The trip there was relatively uneventful - as per the website, I thought I would need to take a ferry to reach there, but as it turns out, there is now a land route, which is a bit circuitous, but my driver could drop me right at the doorstep of the global pagoda. The pagoda itself is a lot more impressive from the inside than the outside, because it is a huge place, with not a single internal pillar (support).
I reached by about 10:30 - 10:40 and the session must have started at 11. There were 2 sessions of 1 hour each - both those went well for me (basically guided meditation, 2 different techniques that we'd been taught in the 10 day session). Ideally, one would sit unmoving the entire 1 hour. The first session, I changed position once, but the 2nd session I managed to sit unmovingly, and went into meditative state as well, so was pretty happy with how it went. The hall gives good vibes. There was a lunch break from 1-2, where they served lunch. I ate very lightly, but in spite of that, my mind wandered greatly in the post-lunch session, and I changed position, so that did not go so well. 3-4 was Guruji S N Goenka's talk (all the sessions till then were guided by assistant teachers), and that was the main reason I had wanted to attend - I had never seen/heard him in person. Both he and his wife were in wheelchairs, but his voice was strong enough.
The content of the talk was a bit disappointing, though in his place, I would probably have done the same. The thing is that since Vipassana is the form of meditation devised by the Buddha, a lot of Ambedkar-ites come for these sessions. I'd seen them at Igatpuri and was surprised then, till somebody explained it to me, saying they view it as a sort of pilgrimage - it's a tick mark to be put before you die. There were a lot of similar types here as well, and they were more interested in bowing down to Goenka-ji and such like. So the substance of the talk was that it is not important to deify the Buddha, sing bhajans and put garlands etc etc, the Buddha in fact never founded a religion, what is important is the practice of Vipassana. It possibly had no effect on the masses who bowed their foreheads to the ground as he left, and for me, the topic was not of relevance. But fine, worth a one-time visit. For the future, I would much rather do another 10 day course than attend one of these again
In the middle of the pagoda, there was a 2-tier circular stage (not that I could see it properly, but I figured). On the lower tier (probably barely 1-1.5 feet above ground level, 4 assistant teachers sat, facing four directions. 3 male, one female (the "sadhaks" are also segregated by gender and while here, you could see everyone, in Igatpuri, you never even see the men. When Goenkaji and his wife were brought in their wheelchairs, I realized there was another smaller circular stage above the one where the teachers sat - it was just about big enough for the 2 wheelchairs and 2 helpers. They were positioned on it and he began his talk, and I was a bit disappointed that I could see just his back quarter view. And then, as the talk continued, I realized the inner stage was rotating very very slowly, so that in the entire 1 hour, I could see him full face 3-4 times. Very nice arrangement
I'd sent the car back after dropping me, 'cos my parents wanted to visit someone in Malabar Hill. So I asked the security at the pagoda how I could return, and he told me to follow a crowd who he said were heading to the ferry and to buy a ticket which would cost me Rs 17.50. I duly followed the crowd keeping a casual lookout for a ticket window, but it was pretty sunny so had covered my head and face with my dupatta and had to watch my step as well .... net-net, reached the ferry without spotting a ticket window and asked the EsselWorld guy manning the jetty where I could buy a ticket. He gave me a funny look and told me to just get on now. So I got on, suspecting I was going to be a ticketless traveller.
The entire ferry ride (which was quite pleasant though slow, and the pagoda looked much prettier from the creek, with the rays of the receding sun lighting it us) I kept thinking about how I'd attended a spiritual event and then was doing ticketless travel. So I decided to buy a ticket at the Borivali end. Sure enough, I got off at the other end, spotted the ticket counter and went to buy a ticket - rationale being, what does it matter if the ticket says Borivali-Gorai, what matters is that I've paid for my trip. I hand over 20 bucks and ask for a ticket. The guy prints one out and tells me it is 35. So I say no-no, I want a one-way ticket. He says, you're going there aren't you - you have to come back also (like I needed that explanation, being an idiot). I proudly told him - no, I've already done a ticketless travel from there to here, so now I'm trying to regularize it. The guy is speechless. I don't know whether he didn't understand me. Finally, the other ticket seller (who was watching all this tamasha, since nobody was buying tickets at 5 in the evening), told him - return her money. So this guy thrusts my 20 bucks at me. Now I'm at a loss. So finally .... I ended up buying a return ticket for 35 to assuage my conscience!!!
Then to reach Bandra somehow. Every locality has its own conventions, right? So autos are drawing up, people are piling into them and autos are taking off, without anyone saying a word. It is obviously some kind of share-a-auto arrangement, but I have no clue where they're going. I watch this for some 15-20 mins, trying to get close to some of them, see what I can hear, and then get fed up. So walk some way down the road thinking I'll find a bus stop and ask someone where the buses go. And then find a couple of autos standing there. So one of them agrees to take me, but to Bandra East, not west. So I reach Bandra station, east side and praying that things have changed and there's a way to cross over without having travelled by train, I climb the stairs.
And of course, nothing has changed. By now, I've had enough of being "good" and "doing the right thing". To be honest, I never thought of buying a platform ticket, was only thinking of buying the lowest fare ticket before deciding, enough already, just brazen it out. And luckily for me, I managed to dodge the ticket checker at Bandra West and ducked out safely.
And such was how my quest for spirituality ended that day .... finally having to evade a checker for fear he would catch me and fine me for "ticketless travel"!!!!
