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| 3-16-11 - At the Narayana Gurukula (guru's home) in
the Ferndale section of the hill station, Ooty, famous for tea plantations. We're at 7,700
feet. I came here with Peter Moras and Joseph from Kerala. Here we met Gennedi who is the Russian I referred to in
3-13-11 - Walking the inner Circle
along with Peter. I
didn't realize that Gennedi was part of this community of seekers I've met
through Gita so I was surprised to see him - though even if he wasn't,
it's common when traveling like this to meet the same friends again
unexpectedly at some other spot. As Peter, Joseph and I prepared to walk
to the gurukula from the bus stand (as they say here) in Ooty, not wanting
to wait for the local bus, Swami Vyasa and Steve from Santa Fe picked us up in
the former's jeep - perfect timing. Vyasa has visited both Tassajara and the
SFZC's City
Center and has traveled widely I hear. He told me Ed Brown gave him a
kitchen knife. Vyasa talked about how the wild bison had broken through
the fence again and caused some havoc inside. A new, stronger fence must
be built and right now cyclone is the top contender. I made a mental note
to confer with a green architect I know in Tiru about alternatives to
cyclone fencing which I see as appropriate for minimum security prisons. Once inside I also met
Viju who runs the kitchen and
who's been taking good care of us. They have around fifteen practice centers or ashrams which
they call gurukula. This is one of them. See
Narayana. Gurukula
Bangalore. Narayana Guru was a social reformer and philosopher who's not as
well known as Ramana Maharshi but who also redefined Advaita Vedanta in
the twentieth century. His face can be found on some five rupee coins. He
pointed this hilltop out to Nataraja Guru who lived here many years until
he died in 1973. He brought in many artists, musicians, poets and made the
place a center of culture for that period. Guru Nitya was his successor. Now Guru Muniprasad is the
head of this fairly decentralized community of ashrams. He lives in
Varkala, Kerala,
Gurudarsanam is a site for this lineage. The place has a large library with
books on many subjects not excluding science and literature. No time to praise this wonderful place and more so the gentle and wise people I've met in this community. I've got to get down to Ooty on this windy day to take the famous toy train, as some call it, on its narrow gage rail which will take me down down down to hot India below. - dc See Gennadi's question for his take on this gurukula |
Check out the photos below taken by Gennadi Bedjanian
- and notice the eucaplytus and pine trees just like where I live.
Reception building
Meditation hut
Guru Nitya Samadhi (memorial building)
Altar at Narayana Gurukula, Fernhill, Ooty. L to R: Guru Nitya, Narayana Guru, Nataraja Guru
Nearby tea plantation. We're in Ooty which is the heart of Nilgiri in Tamil Nadu
which is famous for tea such as Orange Pekoe.
A view from the Narayana Gurukula.
Another view with some homes in the background - on the edge of Ooty.
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