harry and his torch

Harry and the torch

Some of you may know about Harry and his little torch (the bottom picture shows it about to meet its inevitable fate). You may know that he found it at some forgotten place and time quite a number of years ago and that for the last four years or so, it has failed to shed any light on anything.

Harry, though, loved his little travel torch, and decided that all he needed to do was to replace the bulb. And so began Harry’s project. After unsuccessfully enquiring in Australia and searching the internet, Harry decided to expand his search. That little black torch has been with him into markets in Cambodia, tiny electrical stores in Vietnam, carried through South Africa to Botswana and finally to India, where Harry was certain he could find the elusive bulb. He asked for help from a local, who returned empty-handed after visiting ten shops in Mapusa. It seems that torch technology has moved on. Finally, today, after visiting another Goan electrical store and a hardware stall at the local markets, Harry was able to let the little black torch retire and he bought a new, working torch, almost identical to the old one which was unceremoniously dumped in a rubbish bin.

This post is not really all about Harry, although there may be some parallels to be drawn between the story of letting the torch go and the processes in opening up to a new way of thinking. And at the same time, I can share something about Ayurveda.

The science of Ayurveda is 4000 to 5000 years old and has been practised in India since then, managing to survive numerous efforts to extinguish it as a way of achieving health for body, mind and soul. It is now thriving and for that we can be grateful. I won’t go into details about the philosophy (you can easily reasearch it for yourself) other than to say it is about balance.

During our ten days at Swan Yoga Retreat we undertook a series of Ayurvedic treatments there, kicked off by a consultation with Dr Siddhesh S Bandekar (seen here using Harry’s pulse to diagnose). For me, these treatments were relaxing massages that soothed away stresses beautifully. But for Harry, the treatments involved cleansing herbal water treatments over his whole body, a detoxing diet and enemas (sorry for that – after all this is supposed to be a travel blog), a course of Ayurvedic medicines, herbal oil treatments and yoga nidra (deep relaxation). The results have been remarkable. We have been almost speechless at the improvements in his leg, which was severely inflamed, scarred and distressed from the trauma it suffered last May. It very nearly caused him to stay at home. After seeing some photos Harry sent yesterday, even his specialist back home was impressed.

Of course it isn’t “fixed”. It will take time. It will take discipline. The first changes have been made though and the results are in. Some people we met said they were yet to be convinced of the benefits of Ayurveda, but for us and for the people who have been involved in this treatment over the last two weeks (and there are many, such a Shivendra and Bijou above) it is pretty clear. Ayurveda works.

Om Shanti

Article by Margret

as published on her blog fromgoa2dargeeling