Food is spiritual
May 22, 2007
From the Maitri Upanishad:
“By the power of ascetic fervor Brahman
expands and thence is food produced.
From food comes life, from life mond, thence truth.
the worlds and the immortality of works.”
The above photo was taken during one of our public food offerings
on the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi.
Ganga Puja
May 21, 2007
Every evening in Varanasi they perform an elaborate puja to the river itself. In vedic mythology, there is a story about how a rishi convinced Ganga to come to earth from heaven, but she was worried that she would be too powerful and would wash away the earth. So Shiva said that she could first flow through his hair and he would soften her impact so the earth would not be damaged.
Ganesha in butter
May 20, 2007
On special occasions, in this case New Year’s Eve when temples will coat the murti with butter and then decorate it with, as you see above, fruit and flowers which are embedded into the butter coating. I love the way it looks, almost playful. But it takes hours to create and even more time to clean up the next day!
The yagya fire
May 19, 2007
The vedic tradition says that divinity can be invoked in the yagya fire. This means that, at least from the perspective of the vedas, the god or goddess for whom the yagya is being performed is literally there, in the fire, fully present in order to receive the offerings. So the priests treat the fire with a lot of respect and care. At times, like the Chandi yagya seen above, you can almost see the form in the shape of the flames. At least it is in interesting idea to consider….
The Importance of Family
May 18, 2007
In Jyotish the different houses represent various areas of life. We in the west are familiar with the vedic tradition’s emphasis on the ultimate goal of life being liberation. I found it fascinating that the houses which represent liberation (moksha) are the 4th, the 8th, and the 12th. The 8th is meditation, the 12th is the ashram, and the 4th….is family.
In our spiritual zeal it is all too easy to forget that being in the world and fulfilling our family role and responsibilities fully is every bit as legitimate a spiritual pursuit as meditating in an ashram. In the photo above one of our senior priest’s is seen with his daughters. He is an amazing pundit and his mastery of the vedas is inspiring. But the obvious joy that he shares with his daughters is certainly the essence of spirituality.
Shiva Yagya
May 17, 2007
This is a photo from a Shiva yagya that is being performed under a 500 year old Peepul tree. In the distance you can see the Ganges. Also of interest is the trisul, Shiva’s trident which is seen here covered with the golden yellow marigold flowers.
The offerings are typically grain and ghee. After the homam (fire yagya) the priests complete the yagya inside the temple with an abishekam during which liquid ingredients are poured over the Shiva lingam. The following photo shows the lingam after the completion of the abishekam after it has been decorated with flowers. The priests are performing the final aarti; offering of light with the mantras that conclude the yagya.
The timelessness of yagyas
May 16, 2007
On the banks of the Ganges, and I doubt that 500 or even 1,000 years ago it would have looked any different.
Ganga Saptami
May 15, 2007
At dawn on the 7th day after the full moon in April, we performed a special yagya for Ganga. The priests went to the river side at dawn and prepared the kalasha pots; full of water and a coconut on top. Of course this is in the midst of everyone else who was there for their morning worship, so there was no privacy. This is a very public yagya!
And of course nothing like a morning swim!
Lingam on the Ganga
May 14, 2007
Varanasi is the city of Shiva and many lingams are on the banks of the Ganges so that people can easily perform the Shiva Abishekam with Ganga water.
Rain
May 13, 2007
“May the waters purify earth,
may this earth so purified, purify me!
May the Lord of the sacred word purify me,
may earth, purified by Brahman, purify me!”
-Mahanarayana Upanishad