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Asha Thakur - A Shaman from the
Himalayas
Meditation connects us in strange ways...
I think it was Neem Karoli Baba who said: 'Unknown are the movements of
fish in the water...' Modern fishers with their radar equipment might
disagree, but I still feel it was magical movements that connected me with
all the wonderful spiritual inspirators, including Asha.
Asha Thakur is a tribal woman from the Himalayan mountains, hailing from the
village of Shilla in the Kullu Valley, beyond Manikaran. In the 1990s, she
was the only person in her area to have received a formal school education.
She was even quite familiar with computers and the internet!
However, first and foremost, like all her tribesmen, she is deeply rooted in
the overwhelming Himalayan nature.
Asha's father Nupram worshipping the holy tree.
This gigantic cedar tree is a protector of the village
Once, we—guests from Denmark—were sitting in
her Himalayan wooden family house, enjoying chai in a friendly and relaxed
setting. We often felt closest to the tribal people of Shilla. They
understood our weird Danish self-ironic humor, laughing and responding with
jokes in the Danish way, which left the traditional Indians puzzled,
wondering what was going on. We loved the loving jokes in which Asha and her
father, Nupram, made about the lowland Indians.
Suddenly, the harmony was interrupted by
continuous screaming from another room in the house. It was a twisted, loud
female voice. Asha immediately got up to assist. The screaming continued for
about 15 minutes and then stopped. Asha returned, sat down with her tea, and
explained what had just happened. It was her aunt, who, while foraging near
a waterfall, had gotten too close and was attacked and possessed by the
demon of the waterfall.
Asha knew instinctively what to do. She drew a
circle of rice and another of flour around her aunt and offered these to the
demon as a bargain to leave her aunt. The demon agreed and departed, leaving
her aunt unharmed and back to normal.
In this way, Asha had evolved—not through formal tradition or education but
by circumstance—into the shaman of the village. Sometimes, she spontaneously
enters a state of divine trance, especially when we go trekking in the high
mountains with her. Often while singing she came close to the state of
trance.
Asha, singing with her mother
For a period of more than 10 years, beginning
around 1998, I arranged trekking tours in this wonderful area. We were
always accompanied by the wonderful people of Shilla.
I am not Asha - I am Ma Maantalai!
Ma Mantalai is the Goddess of
the Divine
Himalayan Nature. And
Asha is pure Divine Nature.
If you have pureness in your heart you will feel it..
Asha is my Himalayan Didi - sister.
Every Sunday she will sit for some time with closed eyes and connect with
us. Or maybe she will not do... because Asha is a
wild flower.
Asha sitting in worship with a flower in
Rudranag
Asha with her mother
Asha cooking chapatis with her aunt
Singing with her friends
Gunnar,
Christoffer, Eva and Martin
in the lap of Ma Maantalai.
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