March 9, 2003
A Blackbelt Masseuse, A Ventriloquist and a Swamy
A lot has happened..I'll try to be succinct...
Last off I was planning on a massage for my ailing hips. I go into the room, the air is even oily, and I meet Hari. Tall, stout and wearing an apron so he resembles a butcher. Besides being an ayurvedic masseuse (which he learned from his dead uncle...when he was living of course) he's also an actor and a black belt.....yes black belt…so you can imagine the power he has in his hands. I won't get into the details of the massage but suffice to say that having hot oil rubbed into your tissues by a hairy, burly Indian while you lay there naked (full body massage... underwear gets in the way...you get used to it) was a bit strange at first and might have freaked out a less secure soul......and it hurts a little. The table is wooden and no cushioning. And the massaging action is sometimes akin to ringing out a wet towel except it's your leg/calf/forearm muscle. I'll never forget me laying on my stomach, kneecaps pressured against the table and my ass tensing up from that pain, at which time Hari would say, "Loose!Loose" in his Keralan accent and poke my derriere. So this went on for 5 days and afterwards you feel great…giddy almost. Still some pain after prolonged sitting sessions...maybe it's time to get yogic.
A couple of days later I meet Venky the ventriloquist/musician/children's entertainer et al at a music store. He's there buying some things and making impressions of different instruments and making a cloth sack talk. He asks me if I have come here to find love. I ask what kind of love and he goes, "This kind..." and gives me a nice hug. I smiled and said that love exists in Canada, it just hard to find sometimes.
Been doing a little traveling with guru Sankaran to his concerts....to his hometown(Trichy) and to the birthplace/resting place of his great grandguru in Puddokkatai. Being in his hometown for a concert was something special. He hasn't played there in decades so many of his old teachers and friends came out to see and hear and pay him tribute/felicitations. They were all extremely proud of him and sincere to the core...but we couldn't hang long cause we had to catch a night train to Mysore for a concert the next night.
Now, this concert was no ordinary concert...it was at the ashram of Swami Ganapathy Sachchinanada. I don't what experience/knowledge many of you have/had of a Swami/Yogi/Enlightened persons....there are many frauds around and you hear many stories. Well, this was my first personal encounter with the whole scene and it was truly fascinating. The whole vibe of the ashram is peaceful and silent. We were there for Shivaratri celebrations which go on till the morning. Sankaran was to play with a flautist and then with the Swami. This particular Swami utilizes music to a high degree for healing and meditation so for the rest of the night he would play and sing his own bhajans (spiritual songs) with the invited musicians. Before the concert we were engaged in some ceremonial activities which brought us into contact with the Swami. I must be honest, the sight of the man makes you smile...he almost glowed from a distance, standing out from everyone else and the closer you got the more peaceful you felt…he had a powerful presence which I have not yet experienced from any other mortal. So for the rest of the night I sat onstage with guruji and got into the Sawmi's music and it still lingers in my head. Then two days later he wanted to see Sankaran again and I tagged along. Again, in his presence a beautiful feeling....call it whatever you want.
Learning so much from being with Sankaran...being onstage while he plays is an education you can't buy...especially if you can grasp it...any of it. In the end though, no matter whom you have as a teacher, or where you go to school or whatever...the greatest learning will come from yourself .....self-discovery and self-realization.
I must have done something good in a previous birth to be here now.
Curtis
A Blackbelt Masseuse, A Ventriloquist and a Swamy
A lot has happened..I'll try to be succinct...
Last off I was planning on a massage for my ailing hips. I go into the room, the air is even oily, and I meet Hari. Tall, stout and wearing an apron so he resembles a butcher. Besides being an ayurvedic masseuse (which he learned from his dead uncle...when he was living of course) he's also an actor and a black belt.....yes black belt…so you can imagine the power he has in his hands. I won't get into the details of the massage but suffice to say that having hot oil rubbed into your tissues by a hairy, burly Indian while you lay there naked (full body massage... underwear gets in the way...you get used to it) was a bit strange at first and might have freaked out a less secure soul......and it hurts a little. The table is wooden and no cushioning. And the massaging action is sometimes akin to ringing out a wet towel except it's your leg/calf/forearm muscle. I'll never forget me laying on my stomach, kneecaps pressured against the table and my ass tensing up from that pain, at which time Hari would say, "Loose!Loose" in his Keralan accent and poke my derriere. So this went on for 5 days and afterwards you feel great…giddy almost. Still some pain after prolonged sitting sessions...maybe it's time to get yogic.
A couple of days later I meet Venky the ventriloquist/musician/children's entertainer et al at a music store. He's there buying some things and making impressions of different instruments and making a cloth sack talk. He asks me if I have come here to find love. I ask what kind of love and he goes, "This kind..." and gives me a nice hug. I smiled and said that love exists in Canada, it just hard to find sometimes.
Been doing a little traveling with guru Sankaran to his concerts....to his hometown(Trichy) and to the birthplace/resting place of his great grandguru in Puddokkatai. Being in his hometown for a concert was something special. He hasn't played there in decades so many of his old teachers and friends came out to see and hear and pay him tribute/felicitations. They were all extremely proud of him and sincere to the core...but we couldn't hang long cause we had to catch a night train to Mysore for a concert the next night.
Now, this concert was no ordinary concert...it was at the ashram of Swami Ganapathy Sachchinanada. I don't what experience/knowledge many of you have/had of a Swami/Yogi/Enlightened persons....there are many frauds around and you hear many stories. Well, this was my first personal encounter with the whole scene and it was truly fascinating. The whole vibe of the ashram is peaceful and silent. We were there for Shivaratri celebrations which go on till the morning. Sankaran was to play with a flautist and then with the Swami. This particular Swami utilizes music to a high degree for healing and meditation so for the rest of the night he would play and sing his own bhajans (spiritual songs) with the invited musicians. Before the concert we were engaged in some ceremonial activities which brought us into contact with the Swami. I must be honest, the sight of the man makes you smile...he almost glowed from a distance, standing out from everyone else and the closer you got the more peaceful you felt…he had a powerful presence which I have not yet experienced from any other mortal. So for the rest of the night I sat onstage with guruji and got into the Sawmi's music and it still lingers in my head. Then two days later he wanted to see Sankaran again and I tagged along. Again, in his presence a beautiful feeling....call it whatever you want.
Learning so much from being with Sankaran...being onstage while he plays is an education you can't buy...especially if you can grasp it...any of it. In the end though, no matter whom you have as a teacher, or where you go to school or whatever...the greatest learning will come from yourself .....self-discovery and self-realization.
I must have done something good in a previous birth to be here now.
Curtis