People tell you a lot of things to prepare for before you embark on your journey to India. They tell you about the colours and the smells; they tell you to prepare for the crowds of people and the wayward driving culture, they advise you to be careful around water and to pack excessive amounts of electrolytes, more than anything – they tell you about the sounds of India: music, traffic, chanting, yelling. But now, as I stand on the ledge of an enormous granite staircase, cascading down towards a (reportedly freezing) sacred pool, dressed in nothing but an orange cloth – any advice has completely left my mind. Nothing can quite prepare you for this – and it is both daunting and exhilarating.
First, a little context. It is day 7 of our incredible journey across India. After 5 days staying in coastal Pondicherry, we have travelled inland to the Western reaches of Tamil Nadu and we now find ourselves on the outskirts of Coimbatore. Our home for the next two days is the Isha Foundation Yoga Centre, an expansive ashram complex located on the outskirts of Coimbatore, nestled in the forested foothills of the Velliangiri Mountains. Founded by the charming and TikTok famous ‘Sadhguru’, the Isha Foundation is completely different from what I expected from an ashram experience. It is comparable to a university campus – sprawling with buildings and brimming with excited young people from all across the world. As part of the ashram experience, we were offered the opportunity to take a plunge in the ashram’s bath – known as the Suryakund. The bath is sacred, with an impressive copper sculpture of the moon and sun hanging above, a towering waterfall at the centre and three copper statues of snakes evenly spaced across the pool. People come to the bath seeking the healing properties of the copper statues – they circle around the statues, bathe them with water and pray to them.
Now, here I stand and I’m incredibly nervous. Not nervous about participating in the bathing ritual (that I’m excited for). Rather, I’m nervous about how cold the water is going to be. Nick, our organiser, has done the plunge before and even he seems nervous. He told us that while he is looking forward to the rush you get when getting out of the water, he is having second thoughts about getting in the water due to how freezing it was. Then the gentlemen working at the Suryakund told us that we should only stay in the water for 7-12 minutes, if we stay any longer they’d be worried about hypothermia. So suddenly, I’m terrified I have made a terrible mistake – while I may have put on a few pounds eating all of the delicious South Indian food, I’m not a big guy and it won’t take much for me to freeze. However, there is no turning back now – we have already entered through the toll booth, paid our 20 rupees, and been ushered towards the changing rooms. Before I know it, I have been given an orange robe to drape around my waist, changed out of my clothes, showered and been led down to the pools edge. I have no other choice. I take one last breath, close my eyes and step into the pool…
When I open my eyes again, I’m shocked to find I’m shoulder deep in the water and completely fine. The water is definitely nippy – but not the bone-chilling temperature I was expecting it to be. Rather, the temperature is more comparable to the Wellington Harbour on a fine day. Any initial apprehension I had completely melts away. In fact, my biggest concern was not the temperature, but rather my robe which was threatening to come undone. Once I step out, I’m completely elated. Bathing in the Suryakund was one of the most rewarding experiences of the trip so far – the cold water was incredibly energising, standing under the waterfall was really serene and walking around the snake statues was an experience unlike any I’ve had before.
Although just one of the many unexpected and exciting experiences of my journey so far, the Suryakund epitomised to me what India, and this journey, are all about. No matter how much preparation you do, there is no way to predict all the things that you will face, experience, sense and feel in India. I would never have expected half the things we’ve done so far. I would never have expected to enter the matrimandir, a giant golden sphere located in the town of Auroville, and meditate towards a giant crystal , nor would I have expected to encounter a monkey rummaging through the rubbish bin outside our hostel door. But that is the beauty of this trip – there really is no way to prepare. Maybe this trip will be the catalyst for me to learn to let go a bit more, to stop trying to control and prepare for everything and to lean, head first, into new experiences. In the meantime, as I look forward to the next five weeks of this adventure, I think there is only one way to approach what’s ahead: take a deep breath, close your eyes and take the plunge.