Retreat with Gurudevi - Kothawala's

On Tuesday, January 28th, I moved out of Yogini's house and down the hill to Kothawala's, which is a short walk from the temple.

This is Gurudevi's lodging of choice. The family was delighted to welcome some of her group, as well. There were a dozen of us staying here, including Gurudevi and the other Swamis.

Our rooms were right off the veranda

Kothawala's hot springs baths are one of their claims to fame. These tubs are fed by naturally occurring hot springs. These are the same hot springs that attracted Nityananda to Ganeshpuri, which wasn't Ganeshpuri yet. The village grew here because this is where Nityananda settled. He had lots of aches and pains in his body and took regular soaks in the hot springs. There are public baths (kunds) on the temple grounds, but I don't bathe in those for the same reason I didn't take the holy bath at the Kumba Mela. There is flora and fauna that occurs here in India my western body isn't used to. My friend Jem was encouraged to bathe in the kunds on the temple grounds. When he explained his concern about his western body, the person suggested he go at 3:30am, when the kunds on the temple grounds open. They told him that prior to opening, it's just the Gods bathing in those waters. I've thought about that a lot. It's tempting, but I'll stick with Kothawala's.

When you are a guest at Kothawala's you can take a bath anytime you want. If you are not a guest at Kothawala's, you can rent a bathtub for 200 rupees. I know it says baths are limited to 20 minutes, but the time limit is not enforced. You can come as you are, and Kothawala's can provide everything you need for a modest price.

The shower in our bathroom had one head affixed to the wall that only produced cold water. The hot water shower head was a hand held one. The tube connecting that shower head was not long enough for me to get the shower head over my head, so I ended up taking baths every day. This was the tub room I used.

It was a nice big tub, and the hot water was plentiful!

This Banyan tree sits near the entrance to Kothawala's. It is said that Nityananda used to meditate under this tree.

I passed this herd of goats heading down to the river several days on my walks to and from Kothawala's.