Thoughts from India

Hi guys,
 
About the India-Pakistan situation - I don't really know what's on the news, but considering that I'm at the southern tip of India, I don't think I have much to worry about here, and of course, I'll check on the situation before I go north (which isn't planned until mid-February). The common language here is English, but considering the heavy Indian accent of some of the lecturers here, I'm not sure how accurate that statement is - it's really interesting to see/hear two Indians having a discussion IN ENGLISH, and not being able to understand a single word, while they understand each other perfectly. It also has to do with the speed they speak - you could launch a rocket to the moon on the wings of one of their sentences...
 
We had a New Year's celebration here last night - the fireworks were (please excuse me) pathetic. They kept going off on the ground instead of in the air, so people were jumping around trying to avoid getting scorched. Come to think of it, it was pretty entertaining to see that, if you take the noise lightly. I actually thought that we were being bombed when the first couple went off... (that shows you what living in Israel will do to your reflexes...)
 
All in all, it's pretty surreal - I've just finished having an existential discussion over a lemon soda with a German actor who lives in Italy, sitting in a straw hut in tropical India - not too bad.
 
To tell the truth, we haven't had too much philosophy thrown at us so far. They keep telling us that yoga is not just a physical exercise regime, but a whole philosophy of life; and they do meditation and chanting every morning and every evening (by the way, the staff here spend an hour chanting for peace every day here, and we are invited to join if we like) - but I'm still waiting to hear the philosophy more in depth. I have been told that I'll be getting that during the Teacher's Training Course. So far, it's just me and my thoughts, and they don't always come too clearly, especially just after a massage (after which it's not just my body that feels (and behaves) like a wet noodle; it's my mind as well).
 
I think that the thing that is most interesting (so far, at least) is to try to see how far you can go in stripping down the extras and leaving only the essentials of life. (At this point, those of you who don't care for my particular brand of philosophy may sign off and go for a cup of coffee...) The "what is life" question that kept all of us busy during our teen years has pretty much returned to haunt me during the last few years, and this seems like a really good environment to be checking that out. For instance, I have found that the only things that really bother me here are the heat and the fact that I can't get a hot shower (which could be considered a luxury, depending on your standards). Add to that the basics that I do have - a bed in a dormitory, a mosquito net, basic clothing, running water and 2 meals a day - and I can start to examine the meaning of the words "basic necessity of life".
 
And then, there is the really big question of "what do you do with your life" - which is actually pretty close to the conversation I just finished in the above mentioned straw hut. Supposing you get to the point where you have the "basic necessities of life", and you don't really want an extra swimming pool in your back yard (so you don't have to keep that time-consuming, stressful job) - then how are you going to fill in the time from now until you're dead, besides supporting yourself (which we've already established doesn't necessarily have to take up 85% of your life)? TV, trips to the riviera, etc - are actually just modes of entertainment - how much entertainment do I need? What do I need it for? Might it just be there to keep my mind off the reality? And then, what is reality? People here were saying "it will be hard to get back to reality" - but is life here any less real? Maybe it is more real, because here, we have first-hand contact with ourselves, our bodies, our minds, and nature?
 
I find myself less and less interested in the "reality" of my "normal" life, and more and more interested in whatever I can explore in an environment like this one. It seems so much easier to investigate the reality that lurks in my mind, just beyond comprehension - when there are less things to distract me. Just like packing for a trip to India - the less objects you take with you - the more free you are (because there are less things to worry about). You can't lose what you don't have, and you don't worry about what you can't lose. So how true is it that we create our own realities?
 
Hope I haven't put any of you into shock - I'm just allowing myself to think "out loud" - I'm too far away from any of you for anyone to come at me with a stick, so I guess I can pretty much say what I want here. Dirty trick, huh? Well, somebody here is already waiting for a chance at the computer, so I guess in all fairness I should stop gibbering, give you a rest, and give her a chance to knock her friends out with her own philosophy...