My Unexpected Bicycle Adventure in India
During my last stay in Thiruvannamalai, in Southern India, a dear Indian friend gave me his bicycle. It was an old-school classic, painted in the classic deep green, with no gears but with plenty of rust.
Having been born and raised in Germany, a country known for its meticulously organized traffic and regulations promoting safety, I was accustomed to a certain orderliness. When I moved to California, I discovered a similar sense of order on the roads there. Whether driving my car or riding my bicycle in both countries, I found the experience to be rather mellow and easy, almost like operating on autopilot.
The seeming chaos of Indian traffic however, was an entirely different story. There was little semblance of control or the ‘autopilot’ feeling; instead, it felt utterly messy and wild! When my friends learned of my bicycle adventures in India, they often remarked, "You are courageous." While courage may have played a small part initially, bicycling through Indian traffic required more than that. It needed constant presence, as the unexpected was prone to show up at any time.
Navigating the streets meant encountering a myriad of obstacles in this always full traffic flow – from stray dogs running across roads, to monkeys and cows leisurely crossing paths, vehicles veering dangerously close, cars and motorcycles suddenly pulling out of driveways or from behind blocked vehicles, constant crossing of people everywhere or just walking on the sides of the streets, as well as begging sadhus. And gasp!.. often cars, bicycles and motorcycles driving in the wrong lane. The roads themselves were full of potholes and the occasional surprise of fresh cow dung.
Despite the apparent chaos, there was a beautiful flow and aliveness to it, guided by a symphony of non-stop honking.
Amidst this vibrant chaos, I found myself fully engaged, alive with the flow of movement. It was fun! It was a stark departure from the mechanical, semi-autopilot state I had grown accustomed to. Surprisingly, I witnessed fewer accidents than I had anticipated, prompting me to question our obsession with order and regulation as a means of ensuring safety. I was wondering if we are really creating safety with all of these rules and regulations, or more of a weakening and desensitizing mechanical mode, thereby losing our sense of how to respond to the unpredictable. And where else might this be sneaking in with AI on the rise in so many fields?
In the words of my Siddha teacher Pal Pandian, “Siddhas are beings of Nature. They are comfortable in the wilderness. The wilderness they refer to is not jungles and wild animals. They mean for us to be comfortable in the wilderness of life’s unpredictable movement.”
Riding my bicycle through Indian traffic was indeed a lesson in embracing life's unpredictability.
So, what can we do to get more in touch with our innate responses and feeling safe again with the unknown, since most likely we will not be able to change traffic regulations here in the West?
We could go hiking on less refined trails (or no trails at all!) swimming in lakes or the ocean, to name a few examples.
Moreover, since Siddha represents an energy path, engaging in specific Siddha practices, particularly simpler ones, helps us to connect deeply with our inner organic flow, fostering awareness of areas where we may have been mechanical or stagnant, often due to conditioning. This awareness allows for a natural flow of vitality and connectivity which promotes a sense of grounding. Then aliveness flows!
And as to my bicycle adventure, amidst the apparent chaos, there were moments of sheer beauty – the tranquility of a quiet street on my journey back home, with only the occasional cow slowly crossing the road. As I coasted downhill, feeling the wind in my hair, I experienced a sense of effortless freedom, gladly welcoming this easier part of the adventure as well...
