McLeod Ganj is a bustling little town nestled high up in northern India at the foothills of the Himalayas. Despite wide belief that the hometown of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama is Dharamsala, it is actually this wonderful little town that is his home in exile. Since the Cultural Revolution in Tibet thousands of Tibetans have taken the perilous trip over the Himalayas for the safe sanctuary that this town provides. The Tibetan culture is so strong here that it now has the nickname ‘Little Lhasa’.

I flew into Gaggalairport which is a short taxi ride away from McLeod Ganj where you are instantly greeted by the peaks and troughs of the majestic Himalayan range. Straight away a yearning was born to get higher up to see the full beauty of what was on offer from this incredible landscape. A few days into the trip I learned of a trek that could be done in one day that affords you a wonderful up close and personal view of the snowy peaks I had seen in the distance.

Armed with water, snacks and many layers of clothing we set off a week later to climb up to this place which is commonly known by the locals as ‘Triund’. Straight away our band of two became a band of seven as five local dogs decided to accompany us all the way to the top. Something told us that this was their way of ensuring a daily meal or two from many unsuspecting tourists who were easily smitten by how cute they were. And their endearing ways had us pulled right in there with the best of them! Two hours into the climb we stopped some local people to ask them was it much further. The glint in their eyes accompanied by scoffs of laughter confirmed we were nowhere near where we wanted to be and had to toughen up if we wanted to get to the view we had heard so much about.

The day got hotter and hotter, the climb got steeper and more perilous as we found ourselves weaving around and up the edge of the mountain with nothing but a seemingly infinite drop to our right to make sure we kept our focus. At one point we turned a corner and could see the path winding and winding its way upward and beyond, which at the point in time made our feet ache that little bit more. Three quarters way up to the top, although we didn’t know it at the time, we came across a little house with a shop selling food, drink and beautiful raw crystals cut straight from the mountain. It was there we got chatting to other climbers who were Nepalese and did this climb regularly. Their advice was ‘slowly slowly’. Armed with more water, extra biscuits for the dogs and fantastic crystals for friends and family we set off once again.

About an hour and a half later, we were so high that snowflakes gently falling all around had replaced the blistering sun and we thought we must be near! Another quick check in with some locals passing by in the opposite direction confirmed we had guessed right. Inching our way up the last winding pass we came out into a view that can only be described as incredulous! Snowy peaks towered over us in the nearby distance bringing about genuine humilityat the true power and beauty of our dear Mother Gaia. It was one of those times in life where you are totally present to the mercy we humans are at when it comes to here leniency towards us and all the harm that we do to her. The mighty strength coming from those mountains was so intense that one could only feel respect. Mess with those mountains and there would be only one winner…

As for the dogs well they followed us all the way back down and at the end of our journey ran back into their respective houses!

About the Author:
Lisa Tully is a keen traveler, meditator and tour host creating opportunities for people to explore themselves as they explore other lands through spiritual travel tours. She is hosting an India Meditation Tour in October, 2011 that includes teaching sessions with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

By Margaret Deefholts

In the Judeo-Christian world, the sacred and the profane are polar opposites – the one hallowed, the other obscene; in Hinduism the two concepts meld into one another-indivisible and eternal as the cosmos. Nowhere is this more evident than in the erotic temple carvings of Khajuraho in northern India, where spirituality and sensuality, playfulness and profundity meet in a joyous celebration of life, energy and passion.

It is a gloriously sunny, but mild January morning and the temples are silhouetted against a deep blue sky. Tourists cluster around their guides; some of them gaze bemused at the explicit sexual positions depicted on the walls, others snicker and exchange sly winks. My own guide, Jagdip, is an earnest young man and he has his spiel down pat.

“Originally about 85 temples were built here between the 9th and 14th century, but today only 25 survive.” He gestures across the site’s manicured lawns and bordering flower beds filled with orange marigolds and scarlet cannas. “We are in the Western group and we will visit the rest in the Eastern group a little later.”

He turns back to the temple façade before us. It is adorned with divine and semi-divine figures-celestial dancers, heavenly beauties, musicians, cherubs and above all, several amorous couples. In one frieze, a voluptuous woman, her hip out-thrust, looks flirtatiously up at her partner; he looks adoringly down at her while cupping one of her full, rounded breasts in his palm. Another tableaux portrays a ménage à trois, and along the base of another temple an elaborately carved band runs around the parameter depicting couplings in every conceivable position.

Standing in front of the Kandriaya Mahadeva temple I goggle at a pose so contorted that it prompts me to remark, “How could they possibly be enjoying this?” The pose in question shows a male standing on his head while straddled by a female, the pair of them in coitus, the female supported by two heavenly maidens.

Jagdip clears his throat. “Yes…well this is a Yoga pose, and is possibly Tantric in origin.

Tantric rituals are often linked to dark occult practices, but it is also a philosophy that centres on sexual energy as being part of the cosmic circle of re-birth arising from death and destruction. The arousal of sensual passion also brings with it a karmic awakening, and a god such as Shiva, the Destroyer and the malevolent goddess Kali, are yoked to pure energy (“shakti”) a force that fuels the universe and all things within it. Temples throughout the country display Shiva-Lingams-an erect “lingam” (phallus) cradled in the “yoni” (vagina), symbolizing the mystical power of creativity.

Sexuality and spirituality went hand in hand even before the temples in Khajuraho took shape. Back in the 6th century AD a scholar, Vatsyayana, who was (get this!) an ascetic and a yogi, authored the “Kama Sutra” a detailed and explicit treatise on the art of love-making. This instruction manual not only lists sixty-four sexual positions (many of them requiring the agility of a gymnast and the flexibility of a contortionist), but also gravely discusses a wide range of philosophical concepts such as Dharma, (virtuous living), Artha, (material prosperity) Kama (aesthetic and erotic pleasure) and Moksha (liberation from the cycle of rebirth).

Indian erotic paintings mirror the sculptures that adorn Khajuraho. Like the amorous couples on the temple facades, paintings depict curvaceous women and well endowed men gazing tenderly into each others’ eyes while engaged in sexual couplings. Some paintings are whimsical-a couple makes ardent love in a howdah perched on an elephant, another couple is likewise engaged while riding a camel!

About the same time as the Kama Sutra was written, professional temple dancers known as Devadasis were to be found in temples throughout India. Young virgins, dedicated to the temple deity, were trained as erotic dancers; their role was also to pleasure patrons in the temple precincts using techniques described in the Kama Sutra. Temple prostitution was prohibited in 1988, but Jagdip wobbles his head ruefully as he admits, “here and there this practice still exists.”

Today’s India in fact, seethes with repressed sexuality. Society prohibits sexual dalliances and arranged marriages are the norm, so many couples have never set eyes on one another until the day of their wedding. They come as virgins to the nuptial bed. Carnal desires hide in the shadows. But for the inhibited or shy there is a whole world of sexual voyeurism – Bollywood movies! In darkened theatres, audiences salivate over seductive, scantily clad heroines as they sing, dance and flirt.

But the world of movies in India go a step further. They spin dramatic stories of human passion and divine adoration. They speak to universal emotions; they transcend time. So too do the erotic temples of Khajuraho.

If You Go:

Getting There: Khajuraho is accessible by air from Delhi
Where to Stay: http://www.khajuraho.org.uk/hotels/index.html
General Information: http://www.khajuraho.org.uk/index.html

Margaret Deefholts is a travel writer as well as the editor of the Travel Writers’ Tales article syndicate and website.

By Leonide Martin

Yucatan is a place of subtle treasures, camouflaged in spectacular ruins and intriguing natural creations. The limestone plateau that supports savannah and dry tropical forests is interlaced with underground waterways. No rivers run on the surface, but beneath are caves and water tubes, like a big Swiss cheese. When the surface of waterways wears thin, it may collapse to form cenotes (circular openings revealing clear water.) While some cenotes are close to ground level, more are at depths of 20 to 50 feet. Roots of trees dangle down, seeking sustenance in the water below, while vines drape gracefully over the rim and swallows nest under rocky eaves.

The feminine element, water, permeates the hard karst formation. The sacred feminine hovers just below the surface of angular stones and linear pyramids in ancient Mayan cities. The Mayalands are considered feminine by indigenous people: Pachamama, Heart of the Earth.

After I had lived in Yucatan for two years, my friend and spiritual sister came to visit. She had traveled before in this area of Mexico, finding it rather harsh energetically and intense climatically. As devotees of the Goddess, we shared interest in experiencing Her presence wherever we traveled. The Yucatan peninsula, to my friend, seemed mostly masculine. Flat plains, rocky fields, hidden waters, and sharply angular ruins projected masculine severity. I invited her on search for the Sacred Feminine in Yucatan.

Uxmal

The Puuc hills rise gently at the western edge of the Yucatan plains. Their curves are soft and rounded, covered with lush foliage. You feel enveloped in the bosom of Mother Earth. Uxmal is the dominant Maya site in the Puuc, with remnants of raised roads (called sacbe) linking to other nearby cities. Founded about 600 CE, Uxmal reached its apex in 800-1000 CE and was largely abandoned a century later. It has some of the finest frescoes and most elaborately decorated buildings in the Maya world.

The overarching sense you get at Uxmal is harmony. It is perhaps the most visually satisfying of sites, with open areas between towering structures set upon tiered platforms. Few trees obstruct the view, and grass brings verdant peacefulness where once white plazas reflected the sunlight. Most striking, however, is the harmonious placement of buildings, how the entire site exudes grace and balance. The elders say Uxmal holds the perfect balance of female and male energies. In Mayan sacred geometry, Uxmal structures are aligned to the sun, the moon, and the reappearance of Venus.

On my first visit to Uxmal, I felt a flutter around my heart as we approached. Sensing my long-ago connections here, intuition told me that the site served as a training center for priestesses and priests of the goddess IxCheel. Several years later, Maya Elder Hunbatz Men described to our group how this place was a university to educate women, especially in the arts of sacred sexuality. Sitting on the steps of the Nunnery Quadrangle, he pointed out the primary symbolism in the frescoes for each cardinal direction: The south building had little huts and grains for earth and family, the east building had the owl of wisdom in the sky grid with nine double-headed serpents of duality, the west building had intertwined serpents of kundalini with a panel of flowers (symbol of the vulva), and the north building had stacked Chak faces (god of rain and life-giving fluids) and male phallic symbols.

Master Maya Teacher Miguel Angel Vergara calls Uxmal “The City of the Kindness of the Moon” and says it was a Cosmic Feminine University for priestess initiations. IxCheel was honored in her many aspects as Lady Rainbow and Mother Earth, with the Face of the Moon, healer, herbalist and midwife.

East of the quadrangle stands the towering Pyramid of the Magician. Visitors entering the ruins are regaled with the sight of this 117-foot high structure, and it takes your breath away. Unlike nearly all Mayan pyramids, which are square and four-sided, this pyramid is oval-shaped. Steep stairs ascend the east and west sides. Facing west, a huge monster mask provides access to the interior through its gaping jaws. Perched atop the mask is a small square temple. The bulging pyramid sides suggest pregnancy, and the oval shape hints of feminine curves. In stark contrast, the straight lines of the stairs are decidedly masculine. During nights of the full moon, priestesses of Uxmal performed their rituals on the heights of the pyramid, merging the creative forces of the universe, honoring fertility and abundance.

Due south of the pyramid, a vast three-tiered terrace rises to support the imposing Governor’s Palace, which is actually a temple of the sun. In front are two remarkable small structures. The double-headed jaguar throne sits on a low square platform, one head on each end facing out. With various friends, I’ve experiences the different energies of the two jaguar heads. One person stands facing each jaguar, hands held palm open toward the jaguar. The smaller head draws energy gently toward itself, as though receiving. The larger head blasts energy out, its power almost overwhelming for some people. Archeologists say the Uxmal ruler used this throne for ceremony. I think it brought his feminine and masculine sides into balance.

Between the jaguar throne and middle steps of the Governor’s Palace stands an elongated stone about eight feet tall. Now tilted about 45 degrees but originally upright, this stone phallus symbolizes the fertilization of earth. Possibly it was empowered to draw down masculine creative forces and focus them in the person of the leader who manifested creative cycles for the people.

Southeast of this broad platform, now surrounded by brushy overgrowth, is the House of the Old Woman. The structure is crumbling, with vines and bushes growing between stones. Few tourists visit here. The old woman is IxMucane, goddess of the center of the earth, the convergence point of planetary energies and place of transformation. Called the Grandmother, she is the legendary sorceress who hatched her dwarf son from an egg, and magically aided him in his contest to overcome the Uxmal ruler. During this process, the dwarf created the imposing Temple of the Magician in one night.

Determined to do ceremony for IxMucane, a friend and I braved the narrow thorny path and found a small clearing in front of the House of the Old Woman. We spread our altar cloth on the ground in typical indigenous manner, and placed objects for earth, water, fire and air at the four corners. Making offerings of copal (resin of the copal tree) and ground maize (corn), we offered prayers and salutations quietly. In our meditation there, we caught glimpses of Uxmal when it functioned as a center where Maya women received both human and cosmic knowledge, learned the ceremonies of the elements and directions, and celebrated the power of creation in song and dance.

My friend was deeply moved and felt the Feminine Divine presence strongly. We agreed that Uxmal offered an amazing balance: sky-earth, sun-moon, masculine-feminine.

Xcambo

An hour from Yucatan’s capital city, Merida, lies hidden the small coastal site Xcambo. My friend and I drove past palm-stippled beaches lining the calm Gulf of Mexico to Telchac Puerto, a sleepy fishing village. A short sandy road took us into the Xcambo ruins, a collection of modest structures. The tallest building, composed of five levels, rises 50 feet. On top, a large flat platform gives unobstructed 360-degree views of the surrounding marshes and the nearby gulf. Palmettos dot the marsh and water birds abound. Around the central plaza are four structures, the southern one presenting masks in deteriorated condition. The architecture is simple, mostly without adornment.

Xcambo is full of stillness and the song of the wind. It brings you in touch with the vastness of seas, the meeting of water and earth. Meditating on the high platform, we easily communed with the goddess of the sea, IxYumHa. She embodies the life of the seawaters, her crown elongating into a sea bird holding a fish. Shells rattle at her wrists and ankles, and seaweed forms her hair. Her special bird is the pelican, and she protects both birds and fish.

We reveled in the gentle feminine energy of Xcambo. Not much is known of this mysterious site, and few tourists visit. In the spring, the local Mayan villagers make a pilgrimage walk to honor the Virgin of Guadalupe with ceremonies on the high platform. A small open-sided Catholic church was appended to the structure long ago. To us, the energies of IxYumHa and Guadalupe merged, as they undoubtedly do on a deep level for the local Maya.

Although the more famous sites of the Mayan Goddess IxCheel are on the Caribbean islands Cozamel and Isla Mujeres, we discovered a strong Sacred Feminine presence in Yucatan. Just as the underground channels hide abundant water, the land and sites here conceal the Goddess; but gladly reveal her energies to those who really look.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Leonide Martin lives in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico where she gives classes and excursions focused on ancient Maya teachings, goddesses and calendars. She received training as a Maya Solar Initiate and Fire Woman, and is an ordained Priestess of Isis. Her book “Dreaming the Maya Fifth Sun: A Novel of Maya Wisdom and the 2012 Shift in Consciousness” reveals how indigenous wisdom supports global transformations. Experiences of the Sacred Feminine through the Maya goddess tradition are offered with Trudy Woodcock at Iluminado Tours:  www.iluminado-tours.com