Simply Being | Simple Being

Griha Pravesham

Imagine a simple black table draped with an ochre silk cloth, laden with flowers in pink, orange, yellow and peach. Pink-crimson peaches, golden yellow mangoes, ripe bananas, dark dark plums, bright oranges – side by side with Ganeshas in different sizes and colours. Ganesha in wood, dark and lustrous, Ganesha in marble, smooth and clear and yet another one in dark-coloured stone. Shri Krishna, Guruvayoorappan, Guruji, Hanuman, Balaji – all gracing the occasion. Bowls filled with almonds, raisins, sugar candy, dates, cashewnuts. Glasses filled with milk-honey-juice-yogurt, more bowls filled with turmeric and kumkum poweder, smell of incense and camphor pervading the house, the fire surging mightily at the sandalwood powder, sand, cashewnuts, almonds and coconuts.

All ends well. The Ganapati Homam, Navagraha Shanti and Vaastu Pooja was completed this morning along with Shanti Homam. The priest was extremely nice and knowledgable. He gave the home his stamp of approval and said that as per the rules of Vaastushastra, our home was quite ideally placed. He blessed us after the Pooja and said that this would be the year when all our debts would be redeemed and we would start life anew. I am not exactly sure what *debts* he meant but it is good news anyway! The altar arrangement was such pure delight to the senses. The sounds, the scents, the sights – so beautiful. I was in two minds: whether to take pictures or not. Ultimately, I decided that some moments are to be enjoyed, to be experienced, to be completely immersed in, chuck the camera!

Some weeks later, when all Art of Living folks get back from the Guru Poornima celebrations in San Mateo, we’ll organize a Satsang and then our homecoming will be complete.

Update 1: Something I forgot to mention: Yesterday was a wonderful day as per the Hindu calendar. It was Ekadashi of the Ashadh month and the Nakshatra was Swati. The significance of the day is not quite clear to me but the priest mentioned that all festivals start off from this day and the doors of Vaikunth open…:-) The explanation suffices! I wore a saree yesterday – actually draped it myself and that’s a first time for me! It was not difficult at all and Pinch was quite impressed by the way I handled it all through. Running up and down the staircase, rising and sitting down multiple times during the Pooja – it was a breeze…:-) And again, Pinch and I were unknowingly colour coordinated with him in a flame coloured silk kurti and me in an orangish-yellow saree!

Update 2: Also forgot to mention the paal-paayasam that I made the night before last. Of course, the milk started burning and sticking, it being whole milk laden with cream. After a lot of clumsy handling of the burnt cream, it finally started looking better and oh man, it tasted divine! Of course, I had dunked a cup of raw cane sugar in it and the end result was this creamy, soft brown-coloured, rich, sweet paayasam that got the ‘Wow!’ from some other more *experienced* cooks…:-) I made a meal of it after the Pooja! And the fruits that were offered during the Pooja… wow! For some reason, divine maybe (!), they tasted WONDERFUL. The peaches had ripened to the right point, the plums were juicy and delicious and the mangoes, I bet, will taste great as well. I think that’s what my today’s lunch will comprise of: peaches, plums, bananas, oranges and mangoes! What luxury…