Goa 2nd visit & Mumbai :: dj gigs, laser eye surgery, meeting another guru & the usual tourist stuff!
I went back to Arambol, Goa for 6 fabulous days back on my favorite beach. My main mission was to have Enrico finish my tattoo, pick up my passport i forgot in a xerox machine, & manifest another dj gig at Pyramids. And all that was accomplished...plus unexpected surprises! On the bus heading into town I met two young Russian women that were very socialable & wanting to be friends instantly. We ended up hanging out on the beaches sharing massage, eating coconuts, & good times! I organized my 4th dj gig at Pyramids, the grand finale for my Goa gigs, & the show was an incredible success! I had a fiddler & flutist play on a few tracks, but then some surprise performers showed up which included a tight rope walker (he actually came & put a rope between two trees & walked it!), a crystal ball juggler, & little kids on the microphone. Oh and about 150+ people having a jolly good time (see pics!)!!! This was one of my funnest performances to date! I showcased two new original songs as well. After many more swims in the Arabian sea & the freshwater lagoon, & more coconuts...my time here ran out. I'll miss Arambol. I want to do like some I met & come rent a nice room here for 3-4 months & just stay put! Record
an album with some of these amazing musicians that flock to this scene!
Mumbai madness. 16 million people, give or take a million. A city where people are constantly on the move. The traffic
just keeps on flowing past you & crossing the street becomes a big goal involving a test of patience, courage & determination! At least the air seems cleaner than Delhi due to being near the ocean winds. Still, I found myself with my bandito bandana covering my nose in the back of taxis, listening to the horrendous neverending honking that you never get used to in India. My first day in Mumbai I payed a taxi driver the 800 rupees to go around the city & check out a few sites. First I went & visited Mumbai's favorite guru, Ramesh Balsekar. Formerly a president of the Bank of India who later became a disciple of "I am That" author Sri Nasargaratta, & later become enlightened himself. He has written over 30 books & now, 89 years old but still full of energy he gives talks everyday from 9am-11pm at his flat near the Haji Ali temple. He asks & answers questions, which generally get one hour answers! Ramesh follows a different path of yoga than Amma. Amma follows the path of bakti yoga, or self-less service & devotion, while Ramesh is a jnanna yogi, following the path of knowledge. I didn't feel a big energy shift or easy mediation in his presence, but did see quite the cosmic sparkle in his eyes! The sparkle of one who has figured IT out, ended their suffering & merged with God-consciousness or unity! What an interesting guy! I was one of 2 out of 25 people that asked him a few questions. My question (the one i've asked a few masters on this trip) was ..."If the way to be happy is to be fully at peace in the present, and not desiring more, how can we rest & be at peace when the it seems like the world has begun the prophesized World War III, a long holy war where nuclear armegeddon seems probable. How can we ignore this & feel happy?" His answer was that there is nothing to be concerned about with mass destruction because there was never a creation. That this is maya,
the great illusion, & if a world war III were to happen, it would just be more illusion. Destruction is part of the process
of new creations & in the bigger view, it is all one process & all under Divine Mother's control. I had recently come to a similar
conclusion myself...that there is nothing to fear because all is unfolding as it should. Trust. Trust in the process. This is all
we can do! If the world is devastated & 90% of the population killed, it may just be for the better? We can learn from our
past & begin a new civilization. This is hard to accept, but...it really would be better for the planet to have our population
lowered. We have become a big burden on mother Earth! A big virus really! Sad but true. Humans are just sucking
" border="0"> the last of the oil, gold & resources & making a huuggggge mess of things in every sector. The global
warming/climate change & the bigger natural disasters that happen as a result are just another impending 'process' that are leading us into a major planetary change. Whatever happens in our lives, i've come to accept any of the paths that manifest in this lifetime. Total annihilation from WWIII does not seem so scary anymore. Natural disasters mentioned in "An Inconvenient Truth", major cities covered from ice melting/water rising - with the outcome of millions displaced & countries economies crashing...not so scary anymore! Change is good! This form of
extreme capitalism has proved itself to be an ecological & mental nightmare! What is scary is to think of 'business as usual'
continuing, the population continuing to increase exponentially, & the corporations/governments /militaries increasing. These
would be darker days with increasing fear & destruction, rather than an archaic revival that disasters would bring which would take us back to non-industrial living, a chance to start over & heal the Earth from it's previous damage. Well...these thoughts are surfacing again as I sit here in this massive city pondering my six months in India & the year to come traveling abroad.
Oh yeah. Practical tips for Mumbai : Hotel New Bengal - a gem for budget travelers as this is not in Lonely Planet (all those rooms were full!)
285Rs single room, cheap cheap & not a bad place! very central location, short walk from Crawford Market & CST railway station. 3 restaurants on premises, but the Shanti Bhavan next-door is even better! Taxi from CST railway
should only cost you 20-40Rs for the 2 minute ride so don't pay 80Rs like my friend did. If you can, walk the 5 minutes (towards Crawford Market, on right side, huge billboard in sky & everybody knows this place).
Bollywood extras :: to be one, either go hang out in Coloba & wait for the inevitable person to approach you with
an real offer to be an extra (don't worry, there are no scams going on with these offers, & after traveling i'm sure
your apprehensive about being approached on the streets, but this is how it's done in this biz). Or....email a pic to Reetu at : reetu.paul@gmail.com & let her know how long your in town for.
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