 |  |
|  Recent News |
|
|
| |
|
 You can add SikhNet news to your website or read it in your RSS news reader. |
|
2006 Lord Of Miracles Tour Touring Peru, S. America - 8
11/17/2006
by S.S. Gurubachan Singh Khalsa
Six hours after leaving Mexico City, we arrive in Lima Peru. Lima is a very interesting city. First of all, it never rains, never! Secondly, it has three different faces: the first is the wealthy area of Miraflores and environs that sit on the ocean. It really looks like Santa Monica and Malibu, California with the wide expanse of the Pacific Ocean, the cool and foggy breezes coming off the ocean, and sitting high on an overlook that places you above the sea by 500 feet. The second face of Lima is the beautiful historical downtown area where the rich colonial heritage of the Spanish blended with the modern Peruvian architecture. And finally, the Lima that is desolate, arid depressing and poor. The people, on the other hand, are bright, beautiful, gracious, mannerful and smiling.
They meditate and live with Guru Ram Das in their hearts.
Culturally, Peru is very, very rich from its Pre-Incan (4500 BC), Incan and Spanish history to its fabulous gourmet Peruvian cuisine. The handicrafts of sterling silver and gems, hand loomed weavings, ceramics and art work is no less than spectacular and its leather, alpaca and wool designs are second to none. It is a true shopper’s paradise.
Single mothers and orphaned children come to the refuge where they are taught the ways of the Kundalini Yoga lifestyle in Lima, Peru.
Our beautiful hosts of Guru Tera Singh and Guru Tera Kaur met us at 130am in the morning when our flight landed. From there we went directly to our hotel and by 9 am we were picked up to go to our first event. Sahej Kaur from Lima is directly involved in teaching at a women abuse center in the poorest section of Lima. For 2 years she teaches Kundalini Yoga weekly and for our 3rd time we went and taught a class, provided a langar and hugged and blessed them. The amount of change that has been created in the lives of the women there is exceptional. Most woman stay 12 months but now with the yoga that they practice everyday their stay is usually under 9 months. The way they devotedly practice their yoga is so evident through their bright shining faces which you will see in the pictures. Every night they all chant to Guru Ram Das for 31 minutes. The shelter also houses the children of these women as well as offering sewing skills through their light industry of t-shirt making. The children were so loving they would not let us go when it was time to leave. They kept on hugging, kissing and touching our beards. The program is so effective that Woman of Light, House of Guru Ram Das Shelter was awarded the best shelter for women in all of South America and was awarded 1st Place in Mexico City this past September.
The Peruvian women meditate with a devotion to make a difference.
After the refugee center we traveled to Old Town Lima and we enjoyed the beautiful area. Literally, we could not take 4 steps at a time. There were so many people who would come up to us and ask us every question from who we were to where are we from to what is yoga and Sikh Religion. It took us more than one hour to walk one block in the city center. From the police to the average citizen on the street, the mood was hospitable, friendly, gracious and respectful. Everyone wanted to know where we were teaching. It was very impressive to see how much the Peruvians have a sincere interest in making them selves more aware and conscious. In the afternoon I met with all the new kundalini yoga teachers and later that evening Guru Tera Singh and Guru Tera Kaur hosted the entire sangat in their new home. The home is so impressive with all the incredible Nazca (pre-Incan), Incan and Colonial artifacts. It was a delicious dinner of Paella in their garden surrounded by their museum home. Everyone enjoyed the evening together.
The 4th Lord of Miracles Tour lecture in Honor of Guru Ram Das in Lima, Peru.
The following evening we gave the Lord of Miracles lecture to a group of very special Peruvians who chanted Har, pranayam and danced bangara. It was very successful. You will see the glow on their faces.
The class sits with a perfect posture in meditation.
In the morning, Ram Das Singh, Deva Singh and I flew to Cuzco, the ancient city of the Incas and the entry way to Macchu Picchu. Cuzco is a city in southern Peru built on top of the ancient Incan ruins. After 35 days, 12 cities and 9 countries we needed a break. Fortunately, our break came in the two mile high city of Cuzco.
We were stopped on the streets of every country to be asked about who we are and why we dress in such royal clothes.
We thought that our 2 days would be a break but it seems Guru had other ideas. Besides trying to adjust to the high altitude, everywhere we went the crowds would form and we would end up spending 30-40 minutes talking to them about who we are, what we do and if we would allow them to take our pictures. Literally 50 people at a time would come up to us and we would end up speaking about the science of breath, meditation and yoga. Even as we walked into one of the main cathedrals, the most beautiful in all of Christianity one of the guides came up to me and showed me an interview that was given last year in Lima for the newspaper. Needless to say, we asked him how he got the newspaper article. The man told us that his friend brought it over to him because they heard that we were in town. He said the entire town knew we walked the plaza the evening before but no one knew who we were. It was a great surprise to all of us that the police, the tourists and all the stores knew we were there. As a result, we actually spent our time teaching, meeting and serving the people in our own way. Throughout the day we had several of the local children who sell on the street escort us everywhere we went. There is nothing more beautiful then hearing these children call Ram Das Singh “Servant of God” and Deva Singh “Senor Angel”.
A beautiful Colonial Church in Cusco, Peru.
The following photographs and captions will share our experience in Peru. We hope you like them. By the next morning we left on an early flight back to Lima and on to Quito, Ecuador, our final country on the 4th Lord of Miracles Tour in Honor of Guru Ram Das.
Previous articles:
 2006 Lord Of Miracles Tour Touring Mexico, S. America - 7: La Paz sits at 14000 feet above sea level and is the highest city in the world....
Note: Comments do not represent the views of SikhNet. Comments containing
profanity, provocation or slandar will be removed by the moderators.
|
Add SikhNet news to your website
