Adventures in India

Hi Everyone,

Time has passed quickly while here in India. It has been an amazing experience. I have spent most of my time while here at Kirpal Ashram working in the medical office. I was here for 15 minutes when my nurse friends from camp found me explaining how glad they were to see me. We had been asked to put together a medical office. There are over 800 Westerners here (for the International Human Unity Conference), and as you can imagine, things happen when there are so many people together.

We put together all the miscellaneous supplies that each of us had brought to India, and created a Homeopathic clinic. We are busy from 9am to well past midnight. Dehydration and diarrhea are the most common complaints. People are advised to drink over 3 liters water every day, however, many choose not to do so, then must pay the price. We've had to send 2 people to the hospital. I was hoping to have an opportunity to visit a hospital while here (not as a patient), but have not had the chance. I have been told they are quite immaculate.

We have treated people from: Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary, Nigeria, Spain, Germany, France, Cameroon, Columbia, Peru, and Ecuador. Many of these people do not speak English. It's been a fun experience and sometimes a little challenging.

We went to a 10 year anniversary celebration of Darshan Academy last night. The student's program was most impressive. The title of the program was "Color the World with Love". It was an amazing program. The message of the program was love all - no matter what color, religion, age, appearance. We are all one - creations of God.

Every day, the nurses have attended a class on acupuncture. Alan Sheman from Phoenix is an acupuncturist and has been teaching us. I've actually been practicing acupuncture all week. It's amazing to hear the feedback from the treatment. It is most effective. I am considering learning more about this treatment modality when I return home. I also had a couple treatments from Alan. I was amazed. We've learned how to do 5 points of acupuncture and hope to receive a certification from NADA when I get home.

Yesterday, the nurses declared we were going on vacation for the day, and asked the doctor's to fill in. We had a great time. We went to the B'hai Temple - which is an incredible building, shaped like a lotus flower. They honor all religions, and believe we are all one in God. We stopped and had a wonderful meditation before leaving. We also visited Mahatma Gandhi's cremation site. A huge park with acres of beautiful grounds surrounds this. Then we treated ourselves to a luxurious meal at the Imperial Hotel. It is one of the most exquisite hotels I have ever seen. It is very British, marble, exquisite dining. It was wonderful eating here after 2 weeks of rice, lentils and variations thereof. The mango lassie was the best.

Last week I attended a Poet's Symposium. The audience cheers with excitement at the lines of poetry praising God, expressing devotion, etc. This is something I have never experienced. People were standing with their arms in the air, cheering, applauding, etc.

Well, I am going to say goodbye for now.
Kris

Going to India!

Hi, this is Kris, and I'm going to India. But, before I head to the airport, I want to share with you a cultural mother-daughter experience Mira and I shared yesterday. We were in the NBC Tower to pick up my visa for a trip to India (the Indian Consulate is in the building). In the lobby, we noticed a long line of people holding tickets for the Jerry Springer Show. Ready for an adventure, we decided on the spur of the moment to take in the show. Why not, I’d never been to a TV screening before, in fact, I had never even watched the show on TV before. Mira has much more experience in show business than me; having been on the The Price is Right, with her college softball team. In fact, Mira’s teammate won a Dodge Dakota truck – with the help of the rest of the team.

So, we went through security, waited expectantly in the “holding room”, and finally arrived full of anticipation. I called Jim – Mira’s step dad - who proceeded to remind me that this show is “really low-rent”. Being adventurous, we were up for anything.

Since Jerry Springer is Dancing with the Stars this week, he was in LA. The host, Steve, was a huge, bald, commanding, former Marine – with good common sense & values (“a voice of reason”). It was interesting to see how the host gets coached by someone else on the side. Also, the bouncers added their own little flair by egging on the audience during the commercial breaks [the beefy guys danced around a pole and took their shirts off]. Steve was actually a voice of reason, wisdom and sanity on the show.

In the studio while waiting for the actual taping to begin, we got to view Jerry Springer's "Too Hot to Show on TV" with much brawling, hair pulling, stripping, clothes ripping, etc. Boy – are we in for a treat, I thought. What did we get ourselves into? We did get to watch a cat fight, hair pulling, complaining, blaming, etc. And - one of the guests was truly a sleaze ball.

For all of you Jerry Springer fans, you already know there is a segment at the end of the show where guests sit up front on stage, and the audience gives their comments. I was actually considering telling the sleaze ball just how bad he was. However, there is one part of the show that many folks do not know about. After expressing their comments, the women in the audience have an opportunity to earn "Jerry beads." The way to do this is by lifting your shirt & flashing their assets to the audience. Of course the audience goes wild and rewards them with hooting, hawing, cheering, etc. I was quite shocked when the girl next to me was the first person to get up to “share” with the guests. I quickly changed my mind about expressing my sleaze ball comment.

As a parent, I really do try to give my family a wide variety of cultural, educational, inspiring experiences. Even though Mira is now an adult, I find that my job as a role model and mentor is never done. It is so reassuring that I can continue to make such a huge difference in Mira’s life! Well on to my next adventure – a spiritual trip to India.