Elephant and the blindmen

The first thing we did upon arriving in Pondicherry was visit the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Though the guru "left his physical body" decades ago many devotees still live in the community there. As our vans pulled through the brick streets towards the ashram, I was quietly listening to some music. Suddenly someone shook my shoulder and pointed back at a previous intersection. Apparently we had just passed an elephant. Earlier in the year I expressed an elephant ride as the primary reason I wanted to come to India. Ever since I was child pony rides had never been quite enough, and had left me wanting for something more. Something with less hair.

For me this elephant was of the utmost importance. No matter that many people consider Sri Aurobindo a great spiritual leader--one of God's greatest creatures was mere meters away. After paying perfunctory respects at the yogi's resting place, and a stop in the gift shop for my instant Moksha kit, I quickly made my way across the street to the Ganesh temple. posted by William @ 4:16 PM Monday, September 18, 2006 One Big Vegetarian