Road To Mysore

I'm feeling more grounded today. I'm trying not to think about the future and live in the moment. I have a full social schedule until I leave. I'm trying to spend time with people I'm very close to.

This morning I headed to the Kashmir Arts Palace and hung out with Purvis and Mudashir. I'm not sure if I spelled they're names right. They've been convincing me to visit Kashmir. I've decided to go when the shala closes in August next year. Mary said she's coming with me too. I love hanging out with them because they just love to talk and don't pressure anyone to buy anything. Most of the stores here are so in your face. I rarely buy anything and they always serve us chai. I did get some of my Christmas gifts from them this past week. They have the best pashmina and silk shawls and other Kashmiri stuff.
I think I'm all set as far as Christmas gifts go. Thank God...I hate to shop for other people.

I headed to Tina's this morning to say goodbye to Alex M. He leaves for Hong Kong today. He was the one who arranged for Guruji and BKS Iyengar to meet. He also did the interview with Sharath, Prashant Iyengar (BKS son) and Kaustub Desikachar (T.K. son). I gave him a hard time for not telling me that BKS Iyengar was coming to town. He said, I was not the only one who gave him a hard time. They wanted to keep it as private as possible. I asked him if it would happen again. He said that it probably would. According to him the two legends seemed to be two long lost buddies. I told him that a lot of people want to get a hold of the Namarupa issue but it's out of stock. He said he had no control over that. It's all up to New York. Murti said that they should be getting more copies in the next two weeks. A few people have come over my place just to read it and some asked if they could photocopy it. I refuse to lend it out. I may start charging 50 rupees for those who want to read it. I assured him that I would not make photo copies of it. He was pleased with that.

I recently read the interview with Prashant Iyengar and Kausthab Desikachar in Namarupa. I intially didn't care about what they had to say so I never bothered reading it. I was only interested in what Sharath had to say. I was bored one day and decided to read it. I can't believe how narrow minded I can be. I'm really happy I read both interviews. I was particularly impressed with what Prashant said. He definitely has a deep understanding of what yoga is all about. After reading all three interviews, I've come to the conclusion that the western world doesn't seem to have a clue of what yoga is about. I can almost feel them laughing quietly at the west.