Everybody has a guruji in Varanasi

Ravindra, my yoga teacher in Varanasi

..
There are some places where you always feel like going back, even before you have left them. This is the case of Varanasi. I spent 10 days in the holy city. This is enough to get impregnated by its indescribable atmosphere but not enough to learn one of the various cultural disciplines this city offers. When you speak with people in Varanasi, it seems that everyone has a “guru” teaching them something of the Indian culture. Some people devote their time playing a traditional instrument like the tabla or the sitar, other will prefer to learn hindi, take an Indian dance course or maybe discover the science of ayurveda through massage or cooking classes. The possibilities are vast and it is impossible to get bored in Varanasi. As far as I’m concerned, I decided to practice Yoga. There is no best place than India to rediscover this discipline with Indian teachers (other will say “guruji”) for whom yoga is part of the culture, a way of life.

I immediately found an excellent teacher thanks to the recommendation of an American guy in my guesthouse. I was very lucky because I heard many stories of people who ended up with unqualified and sometimes aweful teachers… Many Indian people take the advantage of tourism and declare themselves yoga teachers whereas they aren’t.  Ravindra (my yoga teacher) is, according to many students, “the best yoga teacher”. And I can confirm this assertion. The class setting is absolutely perfect: an outdoor peaceful atmosphere, a big area in front of a temple, goats and monkeys passing by… You really don’t feel like being in a city populated by 3 millions of people. Every day I was heading there at 8am, full of motivation to start the day with this shot of good energy. It was a kind of a tailor-made course as we were only 2 or 3 students. Ravindra was focus on everyone, adapting on their abilities, level and rhythm. But the best is that he helps you to write down all the exercises to be able to do it again at home. I have been to many yoga courses and this is the first time a teacher was concerned about giving its students guidelines for their personnal practice.

I kept a wonderful memory of these 10 days during which I was doing Hatha yoga, kriya and some meditation. I could really feel the positive effects and I was learning at the same time many aspects of the Indian spiritual culture. Because yoga is not only a “physical activity” as many people believe. It is much more than a way of getting a nice flexible body and a clean mind. The purpose of these purifying technics is less material and more spiritual. Yoga actually means “Union” ie methods to get unified with the “absolute consciousness”. The practice of the various forms of yoga (hatha, kundalini, raja, karma, bhakti, etc) helps to reach more quickly self realization and to put an end to the karma cycle… I am imagining you reading this, you probably do not believe in all this reincarnation and spiritual stuff so you are getting scared :) I just want to explain the real purpose and meaning of yoga, which is often misunderstood in the western world. In the oriental perception, this is a holistic ancestral science which is not approached as another kind of physical leisure. However, you can obviously practice it just as a way to maintain your body health. Yoga is so diverse that it can suit anyone’s needs or beliefs.

If you want to know more about this never ending subject, you can read the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (a text written before Christ which codified the science of yoga; this still the main reference nowadays). Or maybe you can take the experience wherever you are, and if you go to Varanasi you can try with Ravindra. You will fin him every morning at Pachamandir Temple in the Assi Ghat area.

Before I left he gave me an advice: “Don’t spend to much time, energy and money travelling… because the truth is inside you”. OK, but if from now I dedicated my times to inner journeys, this blog won’t be a photoblog anymore ;)

Thanks a lot Ravindra for all your precious teachings.

..

..