Linda: Orange Robes Does Not the Sadhu Make, Jan 11

Linda: Orange Robes Does Not the Sadhu Make, Jan 11

Just a little touch of humor, and a dip back into reality. There was a young sadhu at the top of Arunachula who served us tea. We had given the group a small amount of money in appreciation (small to us anyway - $1.00, but quite a lot here), which is a common practice. This young man offered to guide us around the Arunachula the next day and we had his phone number. The Hindu devotee who was with us felt responsible for our little group, and he asked someone in the ashram about the young men on the hill. “Mischevious boys” was the answer. It seems that taking money for tea at the top of the mountain is frowned upon. Traditionally, that was a gift of the sadhus to those who climbed. Taking advantage of trusting tourists was considered quite “mischevious”. At any rate, we were guided to another person who would be a good guide – the one we had.

And, on a similar tangent, beggars do not the poor make. As we were going around Arunachula, we were on the outskirts of a field and two thin women came out to beg. We’d only seen 4 people on the inner path, so, for a change, seeing someone was something of a novelty. Our guide gave one of the women a rupee and took advantage of the gift to ask questions. It seems that his woman owned all the land that we were walking near – and she had relatives in the US that sent her money regularly. Eleanor’s suspicions were aroused by noticing that the woman’s nose rings were gold – real gold. The two women were quite well off and just thought it was fun to see what they could get from the tourists. It was not mean spirited – just “’mischevious”, and helped me to raise my awareness levels to a higher level again. Which is a good thing. The incidents taught me how to look deeper and ask more questions in this new country.

Still, there is great need here and most people we have met have been generous and honest, and I haven’t met anyone yet who was threatening or menacing. Taking advantage of tourists is fair game – after all, we’re “rich” – and we are. We are very fortunate to live in a land where one can find work, can feed one’s family, and, in need, get the medical, food, and monetary help needed to get by.