New Spirits - Reading Deleuze in India
Consciousness only exists in connection with other consciousness
Travel and place experiences from India, Tamil Nadu, temples, paths, landscapes, and specific meeting spaces.
Standing on the loading bed of a small truck, I've been driving around Auroville these past few days, collecting various items for the Potters Market. These small trucks are the big brothers of tuk-tuks. Sometimes you see six or seven dozen people standing on them when a big festival is coming up. It's a popular mode of transport for people in the villages when they travel long distances together to be close to the gods. It's surprising how safe it is...
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The CADALfest took place from December 16th to 20th, 2022, in Adishakti. I hadn't planned on going, but I was thoroughly surprised by the four days of round-table discussions, poetry and film screenings, concerts, and theatrical performances by a fascinating group of artists, activists, and academics. I picked out a little something and on Saturday, attended the „Adivasi Round Table discussion with Vandna Tete, Ganga Sahay Meena, Seral Murmu & Ashwini Kumar Pankaj, moderated by Gopika Jadeja“ followed by the…
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Yesterday, I followed something in my mind that is difficult to describe. In everyday language, I might say I followed my intuition. But it's a bit more complex. I went back to Tiruvannamalai. It was the last day of the Karthigai Deepam Brahmotsavam Festival. So, on December 6, 2022, a fire was created on that mountain, as has been done for 2500 years. There is, of course, an ancient story about this. Brahman, the universal Self, manifested itself as Brahma (the creator), Vishnu...
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Yesterday I fell asleep with the expectation of waking up early to meditate. I set my alarm for 6 AM. In the evening, a French yoga instructor and mountain guide told me that the early morning hours in India are the best for meditation – I already knew they were good for *ryas*. She also spoke of the morning chants in the cities; I remembered the mantra chants in the temples. I woke up at 5:30 AM. Temple chants were...
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I'm still at a loss for words. The past few days have been marked by thoughts of the Vedic scriptures. A companion from another life took me to Nishtha Muller, an Aurovilian who has dedicated his life to the Vedic scriptures. For almost 2 hours, in his very humble dwelling in the forest, which he planted himself, he told us about Sanskrit, its roots, grammar, pronunciation, the deep spiritual power of mantras, cultural history, and historical dimensions. His explanations are what most profoundly affected me...
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I recently met a young Indian man here. He's from Delhi, and for him, South India is also a foreign world, though not as foreign as it is to me. He doesn't speak Tamil, and he's also a bit more detached or enlightened in his spirituality, as one might say. I ran into him again on the street, and we went to the Thamarai afternoon school on the outskirts of Auroville, which offers an afternoon program in a village that holds many social tensions within it...
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What should I take with me to India? I want to live a different life, in a different society, with different ideas and goals. It's warm there, life will be simple. Besides the basics like a few pieces of clothing, I need my tech gadgets like a laptop, phone, and camera. And what else? A good flashlight, because the dirt roads there are not lit. And books... There will be a number of libraries there too. I haven't had any ‚fun‘ for a very long time...
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I've been waiting for a while. I actually enjoy waiting. Waiting is a space and a time in which there's nothing else to do but wait for time to pass. Usually, you can't do much else besides read or talk, or think. For me, waiting times are therefore always free spaces. I most enjoy waiting in community centers, for example; here, all people are equal. Together with others, I'm in a room where there's nothing...
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