Kriyaban

I still can't believe I'm here after yesterday's endless day. I'm at the Root Institute, a secluded, quiet, and tranquil place, in a room that looks like a little house at the garden's edge. The whole place is Buddhist, and the vibe is 100; it's to stay here for a month. I slept very well, but I'm convinced that I will sleep even better in the coming days.

I had breakfast and ventured to find a laundry for clothes, charged my phone, and took the opportunity to do something I wanted to do now that I had a good beard: shave in the middle of the street. For less than two euros, they left my head perfect to reflect the sun; my scalp's reflection index is 95%. While the barber worked with the blade up and down, I saw movement brewing, and a man approached to tell me, "Dalay, Dalay," I, already blending in, nodded my head like a spring and brushed him off. A few seconds later, I found out it was the Dalai Lama who would be passing by on the street with his entourage; quickly, I stood up to look out onto the road with all the shaving foam on my face and a bib full of hair while making a pranam; fortunately, our eyes did not meet, for if they had, I would always remember the image of the Dalai Lama looking at me while a half-shaved foreigner tries not to add further disaster with drool halfway falling.

There is quite a bit of police patrolling the streets and even inside the ATMs (ATM), so I deduce that there must have been episodes of lack of security, although I have not seen anything similar in any of the places I have been before.

On the other hand, ashrams always have a guardhouse with a security guard to prevent the entry of any strangers, yet, the door of the room, always, and whichever ashram you go to, is designed to be closed with a lock and a bolt of those used in jails: the big ones. Even with all this, if you are distrustful, no bolt and lock, no matter how large, will prevent you from checking before leaving the room to see if the laptop will hold up hidden with dental floss under the writing desk...

It's fantastic to travel with many days at your disposal because it allows you to plan without rush. Here, for example, in Bodh Gaya, the first three days I dedicated to enjoying the landing in this wonderful ashram where you can hear the rooster in the mornings and the crickets at night; this in India is almost a miracle.

The only downside is the mosquitoes. As the place is surrounded by vegetation, the mosquitoes have made this their Port Aventura, and I can hear their laughter as they launch against me while I meditate or sleep.

Room in the ashram of Bodh Gaya, at the "Root Institute"

The first three days I slept and meditated fully covered as if I were a stormtrooper; only my two nostrils were visible, and I was almost about to breathe with a straw to improve the technique.

On the fourth day, I bought the typical mosquito-killing power adapter; late and after many battles fought... but I hope to win the war!

Jokes aside, this place is to stay for a month; the time of year is fantastic because it is neither hot nor cold, the weather is perfect for going slightly dressed, keeping the deodorant intact, and feeling wherever you go that you continue to be the only survivor of Western civilization.

Some veg momos, a tomato soup, and a masala veg at Mohamed's restaurant

When you walk the streets, you discover that the men are out on the street making a living and the women are in the huts with the children; all of them try to catch your gaze to approach you and start their ritual of pleading and seduction, each has their technique, but there are two questions that have become established as bait for the tourist: where are you from and where are you going; with this, you initially fall for it for sure.

Everyone travels as best they know how, for me it is a priority to have little and of good quality, rather than much and fast, the former is to established relationships as the latter is to sporadic encounters; as a seasoned traveler, I stick to the first variant; it is along these lines that today, when enough days had passed and after eating for the second time in a place that is great, I decided to explore beyond the first security radius and let myself go knowing that the main street would lead me to some of the most relevant points of interest in Bodh Gaya.

Indeed, my tour stopped at the Buddha Tree Temple; for security reasons, I must leave my belongings in the locker, and receiving my key, it is inscribed with the 74, my birth year, so I deduce that I am in the right place at the right time.

Buddha Tree Temple.

This place is simply incredible, just remembering it gives me goosebumps, again, by the will of God, I have landed here during the celebration of the 17th anniversary of someone called Rimpoché, and clearly, this place looks like it's going to start levitating. Huge groups of Buddhist monks everywhere in the gardens reciting in unison, trumpets, cymbals, the crowd walking clockwise throughout the entire compound and in the center, the symbolic building, and the tree where Buddha was enlightened.

Monks reciting in front of the Buddha Tree

I almost hit the ground because I was as if hypnotized; it's the most visually and energetically intense religious encounter I've ever seen, more than the Mela in Allahabad. Unfortunately, I can't immortalize anything because my phone is in the locker, but well, the internet is overflowing with images and videos of this place.

I sit on some stairs next to an incense burner that clogs my nostrils and with a view of everything happening in front of me and decide to stay there until the sun goes down; I just try not to think and synchronize with the environment. After a while, I regain a powerful thought that has accompanied me from the first days and I feel that this place is in perfect synchrony with it, so I take the opportunity to start practicing it as a mantra: “I want to be exempt from judgments and judging, I want to be exempt from judgments and judging, I want to be exempt from judgments and judging...”

Giant Buddha

In Varanasi, something happened that I didn't mention but which was one of the things I will not forget from my time there. When I was 12 years old and started taking things apart to see how they worked, a classmate and neighbor in my building introduced me to a neighbor from the stairwell, Felipe. At that time, Felipe was about thirty-five years old. Lover of free time, he spent it devouring books, indulging in his passion for electronics, and in model building. He taught me many things and helped me among others to consolidate my choice of studies in electronics. Never opining, the devil's advocate, but his virtue for listening was such that whenever you went to his house, someone was in his library bending his ear.

I got into the habit of going down almost every afternoon, and it became almost a ritual to sit on the landing of the elevator waiting for him to return from work to spend the afternoon with him: me, waiting seated for my friend Felipe to learn from him.

I tell all this because sitting at the door of Lahiry I felt like I was waiting for Felipe, my friend, and it's no coincidence that this is so, so from that moment a mental link was created between Felipe and Lahiry that much resembles the master-apprentice relationship.

In Allahabad, I also have an interesting memory to mention, and that is that, at the Kriya Yoga Ashram of Allahabad, there is a master and guru of Kriya Yoga who leads and directs it.

In several conversations with the ashram's devotees, when I informed them that I practice Kriya Yoga of Paramahansa Yogananda, soon, they all agreed to share with me the fact that for them it was vital to have a living master. For me, the Guru is always there; according to Yogananda's words, "even from the astral I can do more for you, because from there, my ability to help you is limitless."

What I have learned is that each one is astrally connected to their guru; a master to whom you have been attached for many past lives and with whom you meet again, so there is no choice but attraction, and no justifications are possible but a simple surrender.

In Noida, the energy is of love towards God and the Guru, hence also my need to remember the importance of the technique of the Om, in Rishikesh is the perfection in the practice of Kriya and the practice of surrender to God as a form of expression of love towards Him, in Allahabad is the connection with the metaphysics of the energy exercises and the need to build an energy-neurological map in your body through the same, in Varanasi is the reunion with the master-disciple relationship, and in Bodh Gaya is pure knowledge energy.

Being here, reading the new lessons of SRF, I have started with the technique of the Hong So and I am completely thrilled by how brilliantly structured the lesson is, how well explained the technique is, and the energy that the texts exude; now I understand why the ceremony of presenting the lessons involved so much pomp and circumstance, and it is that these lessons will indeed become the guide and light for millions of people in the world for their scientific, practical, and luminous approach, something that I believe will seduce a Western world that seeks truth not through sermon or blind faith, but through scientific and practical methods; not for nothing did Yogananda visualize the printing areas full of a multitude of printing presses working non-stop.

As a result of all this, I was overcome with immense respect for this wonderful work done by the Guru and SRF, and I tried to put into words the feeling of gratitude I had inside me; finally, I found in one of the texts attached to the Hong So lesson the exact answer to what I was experiencing: “the way to honor such a gift is to use it with reverence and attention”. For me, this means taking it very seriously and putting all your attention into it.

The night before, I got a mosquito net, so the only thing I felt was the impact of their fuselage against it; I think they didn't like the idea. The device for mosquitoes I bought, (as much as the guy told me it was for mosquitoes), finally turned out to be an air freshener that at best smells like Lavender... at least the mosquitoes will have the feeling of flying clean... this is India...

Once again, and for the last day, I am in the Buddha Tree temple, today with better sensations. The previous time I arrived a little tired at the place and the energy in the atmosphere was overwhelming, it literally blew my fuses, when I got to the room I could barely meditate, but today is different and suspecting that everything was going to be better I decided to meditate again in front of the tree. At the end, I was left with a great feeling, a brilliant way to say goodbye to this fantastic place. I wondered when will I see you again?

I hope that the habits I am building with respect to the practices consolidate and can withstand the harshness of everyday life once I return home. I think this is the cruelest part of living in Maya. Maya is tireless, inexhaustible, indestructible, which is why Yukteswar says: “you must meditate tirelessly until you achieve it” and he chooses the term tirelessly very consciously. Luckily for me, on this spiritual path, I don't know how many times I will fall and get back up, but what I do know is that a long time ago I came to the conclusion that in my life there is no option, this is the only path, so no matter how much Maya wants to tempt me, I feel like the Duracell bunny "but plugged into the current."

Another very interesting detail here, at the Ashram of Bodh Gaya, is that during the practice of OM, from the first moment you cover your ears you hear the OM, and it hasn't been just one day, but every day, which I find amazing and I have the suspicion that more than coming from within me, it's as if the environment is impregnated with It.

Tomorrow I leave for Ranchi, another destination that excites me a lot. In my head, I have built the idea that there is little to visit there, so in principle it will be a place to stay in the ashram twenty-four hours, deepen in the practice, read, and take sun baths... we'll see in the end what this destination has prepared for me.

Today I went out to catch the train and if it hadn't been for God and the Guru, I would have missed it. After looking at a train (which had come 20 minutes earlier to the platform) by magic I decided to check the train number on the signs that are on each wagon !!!and I discovered that it coincides with mine!!!!... I didn't even have time to flagellate myself because in exactly 3 minutes it was leaving the station.

I was lucky to share the journey with a lovely family who made my five hours pass in the blink of an eye; they invited me to all kinds of exquisite beverages and snacks that were continuously prepared and served throughout the journey right in the middle of the wagon and obviously I received a huge lesson in hospitality. I also learned that society does not give opportunities to transsexuals, they are like excluded, and it is assumed to give them alms; the way they ask for it is very curious; by the way, 10 rupees is the minimum they accept, and don't get sassy because remember that the slap you get comes from a hand of size XXL.

Every time I see them throwing wrappers, food leftovers, or anything out of the windows of trains, buses, or simply while walking down the street, I remember the Spanish movie “1 Franco, 14 Pesetas,” because the movie graphically illustrates that the Spanish were exactly the same in the 70's, so I've learned not to tear my clothes, although I must admit it's very odd every time I see it.

Photo with the family with whom I shared the train journey

Useful Information

Transport:

Train from Vanarasi to Bodh Gaya; cost: 200 rupees. Rickshaw from the train station to the Root Institute; cost: 700 rupees.

Accommodation in Bodh Gaya:

Root Institute, Bodh Gaya

Contact phone: +91 9934 249 989

Contact and bookings: info@rootinstitute.com

Website: http://www.rootinstitute.com

Suggested donation: 1000 rupees / day, meals not included.

Places to visit:

Here in Bodh Gaya, there are many temples to visit, but I will simply mention the one where I spent the most time and which I believe is a very potent point of energy, the Mahabodhi Temple. If you also coincide with the celebration of some centenary, the place transforms into something incredible. The place is the complex where the tree where Buddha was enlightened is located.

For eating, without a doubt, the Mohamed's restaurant, they also do laundry from one day to the next and this is very practical.

Important:

If you haven't read the Considerations section yet, don't forget to do so. In this section, you will find very valuable information that can save you many headaches. In particular, there are details related to credit cards and mobile phone use that are essential.