Full Circle

October 2006

Hilton's Story

Chapter 15 The South of India

The flight went non-stop to Hong Kong and then to Delhi. A very tired group assembled in the bus at Indira Ghandi Airport enroute to a hotel for the night. The plan was to fly to Trivandrum Airport in the south of India the next day a flight that stopped in Mumbai. They would stay at a beach resort near Chowara adjusting to the time change and climate, relax on the beach before going to Cape Comoran, the extreme tip of India. It is a very holy place with an important temple visited by pilgrims from all over India.

“Welcome to India, my dear,” Kay said huskily as she unpacked her suitcase. It was hot and humid outside but inside the room it was pleasantly cool. “What do you think of our group?”

Hilton took a break from unpacking. “I like most of them, the couple from Virginia seem a bit phony with that southern accept and those ’Y’alls’ all the time. I had a chat with the guy from New York and his wife, what’s his name, Jack Giorgno, I think.  We’ll get to know the others soon enough.”

The group consisted of eight couples plus Jess and Bob. Everyone had Tantric training and enjoyed the physical aspects of Tantra. They would soon find there is a lot more to Tantra than sex.

 “Do you want to rest for awhile or walk down to the beach?”

They were on the white sands of the Arabian Sea looking out on the clear blue waters. It looked like any beach on any other ocean but there was magic in the air around this place on the Arabian Sea, just ten degrees above the equator. The area was full of history to before the time Europeans first found flint. The cradle of civilization was said to be in the Tigris and Euphrates basin but civilization existed here long before Babylon. Kay splashed her bare feet in the surf enjoying the same feelings she had on the beaches near San Diego. As they walked along the shore Hilton spotted a scuba flag and steered her toward the Dive Shack. He was thrilled and asked her if she would go with diving with him but she declined. He arranged to join a group for the next day and she decided to absorb the suns rays while he was under the waves.

The sun settled into the Indian Ocean as the group assembled in the conference room for a briefing. Bob confirmed that tomorrow was a free day but that then they would visit Cape Comoran and then they would go to a city called Maduria. He asked everyone to practice the Tantric meditation as much as possible because it would be important if they were to join in the Gnostic Rituals. They should look upon this trip not as a typical tourist jaunt but as an opportunity to gain spiritual growth and possibly find the meaning of Tantric love and enlightenment. Hilton nudged Kay and whispered, “that sounded like an order, my dear, we had better get going.”

Hilton was up early the next morning anxious to dive. Kay lay in bed while he got ready and she wished him a pleasant trip as she luxuriated between the cool sheets. Arriving at the Dive Shack in plenty of time he was outfitted with the scuba gear. Luckily he had his PADI card and so had no trouble being welcomed as a diver.

The boat roared out to the reef about ten kilometres off shore and soon Hilton was drifting over the coral about twenty metres below the surface. The fish were gorgeous and many species were new to him. As he enjoyed the quiet he thought of Kay and imagined her as one of the beautiful tropical fish darting among the coral heads and fronds. He watched one lovely Damselfish swim by a small opening and suddenly a huge Moray Eel struck out and dragged the squirming Damselfish into the hole. The presence of the black snake head spearing out at the beautiful fish startled him and a chill ran through him as he thought of how vulnerable Kay was in this maddening world. If anything happened to her he knew he would be a broken man.

The pleasure of the dive was lost and Hilton was happy to return to shore and find Kay relaxing near the bar with a banana daiquiri chatting with Jack and his wife. Later, as he told her about the experience with the Moray Eel he held her tightly.

They became more adept at yogic positions for their meditation and on this night they were able to assume an entwined lotus position facing each other with the legs mingled looking into each other’s eyes. They were able to breath in unison and relax without touching each other’s body. Hilton noticed unusual warmth coming from his genital area known as the Svadisthana Chakra and the warmth rose through his body up his spinal column to his eyes or the Ajna Chakra. The energy seemed to be looking for an outlet and he leaned toward Kay and when their heads touched he felt it flow into her body with a return current from her into his body. They held hands as the energy engulfed them and then felt it settle and finally disappear. It seemed to be like floating when he was diving in the ocean.

When they were released and his vision cleared he could see into Kay’s mind through her green eyes and he knew that she had experienced the same energy flow. She broke the silence whispering, “’What was that?”

He could only answer that he didn’t know but that it was wonderful. They agreed to ask Bob about it in the morning but for now they wanted each other so badly that they could think of nothing else but of making earth-shaking love.

Cape Cormoran

They met in the restaurant for breakfast. Everyone was excited about the Cape and their first visit to an Indian Temple. The bus took a couple of hours and it gave Hilton and Kay a chance to talk to Bob about their meditation experience. Bob said it was probably kundalini and he was amazed that they had experienced it. Kundalini is believed to be the driving force of evolution and is the energy of Shatki. He said that it starts at the Muladhara Chakra at the base of the spine and can rise to the Sahasrara Chakra at the crown of the skull almost as Hilton had described it. Bob told them that all Tantric yoga is intended to awaken kundalini energy and he told them to be careful because it can be dangerous. He was sure the guru at Maduria would be able to explain it more clearly.

The countryside was mainly scrub sand with aloe and acacia trees bent from the sweep of the wind. It was a lonely place except for the occasional flat-topped Dravidian temple. They passed women dressed in bright coloured saris carrying huge bundles of twigs on their heads and men going to work.  Eventually they arrived at Kanyakumari, the Indian name for the Cape where the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea meet. Pilgrims from many places in India were already there and many had shaved heads smeared with yellow ash and foreheads dotted with yellow and red.

Legend has it that at this place the virgin Goddess Parvati was supposed to wed Lord Shiva. She was prepared for the ceremony but Lord Shiva was tricked into not coming and the Goddess remained a virgin and entered heaven in human form. There was, in those days, a very evil king named Bana who had obtained the gift of endless life except for one weakness, a virgin could kill him. Parvati, as a virgin, was asked by Lord Shiva to do the deed and save mankind, which she did. It is said that the rice to be used for her wedding was scattered as the seven different coloured sands found on the beach. A dip in the sea here is considered to bring a blessing for which pilgrims brave the rough waters.

There are two rocks that reach out of the ocean south-east of the Kumari Amman temple and one of these is Sri Padaparia where the footprints of the virgin goddess are to be seen. A memorial hall was built there and the polished floors reflect the image of the statue of Vivekananda with the sacred ”OM” symbol glowing in green on the wall. They were told that OM represents the Ajna Chakra located between the eyebrows and controls mental function. The group walked through the temples and observed the icons and statues to Shiva, Shatki as Pavarti and other gods in their various forms. The names and the stories became very confusing as the cultures shifted from Hindu, Tantra, Buddhism and religions of the other peoples that had moved into the area through the centuries.

Bob tried to explain the relationships of the gods as they returned to their beach resort in the evening. Everyone had questions and there were few answers. Bob’s only refuge was that the next day they would travel two hundred kilometres to Madurai where they would meet a guru who could explain many things and particularly how Tantra fit into Indian culture.

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