Pushkar is a small town in Rajasthan, the region that many Americans most associate with India — a desert with camels, palaces, forts, and elephants. I happened to be in the area during the time of the Pushkar’s annual Camel Fair. I had to go!
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Hindus believe that spiritual growth comes from a synchronization of the mind, heart, soul and body. Because Hindus believe the physical body and its functions aren’t separate from the other aspects of our being, it’s not surprising that there is a temple complex in India with carvings that are very explicitly sexual. Khajuraho in Central India is dozens of sandstone temples built in the 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries The temple walls depict scenes from the Kama Sutra, an ancient Hindu manual of sexual pleasure, desire, and love.
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Amritsar is a city near the northwestern part of India in the region called the Punjab. It’s the home of the Sikh religion and the Sikhs’ most important place of worship, Harmandir Sahib, also called the Golden Temple. This is not a normal temple. In addition to being a holy place of prayer and reflection, its kitchen and hundreds of volunteers serve more than 100,000 free meals every day. This work is part of the Sikh philosophy of “sewa” or service, and the reason I came to Amritsar.
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Heading into Month 9 of the Big Wait, I thought I would indulge my travel fantasies by responding to a question people often ask me that I never really know how to answer:
“What’s your favorite country?”
Martin Luther King said “We are not makers of history. We are made by history.” I’m not sure about the first half of this quote coming from history-maker Martin Luther King, but I am good with the second half. And for me travel is one of the best ways to learn about what we are made of. Some places are especially good for understanding a little bit about world history, and feeling the past and how it has influenced our world today.
Camino Milagro 