From lofty mountain grandeur

Several years ago, I met an Indian man on an airport shuttle in Minneapolis and told him I planned to visit India. He told me that I must visit Kerala; it is the most beautiful place in India.

My niece Tasha's husband, Ashraf, is from Kerala, so we knew this was a must for us. And here we are, relaxing a cabin on top of a mountain in an Eco-tourism and healing centre, operated by our friends Ajit and Mercy.

In our exchanges before we came here, Ajit had never described this place in any detail. He did tell us there were tea plantations on the mountain and that Mercy, a medical doctor, did a lot of work in natural remedies for patients.

Seeing and experiencing this centre has opened up a whole new world for us. Naturally, the first thing that overwhelms you is the natural beauty -- the breathtaking beauty of the mountains, valleys and rivers. If ever I felt like singing "How Great Thou Art," this is it. The words "When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur, then I proclaim, 'My God, How Great Thou Art,'" were never so true.

It was a wonderful reunion with Ajit, whom we had met when he was a guest as global partner at a Saskatchewan Conference meeting seven years ago. He was our guest at our home and insisted we should come to India and we said we would but didn't know when.

It was a special joy to meet Mercy, his wife, because Cintra has a particular interest in her work with alternative treatments, especially with diabetes.

This seems to be a perfect location for this community service. Established in 1987, Econest: Ashasadan offers an ideal opportunity to nature lovers for relaxation, mixing with nature, researching, meditating and simply just being alone or with others.

Ajit explained that this mountain top property was originally built by Laurie Baker, a master architect. Baker, a Quaker, was a companion of Mahatma Gandhi and chose this place as his home to have easy access to a nearby Ashram. He literally built his house, in which Ajit and Mercy now live, on a rock.

The cottages, which were later added as residences for women visitors to the Ashram, were built Laurie Bakerian-style, using traditional material, with large windows, to fully engage the senses in absorbing the natural surroundings of streams, lakes, lush mountains and waterfalls.

After Baker died, the buildings fell into disrepair and was vandalized and looted by villagers.

Ajit and Mercy took it over about 30 years ago and fully restored it. With his background in social sciences and interest in agriculture, and hers in natural remedies, this was a great combination.

Mercy had been working in a nearby hospital that was providing health services to the poor, similar to services she provided when she worked with Mother Teresa and the Medical Mission Sisters and Bombay.

Ajit and Dr. Mercy, as she is called, were committed to a common vision of protecting Mother Nature as well as to offer holistic health support to the poor using nature to its best advantage.

Econest: Ashasadan is ideally located in the midst of three hills - Thangal, Murgan and Kurushumala and is part of an Eden-like wonder that offers so many opportunities. It is an inter-religious centre, operated by a Trust. Their funding comes mainly from outside charitable organizations and not from patients or guests.

Econest attempts to be as self-reliant as possible, with using all material waste to create heat, using solar to fill some of its energy needs, using its own water systems, and even in the kitchen using natural and local foods and grinding their own grains. All water is returned to the waterways and become part of the waterways that serve a local hydroelectric plant.

One of the special services of the centre is Ayurvedic Massage, something that immediately caught Cintra's attention and of which she took advantage. Also, she was interested to learn that some of the natural remedies have cured patients with a variety of conditions such as diabetes and fibromyaglia, according to Mercy.

Visitors to Econest not only benefit from its programs and services, but have easy access to all the opportunities surrounding it. Nature lovers can explore at leisure. It is a hub for inter-faith reflection and exploration, especially for Hinduism, Christianity and Islam.

Close to the centre are the Ashram, shrines and holy places, including the 14 stations of the cross going about 1.5 km up a mountain.

For the short time we are here, the monsoon rain, fog and cool weather are hampering our effort to fully absorb what Econest and its surroundings have to offer. However, we feel we have already had a life-changing experience, just being here.

Here are some photos taken through a heavy fog of our cabin, the centre's farm, view of the lake from our window and and the dining room.

We have also had other memorable experiences that are such a departure for the past three weeks in South Asia. Our arrival turned out to be a little more adventurous than we expected. We arrived at the Kochi International Airport, not sure what to expect next. Ajit offered to send a car for us, so we sent photos of us to help the driver. He gave us the mobility number of the driver in case of a problem.

Waiting outside the terminal, we did not see anyone who looked like our driver. So with some help, I called the number. An anxious, panting voice answered and said the car would be there soon and that he was walking.

I am not sure I heard right, so I waited. Soon enough, a young man rushed up to us, no car, with an email with our photo, and introduced himself. Yes, he walked. The car was in a monstrous traffic jam. About an hour away from the airport, he jumped out of the car, and asked his driver to continue while he walked to the airport.

Within minutes, a car actually showed up. Our interim host, Jay (Jain) and the driver, Ramesh, couldn't be a more welcome and somewhat surprising sight. This is a welcome like we've never experienced.

Then we entered the traffic mayhem. It was about two hours before we got out of it. Then we slowly entered the country side, where we gained more speed, and the climb up the mountain began.

It was getting dark and we could barely see some peaks and valleys and some tea plantations. Then rain started, followed by dense fog. So our view of the panoramic landscape was obscured.

We soon learned that this is monsoon time. So we are to expect lots of rain in addition to the cool weather. (Ashraf had reminded us to bring outerwear).

However, it is important to emphasize that as much of our family, friends, and other readers of this blog, may want to remember the physical beauty of this place, or to focus on the commitment to service, it is more important to remember the many poor and disadvantaged persons who need the support of the centre.

Econest is in the middle of building an Ayurvedic hospital to include holistic health services as well as radiology and pharmacy.They rely and public and community support and local labor to continue their work.

They will appreciate your support through your prayers or any other contributions you wish to make. For ministers thinking of a place for sabbatical, this is worth considering. For persons interested in natural remedies, there is much to do and learn. This centre and surrounding areas offer much to people who are interested in inter-religious exploration. It is a model of recycling, energy conservation and environmental stewardship.

We hope to have more to share about the centre and the rest of Kerala. Please continue to join us and keep us in your prayers.