A Day Away From Auroville: Temple Tour With The African Swami and Manakshi Giri

And what a fabulous day it was!!! As mentioned in my blog about Pondicherry, I met the "African Swami" and Manakshi Giri at the International Yoga Festival that was happening in the city. They had such light and magnetism about them, I was immediately drawn into their sphere. It was Manakshi Giri-- AKA Maria--who first approached me, with a most beautiful smile, asking me if I needed any help. Her English--spoken with a Russian accent-- was clear and quite excellent. She wore the robes of a sannyasi--or monk--which intrigued me, since she was a western woman.

I was indeed a bit lost so I welcomed her offer of help and she procured a brochure for me about the festival. (which, as mentioned earlier, was a bust, except for making her and the swami's acquaintance.) Long story short, she soon introduced me to the African Swami, whom I also liked instantly. Like Manakshi Giri, his eyes were also very bright and quite beautiful. They were both so very warm, friendly and interesting.

Manakshi Giri explained how she had been traveling through India, looking for a spiritual teacher. She met the Swami and knew immediately that this funny man--a wandering sadhu in ochre robes--was the one. Fast forward several months... she took vows of sannyas--or monkhood (celebacy, and total devotion to God and a spiritual path) and they had been traveling together ever since. She became his personal secretary of sorts, and began putting his beautiful poetry to music... her voice and musical talent is exquisite. The Swami, for his part, also speaks excellent English, has a great sense of humor and was just extremely interesting and fun to interact with.

We all exchanged numbers, and they told me that, over the weekend, they intended to tour some temples in villages on the outskirts of Pondicherry. The temples, Swami told me, were on sites that had existed for millenia, and many contained the burial grounds of saints who had taken "live samadhi"-- a conscious death-- so that their devotees could still experience their "shakti" --or enlivened energy--when visiting their place of burial. Intrigued, I immediately agreed to accompany them.

I took an auto from Auroville and met them at the home of a very wealthy businessman in Pondicherry who had befriended Swami.They presented the three of us--plus the additional friends and guests--the gentlemen you see in the photos below--with an elaborate and fabulous South Indian breakfast. After much feasting and photos, we took off in the cars of these other gentleman, so rode in comfort to our first temple.

The gentlemen then left the three of us there, and we proceeded to visit three different temple sites, the final one being after dark. I don't recall the names of any of them, not surprisingly. No matter. What was important to me was the beauty and history-- because they were, truly, quite ancient and magnificently constructed--and the delightful company of the Swami and Manakshi Giri. This was, truly speaking, one of my most memorable days in India to date!

The African Swami, Manakshi Giri, and their three good friends, at this strange,100 year-old home of another friend, the wealthy businessman. The women of the house--the businessman's wife and sister--stand behind. The columns you see are apparently typical of this era--surrounding an open, inner "courtyard' of sorts...at least, this is the best way I can describe it. I think the feeling of being at court--in a palace--is quite intentional. I personally found the aesthetics of it to be cumbersome and rather ugly...but clearly, in their minds, it is a way of displaying great wealth and importance to visitors. Regardless, it was certainly an interesting place to see, and the whole experience of the morning was unique and fascinating! A rarity for a tourist such as myself, that is for sure!

They all sat like ducks in a row, to be served on this marble floor. Not possible for me and my back...so I sat on a chair, at a nearby table, to eat my food.

My seat, all to myself! Felt odd to be looking down on the rest of them, but floor seating for me was out of the question! The gentleman you see is the wealthy businessman and home owner. He explained that the house has been in his family since it was built 100 years ago! Pretty amazing.

As you can see, the whole inner "courtyard" area is totally open. This serves as both living room and dining room. It is apparently typical of the early 1900's, amongst the very wealthy. I found it heavy, rather bizarre, and definitely unattractive... but I am sure the Indians would beg to differ with that opinion! (The upper floors are where all the bedrooms are situated. I suppose the grate is there to keep debris and animals from landing in the living room area? Truly another strange--and rather unattractive--feature of the room...

Off to our first temple: This ornate rooftop, as you have previously seen, is typical of the Hindu temple, displaying a great assortment of deities, demons, and who-knows-what else. It never was explained to me, but of course I always love them all!

The inner part of the temple, open but with ornate columns. The Swami and Manakshi Giri provide a colorful contrast in their ochre robes!

Typical of most temples, they are resplendently lit up at night. Also typical of the larger, more important ones: the large, man-made pools for taking sacred baths. I thought the lights reflecting in the pool were quite spectacular.

The inside of this particular temple was massive, as you can see... a few hundred years old, but maintained phenomenally well. I had to sneak the photos of the interior, because, as usual, photography was forbidden. BUT...it had to be done, and you can see why... the interior was positively magnificent in its construction and detail! Really quite beautiful.. even this photo doesn't quite do it justice.