Asia is the spiritual mother of humanity and the main geographical destination for those seeking to find inner peace and avoid the psychiatrist. Many Westerners make pilgrimages there to feel relieved and transformed. Alexis Racionero, doctor in Art History, expert in Eastern philosophy and author of The Gaze of the East (Libros de Vanguardia), did it for the first time when he was 33 years old and since then he has returned thirty times to the largest of the continents in search of of the vine that helps distill the essence of oneself.
In The View of the East, this yoga teacher, therapist and writer details which places in Japan, India, China, Southeast Asia or the Himalayas have managed to stir him the most inside. The book is an anti-tourist guide because instead of proposing to collect standard postcards - the Taj Mahal, the Temple of Heaven, the Tibetan monastery of Nechung, etc. - it claims to flow like fish through the river without thinking about anything other than It's not the present moment.
Asia has magic: the majestic solitude of Tibet, the magical sunsets of Bagan (the ancient capital of Burma), the monks in orange robes, reincarnations, the infinite rice fields, the blue poppy... For Racionero, all this can help us understand that There is something (nature, the universe, God, etc.) that transcends the current propensity to gain weight of Western egos.
Racionero's latest book aspires to find spirituality where the Beatles looked for it in 1968, when the Liverpool four kicked off the great hippy migration to Rishikesh, the capital of yoga. Counterculture priests like Allen Ginsberg, steppe writers like Herman Hess, psychoanalysts like Carl Jung, mythologists like Joseph Campbell, romantic travelers like Colin Thubron and philosophers like Salvador Panikkar also traveled through Asia, eager to bring light to the darkest and most hidden places. of human geography.
Among Racionero's favorite enclaves is Mount Kailash, a sacred place where thousands of pilgrims gather every year to perform the kora or circumambulation of the mountain. There are, in total, 52 kilometers of trails that blur the line that separates heaven from earth. “Worshiping the mountain and understanding that we are part of it, distances us from extreme rationalism that believes in nothing,” writes this therapist and writer. Another of his favorite places is the Kashmir Valley. “There is no experience equal to sleeping in a house boat on Dal Lake and going out at dawn to sail in a light canoe, sikhara, letting the senses rock on the waters,” he notes.
Following these and other places (cities, monasteries, stupas, lakes, caves...), Racionero explores Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism, Zen and other ancient traditions to suggest that traveling to the East, in addition to representing a physical displacement It is, above all, a philosophical and spiritual journey.
What reflection does Asia give to Westerners when they look at themselves on this continent?
To me specifically, the word shanti, shanti came back to me. That's how I titled the book about my first trip to India. Shanti can be translated as peace and many other things, but it is like saying “slow down a little” and “take it easy.” It's a bit like the Americans' take it easy... In reality, Delhi is a chaotic and very noisy city but, even so, when they see us Westerners arriving they see us as coffee pots with legs. Possibly what Asia teaches us is that we go there in search of something and in the end we end up finding ourselves.
What impact did that first trip leave you?
I arrived in Delhi when I had just turned 33 years old. My intention was to film a documentary related to my doctoral thesis about the time of the counterculture, where the orientalism of the hippies of my parents' generation was a fundamental part. We are talking about the year 2002. From that trip I remember that at a Delhi station I saw the bodies of two outcasts who had died while waiting for the train. For about a month and a half I traveled through northern India and the Himalayas until I ended up in Varanasi. The trip transformed me because it showed me in a mirror the demons I carried with me. At that time he carried a heavy family burden for being a son and, especially, an only grandson. In India all that accumulated tension ended up exploding.
In what way?
That trip changed me completely inside, because India has a lot of energy and it is not subtle at all, but so forceful that it can leave you in a state of shock. While there I realized that I could no longer continue with the same life I was leading. It was upon returning from India that I started doing yoga and meditation.
According to a Sioux proverb, religion is for those who have time to go to hell, while spirituality is for those who have already been there. Is the new religion of the world to have no religion, given that even 50% of Chinese declare themselves atheists, as reported in his latest book?
Well, there would be a lot to talk about whether the Chinese have religion or not, the thing is that their religion is capital... However, as Raimon Panikkar once told me, "the man without spirituality drowns." We can do without God, we can do without religion as dogma, but not our spiritual condition... There is something that transcends us and that should lead us to think that we are not the center of the universe, but a very small part.
Where in Asia would you recommend a layman start?
I asked myself this question thinking about my daughter, who is 15 years old. Where would she take her on her first trip? She could be Thailand, because the Buddhist countries of Southeast Asia are calm, although Bangkok is something else. In any case, it does not cause that brutal shock that India can produce, since everything is more gradual. Another good gateway could be Japan as it represents maximum harmony. And also Laos.
Asia has given birth to magnificent travel literature. What books do you recommend?
I really like Colin Thubron, especially two of his works like Towards a Mountain in Tibet and In the Lost Heart of Asia. He would also recommend reading Journey to India by Gary Snyder, a member of the beat generation. He would add several travelogues of mythologist Joseph Campbell, such as Sake
Asian cuisine has made a name for itself in Western palates. What dishes are among your favorites?
I like Vietnamese nem, a version of the spring roll, but healthier. Also any menu where Japanese yuba is present, a delicious food made with soybeans. Another dish he would suggest is pad thai, noodles stir-fried with vegetables.
Do you recommend traveling to Asia alone or with someone?
If the purpose is to connect with yourself, it is better to travel alone, as it forces you to open up to others. And it also encourages having moments of solitude where you think about yourself.
What are your soul territories in Asia?
Mount Al Kailash is one of them, without a doubt. Also the Cahemira valley, one of the most beautiful in the Himalayas, since Lake Dal is surrounded by mountains of more than three thousand meters and its waters are like a canvas on which nature paints purple skies over snowy peaks and lotus flowers. . I would like to wake up every day there. I also love watching sunsets in Bagan, the former capital of Burma.
When Westerners travel to Asia they try to visit the maximum number of tourist attractions to make the money they invest profitable. In what mood do you suggest visiting China, Japan, Nepal or India?
With a very open one. This includes not traveling convinced that Asia will provide the spirituality that is lacking. On the other hand, we must be clear that “to know is to remain.” On the other hand, Westerners when traveling to Asia try to photograph as many places as possible. My recommendation is to be flexible enough to change any preconceived plan the moment a place makes us feel good. It happened to me in Hoi-An (Vietnam) and. also, in Luang Prabang, a small town in Laos next to the Mekong River. We must get rid of the Taj Mahal effect and avoid collecting tourist trophies.
How does Asia revive in Barcelona?
Teaching yoga and meditation classes. I also use incense and meditate daily. In addition, from my trips to Asia I always bring figures and thangkas, rolled up paintings that I keep in my house. I own many thangkas of White Tara, a Tibetan deity associated with wisdom, learning and protection.
