India: A Spiritual Awakening

Bodh Gaya, India. I had heard so many different things about  India  and before my arrival I did not know what to expect.   Travelling to New Delhi, Bodhgaya, and  Varanasi  were all amazing but Bodhgaya-Bihar (the birthplace of Buddhism) is where I began to open a new spiritual path for myself.

I arrived in Bodhgaya to attend   Kalachakra (Wheel of time) Tantra, an initiation of Buddhist teachings translated and taught by the Dalai Lama-  held for World Peace. My pilgrimage began across  Northeast India  and each day was mind blowing, but for me it was the people that awakened and shook my soul. Kalachakra brought thousands of Buddhists from all over the world and packed the streets of Bodhgaya.   I mostly admired how devoted the Tibetans energy was being there, bringing their entire families to hear His Holiness.

As I walked around the town exploring all the sites that Prince Siddhartna Guatama (Buddha) meditated, taught and became enlightened; I heard the sounds of monks chanting, rickshaws flying by, motorcycles driving, cows mooing,   children, women and elderly begging for money and food.   I saw mothers holding up their babies wrapped in rags offering to give away to anybody who would take them, that was heartbreaking. Seeing all of this daily was alarmingly high and I have seen poverty in parts of Central America, SA and the Caribbean but it seemed in excess here and I later learned that Bihar is the poorest state in  India.

Last week having a little girl about four years old throw herself to the floor and wrapped her entire body around my left leg until I gave her some food or money was intense, but more than that understanding her survival in this poor area was clear. I cried in my hotel room that evening for all of these children”¦ for her. It was a human misery and I asked myself how can this be happening and what can be done.   These were all small experiences I will never forget and I had so many questions with no answers.

My journey continued on and as I travelled with amazing people who are helping the situation in Bihar. Ranjan – a Gyanjyoti Rural Development director whom I met in Bodhgaya started building an orphanage and a school which has 90 kids attending. I visited the village of Sujata where these ninety children sit shoeless on a dirt floor with no windows, no doors, no bathroom every morning eager to learn at school. They touched my heart as they sang in Hindi and said their ABC’s and numbers. Ranjan, only 23 years old, is trying to make a difference where everything seems to be at odds on all levels.

Charity and compassion is a vital instrument for spiritual evolution and even expressing kind words, or a simple smile can make all the difference, but acting is what really counts.   I have promised the school that I would help in providing clothing and shoes for these children for now because after all we are all one and before anything we are human.

Vanessa Cabezas is president of Majestic Relations , Inc., a public relations firm in New York City.   She is an advisor to The James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation and active with projects in Haiti and India.

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