[ENGLISH READ BELOW]
Hace dos días tuve el honor y placer de ser entrevistado por un medio digital de mi tierra. Os dejo aquí lo que fue la entrevista:
click aquí para leerla en español
[ENGLISH READ HERE]
Two days ago I had the honour and pleasure of being interviewed by a digital media from my land. Here you have the interview translated into English:
On this occasion, this section of "La Comarca y sus gentes" becomes a traveller. So we propose you to pack your bags, to load them with enthusiasm and to travel with us to two places unknown to most Europeans: India and Nepal.
It is commonplace, isn't it, that when an inhabitant of this beautiful region of Calatayud visits a place in Spain or abroad, he or she usually meets a neighbour, a fellow citizen or a local person during his or her stay. There are not many of us, but we like to travel and get to know new places.
And we can find locals anywhere in the world, as in this case, in our hypothetical trip to Nepal we can find an exceptional guide who will show us not the best known of these distant lands but, possibly, the essence of two areas as far away as unknown to the Spanish: Nepal and India. And that local is none other than Óscar, who with his small company "QdeCuenco" invites you to show you the essence of life.
With a degree in History, versatile, enterprising, non-conformist and a long etcetera of adjectives that we could include, he is currently working professionally as a "Sound Therapist" and "Vedic Astrologer". Of course, very far from traditional trades or jobs that we all know.
To be able to dedicate himself to these facets, Oscar carried out 5 years of apprenticeship with the most important Masters of Sound in Nepal; 3 years of Kinesiology and since 2020 studying Vedic Astrology with a Nepalese guru, and two Masters in India.
Vedic Astrology is known as the traditional astrology of India and dates back to the ancient Vedic culture around 3000 BC. The Sanskrit term used for Vedic Astrology is Jyotish, meaning "light", or Jyotisha Shastra meaning "the science of light".
In Vedic astrology, which is practised in India, the most commonly observed sign is not the Sun but the Moon sign, a star that does not refer to the ego but to the way we look at life. This detail, which is immediately obvious, is only one of the many differences between Western and Vedic astrology.
International Course of Tibetan Singing Bowls:
Óscar first visited Nepal in 2010 and since then shares his life between India, Nepal and Spain. "I came for the first time in 2010 to learn the Hatha Yoga technique in India; and to Nepal to initiate myself as a disciple of Santa Ratna Shakya, the most renowned Tibetan Singing Bowls Master in the world. With the latter I obtained my Master's Degree in 2015, after visiting Nepal every year since 2010 to learn with him in individual classes, face to face".
It is not just about visiting, living or doing work in a particular place, but about imbibing all the sensations that this land has to offer. "In recent years I have spent more time in Nepal than in Spain. I am immensely involved in various projects: my training in Vedic Astrology, collaboration with some NGO's, I have spent time in Buddhist Monasteries, and now I am directing the most ambitious international Tibetan Singing Bowls Course that brings together the best Sound Masters. These are some of the things I do in Nepal.
All related to the world of sound, therapy and Tibetan Singing Bowls as Oscar tells us. "I teach Sound Therapy techniques, and I carry out Astral Chart Readings. I also help people by teaching Meditation. As I tell you, in Nepal I run the "International Course of Tibetan Singing Bowls" which brings together the best Sound Masters in the world. The March 2023 edition has been attended by students from Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain, Cuba, Macedonia and the United States...".
Partnerships that have to learn from each other:
In this long journey and these periods of time away from the comfort zone he might have had in Spain, personal relationships and spiritual richness also help him to continue growing, because the differences between European and Indian society are many and varied. "Concepts such as time, life, death, love, family, money, the future... are completely different from the parameters we have in the West. I could tell you anecdotes that are sometimes hard to believe here. There are friends who tell me to write a book.
The contrast is very strong. I think both societies have to learn from each other, but here in Europe we still have a lot to learn in human terms. There I am often told that I come from a rich country, and I reply that they are really the ones who are rich: although you can find everything, the easiest and most general thing is to find humble people with a pure heart, families who open the door of their home without knowing you, who always give you a smile, who offer what little they have and share it...".
Talking to Oscar, the first thing one can learn is that, as he himself states, "another world is possible. Another world different from the one we know in Western society; another way of relating to the environment and to our own Self. To understand that we can live differently. To see in perspective my roots, my origins and to be aware of how they condition me when it comes to feeling, thinking and acting".
To India to meet the Tibetan Singing Bowls Masters and collaborating in a centre for blind people and an orphanage.
The adventure began for him in 2010, "who was then my partner in life proposed me to go to India in 2010, and I added Nepal to the trip because I wanted to educate myself with the best Tibetan Singing Bowls Master and live for a while in two Buddhist Monasteries. It was almost half a year of travelling. Also since then we both volunteered in an orphanage, and then I volunteered after in a centre for blind people. I repeated that experience for years. Today those kids are little men and women, and those blind people are very close friends.
Religions and society:
Learning to differentiate religion from spirituality is for Óscar something key in his training and in his daily life, "as in any society, religion serves as a means of control and subjugation. Religion, which is always linked to power, enslaves. Spirituality, on the other hand, liberates. It is necessary to differentiate between the two concepts.
Historically in India and Nepal many spiritual teachers have emerged. They do not teach dogmas, but invite to an active and personal practice of self-knowledge. I have had the good fortune or Karma to learn with some of those who descend from very ancient lineages.”
In these long stays, knowledge, learning, solidarity and the possibility of being able to offer travellers visions different from those of the big tours, personal relationships must also be added. "Since my first trip to both countries, I have maintained a sincere and deep friendship with two families: Shookur in South India, and with the Khadgi family in Nepal. I can say that I have family in both countries, and I feel that their home is my home. I have a home there. Also important to me is the relationship with my teachers. Whether my learning time with them is over or not, I always visit them at their home.”
Since 2010, he has been visiting India and Nepal every year for several months. Every year with the exception of 2021, when for obvious reasons it was not possible to travel. Even in the hard months of the Covid, Óscar was in Nepal. "During 2020 I spent nine months in Nepal, I didn't want to go back when the European borders were closed because of COVID. There I was immersed in my practice of Yoga, meditation and learning Vedic Astrology. I also collaborated with an NGO cooking for people made vulnerable by that situation. As I said, I have collaborated with an orphanage and a centre for blind people, but since 2017 I have been collaborating with the NGO "Familia de Hetauda". It is an organisation run by a good Spanish friend of mine, educating children with functional diversity (Autism, Down's Syndrome, etc)".
What do you offer to travellers who want to get to know these countries?
There are 2-week trips in which he shows South of India, or Nepal. He does it from a personal perspective, almost like a trip among friends. He teaches his own Nepal, his own India, his places, his friends, he introduces you to his Masters, you can practice Yoga, his favourite restaurants, his secret places, a different and attractive trip.
This is the summary of the activity of this traveller, non-conformist, with a vision of life that may seem very particular to us, although it is possibly just different and above all much more spiritual.
If you want to know more about India and Nepal, we invite you to find out more through the trips that Óscar prepares throughout the year on his blog:
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