christmas days in Sewa Ashram

It's more than a week now since we arrived in Sewa Ashram (sewa means "divine service", ashram is a centre or community usually gathered around some kind of spiritual leader) just outside Delhi. Hajo spent some months here helping out as a volunteer 7 years ago. For him it was kind of coming home whereas for me it is the first time and I am really glad to finally being able to see for myself. I remember the first flyers that said "Do you want to be part of a wonder...?" And full of wonders the history of this place and it's people truly is. Ton started 10 years ago by simply going to the places where the destitute people are, the junkies, the homeless, the sick, the poor. He and the people working alogside him are picking people up from the roadside, some are brought to hospital and cared for while being there, some are taken to places like Mother Theresa where they receive help and some are brought to the Ashram to find a new home, care and community.

It was special to spend christmas here, in a community with the poor and needy at its core, the people Jesus especially cared and spoke out for. On Christmas Eve it was "Bhandara" time, a big feast all the people from the neighbouring slum areas where invited to. On Christmas Day everybody gathered for a meeting with bhajan singing - indian style of worship, a play the children prepared and presents for the kids.

The picture shows Salim, a guy found in front of a temple, blind, mute and nearly deaf. I was taking walks with him and loved how his face lit up when he touched people's heads to find out who it was. When he came to Hajo there was a bit of confusion going on, the long hair and the beard didn't seem to get together...
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light... The verse kept coming to my mind, especially when looking at the people surrounding me - in many faces I can see a reflection of the light they have seen - in how they came to the Ashram, how they experienced being loved and cared for, how they met Jesus through this.

Yesterday Ton took us to the streets, to the riverside and under the bridges where the homeless and stranded people gather. We found a boy sick with TB, half-naked, wrapped in blankets, sitting alone in the cold weather. We took him and four other guys with us to the Ashram. One of the guys, when told he could come to an Ashram didn't look very excited, but then his eyes brightened and he asked "Sewa Ashram?" and so he came. The people know Ton and the Ashram very well. On every corner we met old friends, greeting, showing their appreciation. We sat down to have chai at the improvised kiosk of a family living at the side of the street in a little hut made of loose bricks and a plane. They manage to make a living by selling chai and snacks while producing flower garlands.

I feel this is another station in our travelling where I gather stones - impressions and ideas of community life, of the words of Jesus being acted out... - stones that I hope will come together to form our new "home", the place where we want to be light...

The Israel-India Connection

Israel and India are probably the two most spiritual countries in the world. Both are centres of at least two world religions: Judaism & Christianity and Hinduism & Buddhism. After many years of European political influence on India through the English, Portuguese and French the tide has turned and today there is no denying the spiritual and philosophical influence of India. Also interesting is that many aspects of hinduistic thinking can be discovered in postmodernity, for example the possibility of many parallel existing truths that by western logics would exclude each other. Since the Sixties multitudes of people travel to India in search of spirituality. Among the young Israelis India has also become a very popular travel destination. Most come after their 2-3 year long service in the IDF (Israel Defense Force) to party hard or to do yoga and meditation. We have met many of them on our trip.
When we visited Israel earlier this year, one guy talked to Rebecca and asked her, if she has been to India. She said yes and the guy went on to say that visiting India changes one's spirit, and he can see that in her. New Age is on the rise in Israel (and slowly in the other Middle Eastern countries). That was also quite obvious on the European Rainbow Gathering last year, where one of he biggest groups (countrywise) were the Israelis, although they are not even Europeans!
On Goa's beaches almost every restaurant serves Israeli food and sometimes you can spot signs and posters written in Hevrit. However, because of their party attitude and being together in large groups they are disliked by many Indians. I heard of places that have signs at the entrance saying "No Israelis"! And also another group expresses their dislike: In the Newspaper three days ago was an article that Israel advises their citizens not to travel to India, because the Al Qaida made concrete threats for an assault in Goa, where most Israelis gather. We didn't expect this conflict to follow us until here. Let's hope that no actions will follow the threat.

Still in India - back in the web

Hello beautiful people out there! The silence is br\oken again! At times it was a bit isolated without you all, but we used the time to invest in the flesh-and-blood, face-to-face relationships with the people around us. So our time at the christian community was rich and very good, but now we also enjoy to travel on our own again.
Right now we are in Hampi / Karnataka and tonight we leave to Goa. We will try to get used again to blogging regularly, but it may take some time.
However, just as a proof that Rebecca and me really juggled with fire I upload this picture (it takes about 15 minutes...)
Take care, and feel free to email us again!
Love & Shanti!