A day, more or less, in the life of Lalaji

My friend Rhonda asked me recently what a typical day was like for me and my job responsibilities. So, I think that's where I will begin this posting.  There's not a typical day but my schedule goes something like this:  Get up at 6am, if I'm going to yoga at 6:30am.  Yoga lasts until 8, by which point because it's monsoon season, I'm thoroughly drenched from sweating.  The yoga hall is on the grounds of the ashram but due to the size of the ashram it's a couple of blocks, maybe, from my room to the hall. I amble back to my room, peel my wet clothes off and stand under the shower using only cold water! I've only used warmish water once or twice since arriving for showers.  I'm sure I'll begin to use warmer water come January/February!

Serving rice pudding at bhandara 

I then get ready for work, donning my kurta and pants and if I remember, a scarf to kind of cover my chest!  I find that rather ironic, considering when women wear sari's their midsection is mostly exposed.  I walk to the main reception area, which is less than a block for my breakfast.  I need to take a picture of my meals and post.  And then I head to my office, which is less than 50 feet from the reception area.  

Interesting juxtaposition

I already have started accumulating way too many emails on my Parmarth account but I see my job as one of making Sadhviji's life easier, since I'm her assistant and she has a lot on her plate.  She's one amazing dynamo!  

I'm beginning to feel more grounded and knowledgeable about my new life.  Total comfort, no but a certain level of comfort for sure.  I'm really looking forward to beginning an on-line Hindi course.  It doesn't seem like Hindi is like any other language that I've studied!

So, I'm working and now have someone sharing my office who I supervise until around 1:00pm when it's lunchtime!  Lunch is served in the same location as breakfast and dinner.  And quite frankly lunch and dinner are very similar and breakfast is not too far behind.  Fortunately, they are giving me more fruits and vegetables than originally so that's a treat.  The diet is dal, rice, potato dish, one of the varieties of Indian bread and pickles.  On good days we get rice pudding!

View looking from the front of Parmarth looking
towards the back and the foothills of the Himalayas

I then may run back to my room to freshen up or just head back to the office.  Once in awhile I run to the market, that's right outside the ashram and pick up Nescafe, laundry soap, and whatever I might need but I also have people who can run errands for me, if need be.  However, I like getting out as much as possible just to experience life outside the ashram.  I had my first meal outside the ashram the other day--a delicious fruit salad with yogurt and grains.  

After lunch I'd love to go for a walk but it's so hot and humid right now, one doesn't want to spend a lot of time in the midday heat.  And by the time late afternoon rolls around, it's almost time for Ganga Aarti so I need to work on scheduling my down time during the day as I'm working 7 days a week.  

Around 6:15pm, I usually amble down to the Ganga ghat--steps leading to the Ganges--in front of Parmarth, for Aarti - the fire ceremony that we have daily.  Here's a link to our website that talks about aarti and you can even listen to the chanting. http://www.parmarth.org/aarti/  It's a really beautiful ceremony and a wonderful way to end the day in contemplation and gratitude.  

Some of the local cows

After aarti, if Swamiji and Sadhviji are here, we have satsang.  Often Sadhviji speaks and the clarity that flows through her is amazing.  You can hear some of her satsang's on our YouTube channel.  

After satsang is dinner and then I will come back to the office to maybe wrap up some things or get caught up on my personal email, Facebook, etc.  I usually head to my room around 10pm, sometimes later but I also want to keep an eye on this.  Once I return to my room, it's time for the second cold shower of the day!  And then I read a little bit usually and then it's lights out.  

In terms of my responsibilities, that's still in the formulation stage but I'm doing a little bit of everything that might relate to assisting Sadhviji, from overseeing the newsletter compilation to handling her personal correspondence to assisting with social media to hosting visiting groups.  As I said, I see my role to make her life easier so since she's involved in so many projects and programs with Swamiji or his blessing, life won't be dull!  And there's really not that many of us here on a full-time basis so that makes it even more interesting!  We have many people supporting us through seva (service) throughout the world but they also have regular full-time jobs and assist as they can.

Johanna, one of the pilgrims and me

I think that's given you a better idea about what my life is like.  

I'll just give a quick run down about some things I wrote down in the past week:  
I've had a hankering for cheese.  
One of my colleagues was shocked when I told her how old I was.  She thought I was 10-15 years younger.  Guess if I colored my hair, I'd practically be in my 30's!  
I hosted my first group--students from the Doon School--one of the top schools in India.
Saw lentils being dried on the floor in the hall under the sun.  
There's so much moisture in my room that mildew has formed on my travel kit.  So, I have Himalayan rock salt in a container--it's my natural dehumidifier!  Another example--I had a loose gel cap of some kind medication and it is now a jello cap!

Until next time--much love from the banks of Maa Ganga!