Amritsar and direction Daramshala

This years journey I started at the Pakistan border at the first of February. Because I was not allowed to walk through Pakistan (no Visa), it feels like connecting the earlier walked way until Afghanistan. Here I would have come from Lahore over the border into India. I wanted so much, to walk into India, but last year, as you know, I had to take the plane from Kabul to Delhi. (The Visa in Afghanistan could not be renewed and suddenly I also was not able to get a Visa for Pakistan). The original plan was, to stay all together nearly 4 month in Afghanistan and then walking for 3 month through Pakistan. So I would have reached at this point at mid of December 2017. A big rest was planed afterwards…. then continue walking on the path, where I do know…. towards Daramshala.

Amritsar is about 27 km away from the border. This is the city and holy place of the Sikh. In the middle of the city is the Golden Temple. The Golden Temple, which is not so big, is surrounded by water, surrounded by more buildings and places of worship. In the Golden Temple the holy book is honored and protected. The religion is only 600 years old. For 200 years, one master after the other was incarnated in the same family, always teaching the messages, which was received from God. Sikh call God by the name Wahe Guru. Sikh are always wearing a turban, at least the men, most colourful. They never cut there hair, tied together under the turban. Also other body hair is never cut. So, all the men have a beard, if getting to long, also tied together and somehow fixed under the chin. Sikhs are known for helping and serving all the time. So Sikh told me on the way, where ever you see someone with a turban, you always can be sure, to be safe and that you can get help. Another remarkable thing is, that Sikh like to cook for everyone and especially the poor. In a close by building at the golden temple, you see unbelievable many people serving, peeling onions and garlic, cutting vegetables, distributing plates and glasses, spoons to the people. On the other side of the hall, collecting eating rests and washing the dishes. Arriving at the lower hall, it was just full, they closed the doors. Soon everyone was guided to the hall one floor up. Long linen are in stripes on the floor, where the people sit on. Crossed legs I put my plate and glass on the ground. Immediately after rice and dal (lentils), some other vegetables are served, water filled up in the glass. The hall fills up in 20 min with around 400-500 people. Every some minutes someones arrives to refill the plate, however much you like to eat. Soon after you are finished, you leave your place. Everything on the floor will be cleansed after you, to be ready for the next people. Thousands and thousands of meals are served every day like that. No one ask you for any money, but sure you can at special areas…. Sikh have also a special dress and special underwear to wear. Everyone, also women, have a sword with them, smaller or bigger, for self-defense. All together the look looks quite impressive. I realize, that Sikh people in general look a bit taller than most other Indians. They have a different descent line. Sikh you find all over the state of Punjab, but here and there also somewhere else in India. It seem that they always have a good mood.

After walking out of Amritsar, I end up in a little village called Chetanpura, searching for a night stay. I come in contact with some turban wearing brothers, who have a office, where you can learn, how to tie turban. I don’t have a clue, how you can make money with that, but I have other communication topics. I have to convince them, to help me to find a place for the night. After some ideas I end up in a Gurudwara. A Gurudwara is a temple, but also a place, where everyone is always welcome to stay for the night, and to get food for free. And here something happened first every morning walking through Punjab. At 4.30 am the leading Sikh recites in a room, where the holy book is honored, from the holy scriptures, but its also transmitted through the loud speakers. The whole recitation lasts for about 2 hours…… Because these Gurudwaras are at a lot of places in Punjab, I will see more of them in the next weeks.

With the route planing my paper map helped me a bit for a better overview, but maps.me with a route suggestion for walkers also. So I found a way, where I can walk on small streets. In the afternoon, somewhere before Kattewal, I meet a Indian, living in Germany, who invites me to his property. But I have already an invitation in Kattewal for the night. Ok. 20 min. Finally longer. The major showed up with a golden plastic cup, a trophy, a press photo is maid and I have another ‚wonderful‘ gift in my backpack…. Everybody was so happy….
Next day have to walk through a small city, Batala. Cities in India are not always a joy, full of traffic, sound and pollution. Luckily I arrive in the early morning. My plan is to sneak somehow through. Already I found out, if I look at the people, I have to talk to so many, about where I am from, whats my name…. and so on. Also I understand, that most people, who are just interested in a small talk…. they just don’t get, what I am doing. They hear my story, that I walked from Germany to India, but I see in there eyes, they just don’t understand. They say yes, but…. I don’t know where the whole information gets…. then in these cases, I mention 16.000 km through 15 countries, still no bell is ringing….. then, when they understand, that I will walk to Daramshala by walking, they say: You are on the wrong way, the bus is going there and there. ‚…but I am walking’…. ‚but that’s to far….’…. Its about 200 km, then some of them nearly panic….. I don’t know, why it takes so long to understand… and then some still don’t get it…. I don’t understand it in a country, where so many Sadus  walk everywhere on foot, why it is so difficult to understand…. anyway, I am not so interested in these kind of conversation on and on, so I look towards the street, not looking right, not looking left, to somehow sneak to the city, partly protecting my inbreath from pollution by putting a fabric in front of my nose and mouth. And it worked….
After Batala I meet a very nice men with his son on the street. When they hear about the story and purpose, I feel there hearts open up so much, so beautiful. The invitation to come with them to Batala I don’t take, thinking afterwards often about them…..

At Bullowal the welcoming is priceless. Jiggi picked me up from the main road by motorcycle to get me to his home. In the moment, we arrive everyone is freaking out, flipping out. The surprise is to big, a foreigner in there house…. Screaming, shouting at each other, jumping up and down, laughing, looking at each other, not believing there luck having me there, they couldn’t believe there eyes, the whole big family is just ecstatic …. this goes on for about 10 to 15 minutes, without a real break. They set me in a kind of grandfather chair and all 15 gather around me, asking me questions, partly in there language….  Everyone so happy and laughing all the time…. Here we had a lot of fun, getting me my first turban….

I also meet Indians, who just for a visit back home. They immigrated mainly to Canada and Australia. Aman is back from Australia. His father has a kidney issue, his mother is willing to donate one of her kidneys to him. The operation is 2 or 3 weeks later. Raj is back from Canada, after his studies he just married his wife some weeks ago. Now she will follow him in a few month, after immigration papers get ready. Young people try to make there future often in other countries. I get often asked, if I can help to get to Germany…..

One day I think about some missing money,…. It must be stolen, but I can’t believe it. Again! And where. Its about 3.000 Rupees, maybe ‚just‘ 2.500, not quite sure. That’s about 46 or 38 $. How did that happen and where. I can’t believe that it happened in one of the Sikh homes I have been in. The money was deeper down in the backpack and I would have witnessed it. And all the Sikh I met, have been so honorable….. But in the hotel in Amritsar, that’s the only place where it could have happened. Sometimes the service came into my room, to pass by. Behind my room there was a water filter station and also a altar, to put some light, incense and flowers there… and at one day, I witnessed, I could not find my ear phones anymore, I was so sure, I left them on the bed…. I don’t know, who it was, because these people were also quite fine people…. but…. So I was that morning just with this feeling, and it was quite uncomfortable…. so I decided to make a brake, I went somewhere in the bushes, to meditate just about the feeling (without labeling it). Through that observing and breathing with it, I felt to sleep…. after I woke up, the feeling was gone. I witnessed a great awareness in me, could kind of feel see my own real self in and around me, I was the observer, the god-self. I went on for days with this….
A friend from Germany, Khushru, somehow responded on one of my facebook picture, the one with the turban on my head. He said ‚take care, maybe, they keep you there‘. I responded ‚earth is earth‘. He ‚We are connected with EVERYTHING, but everyone is at his place rooted‘. I ‚I say very often, I love this earth, and today I fell very clear, my roots are in my heart, there I am rooted, very deep. Through your question I could realize, that I am not attached to this planet anymore, whats new to me. And it feels great’….. I always loved this planet so much, that I could not think of leaving this paradise… but something changes…. I am also free now, to go everywhere else. I do not know, how long already I feel like this…couldn’t really figure out….

Every morning, the same game, at 4:30 am loudspeakers transfer the reciting of the holy words, two hours!!!!! Meditation impossible. The next days, until I reached the next state, Himachal Pradesh, I always slept at Gurudwaras. In Kahnuwan I was in one Gurudwara for 2 nights, where I had to ‚observe‘ the sound of 3 recitations from 3 directions, all mixed up. My Gurudwara, the Naagan Wala Mandir temple was special in some ways, the kind of Sadu freaks here where smoking pot and to the same time I found in this temple so much space, where I like to dwell in. In Nushera Pattan two musicians slept we me in the dorm, exercising with harmonium and tabla drums mantras, which they had to present at different events. At Batha Sahib again the ’space‘ presence, just wonderful.

Soon the time had to come to leave Punjab, the state, which is so flat, everywhere fields, mostly with wheat growing in this season. They have two harvests in the year. In summer they grow rice. Also sugar cane you see anywhere. Often groups of people cook the sugar cane to get out of it the brown sugar. As you know, I don’t eat the white refined sugar, so I tried the brown. But after a while I stopped again. It feels nearly the same aggressive to my teeth. I will leave the state of the Sikh master cookers. I met some Sikh cooking teams, one where just finishes with distribute the food that day, and they liked to have a selfie. When arriving at the other group, I was aware, this are the perfect photos to show the world how big the every day task is. There were nearly 20 people busy with cooking outside in big pots, 10 of them women, in beautiful coloured Indian dresses, making chapati, bread as in a fabric, joyful and always with a smile. They cooked at least for 200 – 250 people, but I don’t have a clue, where all the people would come from later on, because not a real village close by. I was not in the mood to take pictures…

I want the people to wake up, otherwise the planet gets destroyed very soon
The framer to wake up, to realize: no, I am not pesticide my fields anymore, I take responsibility for the insects and bees, I take care for the water, I don’t pesticide the water anymore, I want anyone to have fresh water, I will want that people eat healthy food, I will find ways to have still a good harvest without poison my plants and fields and I know, I will also benefit from me behavior…..
The doctors to wake up, to realize: no, I am not giving my patients, who comes to consult me, pills for there lung disease, I will go out on the streets to demonstrate for better air, also I will teach my patient, to find a natural medicine to cure his problem, I will also do that with other patients, I know, nature has given us so many good remedies, I am not accepting anymore, to pollute my patients, and through my patients taking pills, I am not willing to take responsibility, that through to many pill the patients get side effects and through digestion and urination I know, the water gets also polluted, I am not willing anymore, to look away….
The pharma manager to wake up and realize: I am responsible, that we don’t anymore invent in natural products, I have to change. I have to take effort, that people feel better by what is already there, I have to look into better ways to serve, I have to serve the people, not the money, I know I can do that and I will benefit from so much more happiness…
The car driver, to wake up and realize: Yes today, I do not need to take my car, the way is not very far and I have nothing to transport. I can take my bicycle. I will even benefit from body exercise, but I also know, I don’t pollute any air today, my family can breath better and I also know, not using my car, I reduce sound pollution, so we all can experience hearing the nature again…..
The shop keeper, to wake up an realize: I am not putting the goods anymore into plastic bags, every plastic bag is making so much trouble to the planet and the environment, to animals and through burning the plastic also towards the air. I step out no, no matter what my costumers say, I will patiently explain it to everyone who comes to my shop and teach them to find better ways, so we all benefit from it. I also try to have healthy products in my shop, so that will influence the companies, because I don’t bye any crap from there anymore
The mother, to wake up and realize: Oh, I have to look deeper into the sources where I get food from, I should even grow my own staff and even I have to look into cleaning material. I know there are cleaning liquids, who are natural and don’t harm the water. I love my life and the life of others, including animals, and I want to support every living being to bloom up….
The ‚animal farmer‘ to wake up and realize: What am I doing all the years? I make animals suffer to produce milk and meat, I have put them in closed buildings, they even can’t breath anymore. With the shit of the animals, I over fertilize the fields, this pollutes water….. I can’t take responsibility anymore for that, the rules the governments have made are so ill, I have to step out of that, I am only working for money. I have become a machine, I have to come back to be a human, to serve to the humans, animals and nature. I can’t also continue to treat my animals with antibiotics anymore, this is harming them and everyone, who eats that meat, also the water….. I have lost a healthy way of thinking, I will change my behavior….. and I am strong enough to so, I will even benefit from it….
The politicians, to wake up and realize: Oh, what have we done to the world? I know I am not the only one responsible for the mess in the world. From now on I go with the truth, my master is my inner self, my God is not the money anymore, but the well being and happiness of everyone. I have to take care of good education, I have to take care of good health, fresh air, fresh water, I know that I don’t know everything and I don’t have always from here to then a solution, so I am willing to search deep inside and outside…. I know, people always expect solutions so quick, but sometimes I have to go and ask the people, to help me…. I am happy, so much happy, to do better from now on….
The priest and leaders in our religions, to wake up and realize: Also I have lost the way somehow sometimes, am I still on the right path, do I maybe need a break to go inside to search for the deeper truth, did I serve enough, do I serve sometimes money, do I serve the truth…. can I confess my mistakes, ask forgiveness and restart again….. do I serve the well being of all….Yes, I am strong enough, and to re-look at my behaviors always strengthens me
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