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Archive for December, 2007
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The kitchen
Once again, the ultimate mystery of India is the way that such unbelievably good food comes from such simple kitchens! -
Lunch!
Lunch was dhal, rice, poori, and vegtables, with an apple and some water to drink. Every one of the sanyasi looked healthy even though some of them were obviously quite old. -
Waiting patiently
I think there were about 35-40 sanyasi there waiting for us. It was an unusual experience because in a way they were there to do me a favor by allowing me to feed them! They are forgiven all social responsibilities and their only object in life is to complete their spiritual journey. They eat once [...] -
Blessings
When we went into the area where the sanyasi were waiting, I was asked to take a flower dipped in liquid kumkum and placed a small dot on their forehead and then sprinkled a few flower petals on their head. It was a great (and unexpected) honor and it allowed me to experience each of [...] -
Visiting Sanyasi
After the five day yagya, we arranged a visit to an ashram to provide a lunch for a group of sanyasi. The vedas always say that part of a yagya is to “feed brahmins” and so this was an important part of the program. When we arrived we waited for a while in the senior [...] -
Dakshina
At the end of the 5 days of yagyas we gave each pundit a new dhoti and a little bit of extra money. There was a very nice feeling that we had all participated in something significant together. Both pundits and participants were all tired from very long days, but at the same time [...] -
Blessings
At the conclusion of the yagya the priests give you a blessing by placing a bit of dark red kumkum powder on your forehead and a fresh flower mala. After listening to these pundits chant the vedic mantras all day for hours and hours, you really do feel blessed by them! Part of [...] -
Vasodhara
In a typical yagya each repetition of the mantra is accompanied by an offering of ghee and till seeds. During a Rudra/shiva yagya the tradition is to recite the final part of the Chamakam. This is one big long mantra which typically takes 15 minutes to recite. But that is too long for just [...] -
Final offering
At the end of the homam, the fire is built up to a grand flame as a coconut is offered into the blaze. The coconut is symbolic of the hard ego on the outside which once cracked gives way to the soft and sweet interior. So offering the coconut into the yagya fire is a [...] -
Wavering consciousness
I mentioned in an earlier post that the wheat in the sand beneath the water pots had sprouted because of all the rain. Each of the pots were used to “invoke” the presence of a different deity and they were carefully placed in specific locations in the yagya stala. At the beginning of each day [...]