What a magical place India is! Every day I wake up feeling more alive and fullfilled with the positive energy that India has to offer.

Highlights since the last blog:

~Sent a few packages to America
~Held a live cobra
~Attacked by a monkey
~Saw a wild cougar
~Passed my yoga exam and recieved certificate to teach
~Certified in Reiki healing
~Saw the nacked Babas in Hardiware (Kumba Mela)
~Went to the holy city of Vrindavan

Sending packages was a very interesting procedure. For one, the postage costed way more than the items being that india is so cheap. Secondly, they covered the boxes with a cloth material (kinda like a potato sack) and sowed it up. I then wrote the address on the cloth to where it should be sent and my phone number incase it will be lost (very likely to happen). And finally the estimated time of arrival for the package is 2 months! If I would have known that, I would have just waited until I eventually go back and take all the items with me on the plane....If I go back....hehehe

As I was leaving my room one morning, I saw a round box on the ground with a instument laying next to it. I asked the man if it was for sale (the instrument). He then opened the box and behold a cobra lay inside! He was a snake charmer! He played his magic flute and charmed the snake (I have pics and video somewhere). I was also able to pick up the cobra and hold it :) At one point the cobra sruck at the snake charmer...glad he did not bite me when i was holding him...you never know if he is fully depoisoned!!! One bite from a cobra could mean the end of your life...especially with how slow medical attention here in india is!

After the cobra experience, my roomate Jessica and I made our way to the bridge that crosses the ganga river to our yoga class. There are always monkeys all over the bridge, and I was told by people (Nitin) that the black monkeys are the nice monkeys. So I felt couragous enough to play with the monkey. I grabed its hand and held it. He was ok with that. I then went to touch his body and that is when he attacked me....lol....I also have it on video....I love my iphone!!!!

One evening some of my friends and I decided to take a ride to one of the beaches and hang out. The beach was situated on the Ganga river in the wild, secluded from the town. It was 12:30 am when we were driving back into town. As we were going around a corner, our headlights shined on a wild cougar just 5 feet in front of us! It was so beautiful. It had a long tail and beautiful fur! He was startled and ran into the woods. Shortly after that we saw another small wild cat (not sure what it was) and a large rodent looking animal scurrying around the road. There is so much to be seen here! there are also wild elephants, but i have not seen one of those yet!

Well, my yoga is finally over. It has been a tough month, 8 hours of yoga a day! I feel very good about it. I had a perfect test and recieved my certificate. It is registered with Yoga Allience USA. Which means that my name is registered world wide as a certified yoga instructer. I can teach yoga for children, adults, pregnancy, breathing, variations and philosophy. My teacher was very intellegent and taught us all he knew about yoga, anatomy and how to teach. He is also a bone surgeon, so he was able to answer my many questions on how yoga benefits the physiology and anatomy of the body.

After finishing yoga, I decided to stay in Rishikesh for a few more days to attend a Reiki class. I am naturally very skeptical about this whole spiritual energy stuff, so I have to see it/ feel it to believe it. So I decided to give it a try. Soma, my teacher opened up my chakras and gave me an initiation so that I can start channeling the universal energies. It sounds bogus, but it was a very spiritual and powerful experience, more than what I expected!. I am now a certified Reiki healer and can help with many aliements from depression to broken bones. You can definatly feel a difference when you get a reiki healing! I plan to go back to Rishikesh in a few weeks to do the next level of Reiki healing. Little did I know, that this would be the beginning of an exciting spiritual journey into the heart of India.....

On my way to Reiki class one day, I met someone who knew the naga babas in rishikesh (naked holy men covered in ash). Since I missed out on meeting them last time for the Kumba Mela, I decided to go to Hardiware again to see them.
Video of Naga Babas initiation:

http://www.indiadivine.org/articles/450/1/Video-of-Naga-Baba-Initiation-Ceremony-at-Kumbha-Mela/Page1.html

My new friend Amrit Ananda and I took a cab (45 min) to the babas. We saw them bath in the Ganga river, smoke ganga(marijuana), they cooked tea for us and gave us gifts. I was given an initiation from one of the babas. It was very sacred and unique for him to give me such a gift. He placed a string of rudraksh (seeds from the tears of siva) around my head and gave me his blessing. He then painted my face and arms with the sacred ash. I was the only one who recieved these gifts, and I felt honored to be so special. The babas practiced Siva Yoga, which means that they dont wear clothes (even in the cold winter), they live in a cave in the himalayas and they do not have any material posessions! They just sit and meditate all day. They say that the naga babas control world peace etc...There were naga babas who twisted there penis around a sharp sword like a rubberband! OUCH!!! I also have pics and video of these strange events...not sure if they are suitible for ppl under 18! Just sitting next to these babas and talking with them was a very powerful experience. We sat and talked to many of them. They all spoke english, but never went to school in their lives. They are so intelligent! How do they learn? It must be through meditation!?

A few days later, I decided out of nowhere to go to Vrindavan with a friend to check it out. Vrindavan is the Holiest city in India. It is the birth place of Krishna:

http://www.krishna.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna

["Bhakti, meaning devotion, is not confined to any one deity. However Krishna is an important and popular focus of the devotional and ecstatic aspects of Hindu religion, particularly among the Vaishnava sects. Devotees of Krishna subscribe to the concept of lila, meaning 'divine play', as the central principle of the Universe. The lilas of Krishna, with their expressions of personal love that transcend the boundaries of formal reverence, serve as a counterpoint to the actions of another avatar of Vishnu: Rama, "He of the straight and narrow path of maryada, or rules and regulations."
"The Bhakti movements devoted to Krishna became prominent in southern India in the 7th to 9th centuries AD."]

Here we stayed at a krishna temple. I met my friends Guru who explained to me Bhakti (devotional) yoga. he also gave me chanting beads (mala), and many books to read and learn. we stayed at the temple for free and ate everyday for no charge! The food is called prasadam. It is so named because they offer the food to the gods before eating it. They let Krishna eat it first and then only after may we eat it. The food is very pure this way. We sat on the floor to eat. Our plates were infront of us also on the floor. One man would come and fill our dishes with rice, lentles, veggies, and other great delights. We would then eat with our fingers :) What a cool experience!
This place gives me such a happy and loving feeling like no other! You can feel the power and energy from the city. It was as if the city was alive! My name is no longer April, people referred to me with my new name Oma. Om (AUM) meaning universal energy. Everyone took a liking to my new name....they all seemed astonished with its beauty. For me, its just a name, for others Om means everything in the universe, the gods and all things. One evening we visited a temple, where they chanted hare krishna. I sat in a group of maybe 100 devotees to krishna and chanted while they sung and played instruments. Many were dancing around happy as can be. I have never been in a place were i have seen so many happy people. I was also feeling their joy! Krishna is love and that is what they believe in.
The workers in the city also use camels for pulling wagons and for work purposes. Its is quite a funny site to see such large camels doing the work that in other cities the oxes and bulls do the work. We also went to Radarani's and Krishnas place where they used to live in Barsana. There were many people there. One of the main things that will stick in my mind is the children beggars. We gave them a few rupees and after that they stuck on us like flies and recruited more kids. Before we knew it, we were being bombarded by little beggars! Lesson number one, dont give money to the ones that follow you around...give money to those who need it....like the ones without limbs/eyes ect. cause there are many here!!!
We also went to goverthan hill. We drove around it for 24 kilometers. Its a special place for many devotees. They walk barefoot for 5 days around the 24 km stretch and each step they take they bow to the ground and kiss it, so you can imagine that it takes some time to walk around the hill. (I have photos). we also went to Shamakuna and Haradakunda, which are holy bodies of water. I also recieved gifts from the tulasi tree (a tulasi necklace).

Upon my arrival back into Delhi, Nitin's uncle told me I was shining! He saw the difference that Vrindavan had on me! He saw the love in my eyes and felt my new energy! I recommend everyone to experience what Vrindavan has to offer!