Category Archives: Religion in Nepal

Honouring Fridays: July 24th, 2009

5 Replies

Last weekend we took a fantastic day-trip hiking along the edge of the hills that surround the Kathmandu Valley.  Spectacular views, excellent company, incredible Buddhist monasteries, and some much needed peace were the highlights.  The single low-light:  the most crowded and painful microbus ride through almost knee deep monsoon puddles after waiting for 45 minutes.  It was totally worth the pain but clearly I need some practice on the whole Buddhist zen…the following conversation occurred between me and my brain during said painful micro ride:

Breathe in deeply  (except while my nose is crammed into the armpit of the guy in front of me).

Breathe out deeply (and hope that guy in front of me doesn’t mistake my excellent belly-breathing as a sexual advance).

Let all the muscles from the top of your head to the bottom of your toes just relax and release (except for the muscles that are hanging on for dear life to the roof of the 10-person microbus that is currently carrying me and 50 other people through torrential rains).

Close your eyes (but occasionally scan the rain streaked windows for any landmark that looks familiar where I can make a fast exit).

Imagine you are floating (actually, I am floating, there are so many people on this bus that they have squished me upwards for lack of space and your feet  are no longer connected with the ground).

Your weight is fully supported by a gentle breeze (actually it is not a breeze but the heavy breathing of the 50 people crammed inside this small space).

Let any thoughts you have surround themselves in bubbles and float away (how do I surround every curse word I have ever known in a bubble?).

Allow yourself to drift away, slowly, gently into the state of peace (or how about I just get the heck off and find a damn taxi!).

So despite my inability to release my ego and be zen, I do have many things to be grateful for.

  • Bacon. Greasy and salty, crunchy and chewy, deeply savoury goodness in the form of a fried strip of pig meat.  Bacon is something I rarely eat here in Nepal.  But the breakfast buffet at the hotel I stayed at for a workshop this week served bacon.  And I ate it.  All of it.   I couldn’t stop myself – I actually went for a second helping of just bacon…who does that??!!!  I think it reminded me of home and filled some sort of hole in my soul.  It felt almost spiritual – like some inner food-god connection had been unleashed. Perhaps if I had carried some bacon on the micro with me the conversation above would be different. Don’t you worry bacon…we will have a rendezvous again soon, although this time I might just arm myself with some  lettuce and tomato.  Until then, I will keep you in my thoughts here.
  • I am grateful for realizing that it’s no longer my problem. We had a proposal due for funding today.  It isn’t yet finished.   I don’t know when it will be.  We might get an extension but we might not.  I poured heart and soul into helping to write this thing but couldn’t do it alone.  I asked for help and nobody heard my call.  I was seriously saddened and frustrated until I spoke with a good colleague, Jeevan, and he reminded me that it wasn’t my problem.  I was propping up a crumbling building alone – even if I managed to stabilize one corner, it was still doomed to crumble.  I did everything I could but if the building crumbles…I will be sad but it’s just no longer my problem.
  • Being in the right place at the right time. During our hike and monastery visits last week, just as we arrived at the final monastery, the thunder began to clap and a light rain began to fall.  Almost at the exact same time a large drum began to sound inside the monastery.  The Buddhist monks were being called to prayer.  It was a practice of one of the traditional Tibetan chants.  We were able to sneak inside and sit near the back and observe the ritual chanting.  It was a beautiful combination of sounds – the booming of large drums marking a return to mindfulness, the gentle snap of fingers when a particular state of consciousness or being had been achieved and the gentle murmur of about 100 voices repeating the soft and rounded Tibetan words.  With the rains outside it was the perfect place to be, without a plan and finding ourselves sitting on the edges of daily life in a monastery.
  • Rex.  He has been trying to make it onto my blog for weeks.  But I always tell him that I am ALWAYS grateful for him so don’t need to blog about it every week.  But this week, I am more grateful for him than usual.  He has been away in Hetauda and I am always reminded, when he is gone, just how much support, love, kindness, patience, laughter, and joy he brings to my life.  You made the blog sweetie – now get on that crowded smelly microbus and come home soon!

Shiva Ratri

1 Reply

Today, February 23rd, is a special holiday in Hindu culture called Shiva Ratri.  The festival honours the Lord Shiva, the Destroyer.  It is a day of worship to celebrate and honour Lord Shiva and many followers flock to Pashupatinath Temple for a dip in the holy Bagmati river.  The temple is also crowded with sadhus, holy men, who devote their lives to a material free existence and concentrate on their relationship with the gods.  Shiva Ratris, historically, was when the sadhus would arrive in Kathmandu to receive their free marijuana from the government which would help their quest for spiritual enlightenment.  Thus, today, many Hindus partake in smoking of marajuana since it is the only day of the year when it is legal to smoke marijuana in Nepal.

But more locally, Shiva Ratri is an opportunity for local children to gain some money.  Children create small barricades of rope across small lanes and request rupees to allow any passerby access.  The really devoted ones have incense, pictures of Lord Shiva, and pujaa (offerings) or rice, marigold flowers, and red powder on a tray into which you can place your rupees.  I made a small journey of about 20 minutes to a local restaurant and was completely stripped of all my coins!  I hit about 8 roadblocks and was happy to hand over a few rupees to the groups.  Only once was I chased down and wrapped in rope because they wanted more money…a few stern no’s was enough to untangle myself from the ropes and keep moving.

The next big festival will be on March 10th, Holi Day, which is a festival of colour.  This is the day that balloons of dye and pigment rain down from the balconies of buildings, mostly targeting the folks passing by 🙂  I actually think this will be a fun festival to participate in, providing I find some cheap clothes to wear and find places where they don’t throw the balloons too hard – apparently it can be dangerous to be female and non-Nepali as you are most definitely a target!

Honouring Fridays: February 13th, 2009

Leave a Reply

This week has flown by!  Much of it was spent in a planning session for VSO Nepal’s Education Program which gave me a great overview of where we have been and where we are going.  The incredible focus on analysis, evidence, and rigorous reporting structures was a suprise (although it shouldn’t have been) as we are accountable to DFID (British equivalent to Canadian International Development Agency in Canada).  But I had forgotten how rigourous all that reporting could be…need to keep those ducks in a row!

  • Health. We recently had some sad news that the mom of one of my good volunteer friends here may have cancer. It shakes up reality beyond belief and I think has really reminded us all just how far away we are.  We don’t feel far away most of the time thanks to Skype, Facebook, and MSN Messenger.  But when these types of life events happen it can feel like another planet.  The diagnosis comes out this afternoon so we are all waiting nervously…I am so thankful that people I care about are healthy…please, please stay that way!
  • The colour red. An important colour in Hindu culture and often a key signifier of marriage here in Nepal.  Red lugaa (clothes), red churri (bracelets), and red tikas (religious symbols placed on the forhead) symbolize that the woman is married.  I have started wearing red sparkly bangles (so unlike me, I know) to indicate my status.  It is amazing what a pair of red bangles can do…significant decrease in men chatting me up!
  • My friendly taxi cab cluster. So every morning and afternoon I walk for about 15 minutes between work and the bus stop.  And at a particular corner is always a crowd of taxi cabs.  The first few times they would ask me if I want a taxi (because I am white almost every taxi asks me everywhere).  My response “chaindaina” which means “no, thanks, I don’t need/want one”.  They laughed and laughed, enjoying that I spoke Nepali.  It has now turned into a game…they know I don’t want a taxi but still take great pleasure in shouting out “Taxi madame?” twice every day, knowing I will say no.  They have also become a wonderfully regular and familiar part of my journey and I actually look forward to testing out new ways of saying now (Arko patak = another time, bholi bihanna hola = tomorrow morning maybe, or Ma hidera janne mon par cha = I like going by foot).  So nice to feel like you are part of a community in some small way.
  • Cheese. So, I have a confession.  There is a dairy about 10 minutes from my house that sells cheese.  And I buy it.  And I eat it.  And I love it.  Paneer, mozarella cheese, kanchan cheese (sort of like a sour gouda), even yak cheese…the meltier, squidgier, the better.  I have even taken to having grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast!  I can’t get enough of the stuff…when one can even put it in curry (palak paneer anyone?) I think it is possibly the most multi-purpose thing ever.  Although, what can one not put in curry really…?  Perhaps it is curry I should be grateful for!

Pashupatinath

Leave a Reply

This week our class visited the holy site of Pashupatinath, which is situated along the Bagmati river on the Eastern edge of the city.  This holy site is an incredibly important place for many Hindu Nepalis as it is here that many families come to conduct the cremation ceremonies for family members who have died.

Before arriving I had been preparing myself for what we might encounter – I just wasn’t sure what kind of emotions might present and how the visual images would impact.  I have always had a very active imagination.  At the risk of sounding childish I will admit that I am still overcome by nightmares of such a vivid and horrific nature that I sometimes wonder whether observing raw and real human suffering is simply a catalyst for such terrors.

But I soon realized, upon arriving, that my worries were unfounded.  While the vision of heaps of straw, wood, and smoke surrounding the body, was startling at first, it was also incredibly peaceful and spiritual.  It felt very natural and although filled with an urgent sense of grief it looked very much like those families we saw were spiritually letting go -letting the river carry away their sorrow and grief.

There was a family undertaking the rituals of preparing the body before cremation and I watched from atop a hill as the family grieved and laid garlands of marigolds over the body, the golden colour reflective of the god Vishnu, the Protector.

The grey river, clogged with debris, and exceptionally polluted, still worked tirelessly to sweep away the ashes and provide the holy water which would secure the deceased a space in heaven.  Caught in the current were some golden orange strands of fabric that clung to a muddy stick and fanned the current along.

I watched this family closely and was reminded that although their grief was still fresh they were following a centuries old tradition that would protect and honour their family member in the after-life and that they too would one day be washed down the river towards a holier and more pure existence.  The actions were public, but the emotions were purely private and held solace for the grieving families.