimes, given the how ancient all this history is, there is no right answer.
One of my biggest frustrations with Wilbur was his insisting on calling me "madam," even after I let him know it made me feel a hundred years old. (Never mind that I am close.) But he was not to be persuaded. In his defense, it simply was not possible for him. My other guides were able to refrain from calling me madam but neither did they call me by name. My hunch is that this was a cultural issue and using my name did not feel respectful to them. Additionally, about fifteen times a day, Wilbur would ask me if I was comfortable. I finally pleaded, "please, Wilbur, stop asking me if I am comfortable. I know you want to be sure I am happy, but, if I am not, I will tell you." That request did not work either.
Fast forward to the village of Kandykamara on the tip of the Indian continent. Here the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean merge. Standing on the beach, one gazes upon an eternity of ocean, the next land mass being Antarctica. This is a holy place and bathing here is akin to bathing in the Ganges. The blessing for me was that is was my last day with Wilbur.
Directly below my ocean-front hotel was a fishing village. At 6:00 a.m., equipped with tripod and camera, I gingerly picked my way over the rocks that were exposed by low tide. In the dim light, I carefully avoided the dark deposits here and there on the rocks, thinking they were seaweed. Positioning myself in a perfect place, I became totally engrossed in what I was seeing through my lens. The sun was about to break the horizon. Now and again a fishing boat appeared like a specter against the early morning glow. Suddenly, I heard a voice at my side. "Madam, are you comfortable?" I almost jumped out of my skin but did not turn my head from my lens. "I am fine," I said, in a somewhat measured voice, probably with more than a hint of annoyance. "Madam," you are not standing in a good place." I looked down to see that my tripod leg had narrowly missed a fresh, brownish deposit on the rock that was clearly not seaweed. Apparently, I had parked myself in the village toilet. I remained unruffled and stood my ground. Wilbur departed and I continued to photograph.
That afternoon, I joyfully said "goodbye" to Wilbur and "hello" to Manoj, the best guide I have ever had. He was also a photographer. The next twelve days were especially fabulous.
Next month: Travelling Kerala, Land of the Coconut
THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH: Speak about what you want in your life and never follow it with a "but."
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WINGS Vol. III, No 4, May, 2004
