Aloha in India

Aloha in India was published in Inspiration Journal
by: Debra Gehrke

In recent days as I continue to ponder the depth of my experience in India, a realization that has been brewing in my subconscious has finally found its way to my waking consciousness. Aloha exists in India, too. Naturally, when I first arrived in India I greeted people by saying “Aloha.” To me Aloha is a universal phrase understood by all. Of course I realize that the essence of Aloha is universally understood…not necessarily the word itself which could easily get lost in translation. I stopped using it out loud but continued to express it from my heart. I noticed that the ideas that make up Aloha, Akahai, Lokahi, Oluolu, Haahaa and Ahonui, are ever present in India and palpable in every sense.

Akahai in Hawaiian means kindness, expressed with tenderness. I saw this all around me in India. The heart and soul of Mother India poured in loving kindness through the eyes of each person I met, especially the children whose eyes hold the promise of every tomorrow. In the children I saw hope and faith at a level that is not often revealed. I sensed a certain vulnerability that moved these children to come to each situation with open hearts…a willingness to feel, to experience, to be in the moment and to truly capture the essence of beauty in each second. I saw the exchange of energy as a circle in which the flow of giving and receiving happened in a continuous motion of unending letting go and replenishing. Just as the children were open to receive, already they were giving in return…not with anything material, but with something much more valuable…a palpable, quenching taste of gratefulness and graciousness that exuded the knowing that we are one, each a reflection of the other.

Lokahi means unity, expressed with harmony. This quality directly aligns with the intentions and teachings of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo*, who have had an incredible impact on India’s people. Not a day passed without me reflecting on the essence of unity and harmony. Each day India showed me that no matter what we choose to do in our lives, we can choose to come to it with joy and pride. We can choose to do it out of respect for the land or simply respect for the goodness of the culture and country to which we belong. I saw this in the faces and actions of the people all around me who were happy to have the roles they had, whether it was washing laundry, preparing meals, constructing buildings, creating handicrafts or planting crops. Each person recognized his or her connection to the whole and that each role was integrally significant to creating the unity of the whole. Each action was completed like a meditation so that each day was a prayer, a continuation of the thoughtfulness and the intent put into starting each day in harmony.

Oluolu means agreeable, expressed with pleasantness. The subtle, agreeable headshake of the Indian people comes to mind. Those of you who’ve experienced it will know immediately what I’m referencing and most of you are probably mimicking it without even realizing it. It feels good. The headshake is a bobbling of the head from side to side, chin stationary, head tilting left to right so that each ear alternately becomes closer to its corresponding shoulder. It’s not as clear as the yes and no gestures of our culture, because it expresses agreement more importantly than yes or no. It expresses a pleasant willingness. It gives a deeper meaning to the phrase “no worries” that reflects an unconditional, unattached willingness to agree.

Hahaa means humility, expressed with modesty. The Indian women are a clear example of humility and modesty. From our perspective, through our own filter, we could judge and say how horrible that the women of India still cover themselves the way they do, even swimming in the ocean in their saris. I observed something quite different. I saw women who in their hearts are proud of who they are as people. I saw them taking great care in presenting themselves in a beautiful, colorful and yet humble way. I experienced women who beneath it all knew the power they possessed; while willingly accepting their roles, they lead quietly from the invisible fully utilizing their feminine potential.

Ahonui means patience, expressed with perseverance. In my experience ahonui was evident in every moment. Nothing moves fast in India. The pace in India is completely out of time in the linear sense. Living here on Kauai we know a touch of what that means; being in India takes it far beyond. I experienced all levels of this time-out-of-time. There is a seeming knowingness that linear time is irrelevant. The pace seems dictated by something beyond our conscious comprehension. To intellectualize about it is pointless. Patience, a willingness to surrender and the ability to persevere are natural elements in Indian day-to-day experience.

I felt blessed with aloha every day in India as the people around me shared so freely. Their hearts were open, their intentions were pure; they were comfortable in their own truths, joyfully spreading the breath of aloha with each inhalation and each exhalation.

Now that I’m home on Kauai, pondering the meaning of my experience in India, the impact and significance of the journey rolls over me like gentle waves caressing me and reminding me that Mother India called me there, to a place I’d never been. She called me so that I could meet her, taste and smell her, hear her and feel her rocking me as she sang her sweet lullabies of hope, promise and joy of life in all things living. Thank you, my India. I carry you with me bridging the illusion of distance between time and space; bringing me closer to everyone I meet sharing aloha along the way.

*Sri Aurobindo and The Mother are Spiritual Masters whose teachings inspired the vision to create Auroville, founded by The Mother (Mirra Alfassa) in 1968.

Debra Gehrke traveled to India with her husband, Mark, their son Destin (age 11), and daughter Alea (age 16). As a home-school adventure field trip the family stayed in Auroville, an international eco-city building itself as an experiment in living the ideal of human unity. For more information on Auroville please visit www.auroville.org