Haridwar (Uttaranchal) - March 15th, 2007

I sat the alarm for 8am but I woke up at 4am. The four hours I slept must have bneen very dep because I felt totally refreshed and ready to get up. In part, it must have been the daily schedule that was in my subconscious mind (4am awaking time). I went to the small shrine of their goddess and followed in their ritual ceremony. After half hour meditation at 5am, they performed a pooya (purification ceremony), people seating around several firepits at one end of the temple and next to the mausoleum cripts of both their gurus (husband and wife).
After this ceremonial we each approached the cripts and while touching them and bowing, we asked for special blessing or wishes. After this, two of the devotees took me to visit the rooms/beds where the gurus used to live/sleep.
Next to a garden there is a special dome with the Himalaya's mountains display inside. Devotees come here to be in total silence and to feel as if they were next to the real Himalayan mountains.
In the morning, the weather was pretty cool, but after 11am it turned out to be a beautiful afternoon. I went for a great walk/hike by the mountains, up one end and down the other near the Ganges River, great views from up there.
The few locals in the way kept discouraging me to continue since it could be dangerous if there was a big rain, but when you see beautiful blue skies and summer air, you just feel it's the perfect afternoon for the fresh air and getting away from it all.