On Sundays, I read the Bible and I go to church. That is, I read the Indian "bible" - the Bhagavad Gita - and go to the church of Awareness and Being - satsang with Mooji. But this morning, due to it being the eve of Holi, Mooji was cancelled. A kind driver at the rickshaw stand informed me of this, rather than taking me there and back, and making some cash. As I walked back across the RamJhula bridge, tons of Indian tourists were already flocking in for Holi, the festival of water and colors that celebrates the victory of good over evil. Once over the bridge, I stopped on a bench by the Ganga to read this week's chapter (11) of the BG - The Yoga of the Vision of the Cosmic Form, which ends with one of the most significant verses of the text, where Lord Krishna (symbolic of God, Consciouness, Universal Energy, or whatever else you might wish to call it) says to Arjuna:
55. He who does all actions for Me, who looks upon Me as the Supreme, who is devoted to Me, who is free from attachment, who bears enmity towards no creature, he comes to Me, O Arjuna!
COMMENTARY:This is the essence of the whole teaching of the Gita. He who practises this teaching attains supreme bliss and immortality. Such a one realises Him and enters into His Being, becoming completely one with Him. This verse contains the summary of the entire Gita philosophy.
That afternoon I did a little reading on the balcony of Ananda, then, unusually, took a long and deep daytime nap. Felt a little off that morning, and a good rest was the perfect remedy. That evening I went to Swati's, where I participated in a small puja (devotional ceremony) that she and Arnav and her mother-in-law were performing for "small" Holi (eve of Holi) where we lit a flame in front of a tower of dried cow dung patties, gave offerings of food (some gujia sweets we had made at her mother's) and walked around it a few times. Then it was time to carry the small tower down to the Ganga, adding it to the huge bonfire that was being built. Again, there was lighting of candles and circle walks around the structure. And finally, a quick stop at the temple for more acts of devotion. Geeta (mother-in-law) bought Arnav and I some yummy kulfi (indian-style hard ice-cream bar) before heading back to their place for a delicious thali dinner. Dessert before dinner, that's the way to do it! Did a puzzle with Arnav and chatted with Swati before walking home. It was the full moon and a beautiful night, so I headed up to the rooftop of Ananda for a short moon meditation, a few rounds of chandra namaskar (moon salutations), and another short med, bathing in the bright light and energy of the full moon and cool breeze. In the distance, I could hear loud dance music, coming from the Holi dance and bonfire. Last year, I went down to watch with Geeta, but this year, I opted for my rooftop.
Monday morning I was back up there, this time for Surya Namaskar (sun salutations). I watched people in their yards get ready for "big" Holi, filling buckets, balloons and water guns with brightly colored water. Back in my room, I gathered my ammunition - a small watergun and a bag of pink powder, put on my Holi clothes (stained from my previous two Holis in India) and carefully walked out into the warzone. I stayed safe down the alley, but once on the main road, I started my sprint towards Swati's, attacked from all sides by buckets of water and fistfulls of powder. I was drenched and multi-colored by the time I reached safety in her home, where I helped Arnav fill water balloons and ate a yummy Holi breakfast snack Swati had made. Then it was up to the roof to start our attacks on those below, laughing and cheering as we hit our targets. I played with Swati's family and their neighbours for about an hour, before heading over - as promised - to the home of the kids from Children of the Ganges. As their "house" did not have a rooftop we could climb onto, we played in the yard, the 5 kids and I, as their mother brought me plate after plate of sweets and snacks. The girls kept calling me didi, big sister. Doesn't take much to be adopted into an Indian family! Back out into the wild streets, I made my way back to Swati's, played a little more on the roof, where one of the neighbours got me good with a bucket soak. The action died down early afternoon (it's a morning-only war), so I stayed a while to dry up in the sun, then went home for a shower to scrub off all (or as much as I could) of the colored powder all over me and lodged in my ears, nose and even mouth. Did a couple loads (probably my last, yay!) of bucket laundry, then took it easy for the rest of the evening. Even after a full and very active day, I was still going strong past midnight, reading up on ayurveda and brainstorming/writing for the articles I had happily agreed to work on. My first meeting with Dr. Raj is tomorrow - can't wait!
(Check out some fabulous pics of Holi on Google Images!)
55. He who does all actions for Me, who looks upon Me as the Supreme, who is devoted to Me, who is free from attachment, who bears enmity towards no creature, he comes to Me, O Arjuna!
COMMENTARY:This is the essence of the whole teaching of the Gita. He who practises this teaching attains supreme bliss and immortality. Such a one realises Him and enters into His Being, becoming completely one with Him. This verse contains the summary of the entire Gita philosophy.
That afternoon I did a little reading on the balcony of Ananda, then, unusually, took a long and deep daytime nap. Felt a little off that morning, and a good rest was the perfect remedy. That evening I went to Swati's, where I participated in a small puja (devotional ceremony) that she and Arnav and her mother-in-law were performing for "small" Holi (eve of Holi) where we lit a flame in front of a tower of dried cow dung patties, gave offerings of food (some gujia sweets we had made at her mother's) and walked around it a few times. Then it was time to carry the small tower down to the Ganga, adding it to the huge bonfire that was being built. Again, there was lighting of candles and circle walks around the structure. And finally, a quick stop at the temple for more acts of devotion. Geeta (mother-in-law) bought Arnav and I some yummy kulfi (indian-style hard ice-cream bar) before heading back to their place for a delicious thali dinner. Dessert before dinner, that's the way to do it! Did a puzzle with Arnav and chatted with Swati before walking home. It was the full moon and a beautiful night, so I headed up to the rooftop of Ananda for a short moon meditation, a few rounds of chandra namaskar (moon salutations), and another short med, bathing in the bright light and energy of the full moon and cool breeze. In the distance, I could hear loud dance music, coming from the Holi dance and bonfire. Last year, I went down to watch with Geeta, but this year, I opted for my rooftop.
Monday morning I was back up there, this time for Surya Namaskar (sun salutations). I watched people in their yards get ready for "big" Holi, filling buckets, balloons and water guns with brightly colored water. Back in my room, I gathered my ammunition - a small watergun and a bag of pink powder, put on my Holi clothes (stained from my previous two Holis in India) and carefully walked out into the warzone. I stayed safe down the alley, but once on the main road, I started my sprint towards Swati's, attacked from all sides by buckets of water and fistfulls of powder. I was drenched and multi-colored by the time I reached safety in her home, where I helped Arnav fill water balloons and ate a yummy Holi breakfast snack Swati had made. Then it was up to the roof to start our attacks on those below, laughing and cheering as we hit our targets. I played with Swati's family and their neighbours for about an hour, before heading over - as promised - to the home of the kids from Children of the Ganges. As their "house" did not have a rooftop we could climb onto, we played in the yard, the 5 kids and I, as their mother brought me plate after plate of sweets and snacks. The girls kept calling me didi, big sister. Doesn't take much to be adopted into an Indian family! Back out into the wild streets, I made my way back to Swati's, played a little more on the roof, where one of the neighbours got me good with a bucket soak. The action died down early afternoon (it's a morning-only war), so I stayed a while to dry up in the sun, then went home for a shower to scrub off all (or as much as I could) of the colored powder all over me and lodged in my ears, nose and even mouth. Did a couple loads (probably my last, yay!) of bucket laundry, then took it easy for the rest of the evening. Even after a full and very active day, I was still going strong past midnight, reading up on ayurveda and brainstorming/writing for the articles I had happily agreed to work on. My first meeting with Dr. Raj is tomorrow - can't wait!
(Check out some fabulous pics of Holi on Google Images!)
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