Letters from Shanti Ashram, India

64. Thoughts of Visiting America - Sept 2000

Thoughts of Visiting America

September 24, 2000

Dear Parents,

Namaskars. by Swami's Grace, here all is fine. Praying that things are going smoothly there also.

Here I am fine, with the symphony of rats playing about over my head. They are now happily protected from the rain by the nice tar covering. Every night I am awakened a few times by them scurrying nearby me, or by Vijay (who sleeps on the doormat) chasing them into the bathroom.

The water faucet in my room has string wrapped around and around it, as the washer was worn away months ago. No one comes to put in a new one, so I have given up wasting my energy in asking. Now it is working fine, I can turn it on and off without dripping by skilfully twisting the rope.

The latrine pipes are another thing I keep asking about, with no one coming to do the repairs so far. Remember long ago the roots of nearby trees invaded the 7-foot pipe leading from my bathroom to the septic tank. The workers crushed the pipe in three places, removed with difficulty all the roots and waste material imbedded on them, and closed them up with cement. Now the cement has come loose and the pipe is again filled with roots.

After months of me asking, the other day a worker came with the head Mason, but they found they didn't have a long enough steel rod to remove the roots from the long pipe. So the Mason said his usual, "We'll be back in the afternoon with a proper rod," and left. Of course, that was 10 days ago and no sign of them! Do you wonder why my throat gets tired asking, ordering and begging them to come??

Now when I flush the toilet with a bucket of water, I notice a stench outside. The poop washes ashore along with the water, two feet from my wall, where the major break in the pipe was made. When I suggested a new pipe (THEY HATE SUGGESTIONS!), the Mason only philosophically said, "No use, the roots will just come into them, also. At least with the old pipe we have a hole to remove the roots!"

Several workers have advised me to go to the fields behind my house to go to the bathroom. I'm sure visitors and workers alike would be happy to stare at a white behind in the field! No thanks. I have to deal with poop washed ashore outside my house (of course, that's where the pee also goes), until it stops up completely like last time.

The water motor is repaired again, thank Swami, but electricity keeps flashing off and on at will. Numerous are the times when I'm taking night bath and the current goes off. I have to stumble wet and soapy to light a candle kept in the file cabinet (when I kept it outside, the rats kept chewing off the wick!!). Then the lights will suddenly flash on again, sometimes after 20 seconds and sometimes only after 12 hours. About 10 times a day the current flashes off then on again within 5 minutes.

The Canadian Eloise (Dad met her this time: short, short blond hair, mid-40-ish) is planning to come end of December, for a long stay of six months or more. She is entranced with our Jnaneswari, and people here say she is the next Susheela (i.e., dearly beloved favorite of Jnaneswari).

Eloise is a devotee of Chidananda, and has been spending about half of each year in India since the last 20 or 25 years or so. She is in the educational field in Canada. She plans to teach the children Hatha Yoga here. I say, great that the Ashram has an eager person, who will occupy Jnaneswari's heart also! God took away Susheela and now me, but He has given three young devoted Indian girls (their parents and brother are also sticking on), as well as this Eloise.

Eloise is writing every week or so to Jnaneswari, really long loving letters, praising Jnaneswari for her sweet love and affection and mushy spiritual sentiments. I have to read them because Jnaneswari dictates the answers for me to type up.