Aradhna Music & Media
http://aradhnamusic.com/satsangSubhaPlayer.html
I like the bhajan 'Subah Shaam Lun Yeshu Tera Naam'... morning to evening I take Yeshu's name. It evokes a lot of feeling besides having depth in it's lyrics. If you like Indian music and specifically bhakti type devotional styles you may enjoy this. Click on the link above it for more.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
If One Asks for Your IPOD Give Him Your Laptop as Well
We got on the train in the evening at Varanasi station during the hottest part of June. It was close to 115 degrees in the late afternoon sun, we were sweating and met with a cacophony of sight, smell, sound and mad rush of people. Bright saris in red, yellow, blue and multipatterns breaking down the primaries into a kaleidoscope of colours. Everywhere people sitting, standing, squatting with hand fans. The pakoras were sizzling, fried dumplings of bread, potato and onion, as were katchoris, the Varanasi style deep fried circular flatbreads used to soup up a medley of potato, cauliflower, and green chili peppers. That combined with the stale smell of urine from overflowing toilets, not having been cleaned for weeks, and random cow droppings soft and steamy, with humidity at 90%, on the platform where we waited. The shrill calls for food and chai blended with the low unbroken murmur of toy sellers plying their wares, platform goods being hawked, families following railway porters, army men camped out, crackling announcements and children or grandparents searching for relatives. We found our seats after the list was posted and were soon on our way to New Delhi, a trip of about 12 hours, only to arrive and be hustled into another station experience, yet this is where the story takes a decidedly different turn.
I noticed two youths, one fairly well dressed with baseball cap, nice backpack, tennis shoes and clean shirt. The other was a bit shabby, typical gown wallah, meaning villager, with local chappel, the sandals used by the poor, in brown pant and non descript dirty collared shirt. They were talking and looking very interestingly at the passengers ahead of them, and specifically the passengers’ luggage, as we walked along New Delhi station platform to the exit. I wondered to myself if they were the railway thieves I often heard about, but never had experience with. The crowds pressed us close together and we moved along buoyed along by the rush of people. I decided to see if I was being targeted and I slowed down to a snails pace. The man on my left moved to my right side and walked past, so I relaxed. Then I saw his friend, who appeared to be looking at his ticket in confusion, as I passed him he never even looked up, so I assumed they were just newcomers to the station. I put such thoughts out of my mind and looked for Arasi and Jon who by then were out of the station and standing near the road with a couple of bicycle rickshaws waiting for me. I waved to them, set Arjun down who ran to mama, and began to talk with Jon.
All of a sudden a young man ran past me and bumped into me heavily, I exclaimed, ‘ Arre yaar, kahan jaraha hai? Itne jaldi toe.’ (Hey dude! What’s the rush, where are you going?). He replied in English, ‘My bus, my bus!!!’ I thought nothing of it and watched him rush off. I was merely scanning the crowd, waiting for the others to fix the price with the cycle rickshaws when I saw a flash of bubbly white plastic, just bigger than a cell phone go into a shabbily dressed young man’s pocket who was walking away, about 50 feet from me. I immediately knew it was my ipod!
How I knew for certain that it was mine I can’t explain, perhaps it was seeing the strange bubble white case I had bought in USA, but in one movement I shed my backpack, saw my zipper open, headphone wires half in and out, and took off in a 40 yard dash that would do a Minnesota Viking running back proud. I tackled him in the middle of the street, in front of city buses, motor rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, pedestrians, bicyclists and crowds of people, as I pressed my forearm against his neck the traffic came to a halt. I stunned him by smashing his head on the side of the rickshaw fender a couple times, holding him down I then gave him three quick blows to the face, bam, bam, bam, with my closed fist and yelled ‘Give it back! Give it back!’ He quickly gave up the ipod and immediately made a move to run away so, with ipod in one hand, I stood over him and pressed him halfway up against the motor rickshaw. I gave him a hard left hook, my fist connecting with cheekbone, then another to the jaw, his tooth slicing the top of my hand.
I looked at the crowd around me and saw the policeman standing nearby, so I assumed he would capture him and lead him away to the police station. The man squirmed out of my grasp and tried to run, as the policeman leaned on his lathi, a bamboo cane used for thrashing criminals (and sometimes the innocent) and did absolutely nothing, I was shocked! I just had time to catch the collar of the mans shirt as he dodged between two rickshaws and I heard a ‘screeeiiiiiip’ as the whole shirt ripped down his back, he moved sideways and I was left with his shirt in my hand while, along with the rest of the crowd, I watched him cross the divider and run full bore down the other side of the street, disappearing into the crowd. I was shaking with adrenaline and crossed the street to where Jon and Arasi were standing with Arjun. My hand was bleeding and I was breathing heavily when the policeman came over and said in Hindi, ‘Aapka samman sub tik hai, na?’ (Did you get your things alright?) and then he said in English, ‘You can beat if he has stolen, but we will not beat, it is good if you beat, we will not object!’
In reflection later on I thought about that young man, what made him choose to become a thief marking tourists on the train platform early in the morning? Would I be able to befriend him like Jesus did to the thief on the cross next to him and say ‘Today surely you will be with me in Paradise’? While thinking about God’s character, His sense of justice exonerates me, ‘eye for eye & tooth for tooth’, but thinking about his mercy I am condemned, for I follow a God who came and spent time with the weak, the poor, the oppressed, the prostituted and the criminal, ‘if one should strike you offer your other cheek to him as well’.
Next time I will be ready, not to offer my ipod nor a beating, but my cheek along with a long talk and cup of chai about a God who can change lives.
शांति (peace)
Jai, Aarti & Arjun
I noticed two youths, one fairly well dressed with baseball cap, nice backpack, tennis shoes and clean shirt. The other was a bit shabby, typical gown wallah, meaning villager, with local chappel, the sandals used by the poor, in brown pant and non descript dirty collared shirt. They were talking and looking very interestingly at the passengers ahead of them, and specifically the passengers’ luggage, as we walked along New Delhi station platform to the exit. I wondered to myself if they were the railway thieves I often heard about, but never had experience with. The crowds pressed us close together and we moved along buoyed along by the rush of people. I decided to see if I was being targeted and I slowed down to a snails pace. The man on my left moved to my right side and walked past, so I relaxed. Then I saw his friend, who appeared to be looking at his ticket in confusion, as I passed him he never even looked up, so I assumed they were just newcomers to the station. I put such thoughts out of my mind and looked for Arasi and Jon who by then were out of the station and standing near the road with a couple of bicycle rickshaws waiting for me. I waved to them, set Arjun down who ran to mama, and began to talk with Jon.
All of a sudden a young man ran past me and bumped into me heavily, I exclaimed, ‘ Arre yaar, kahan jaraha hai? Itne jaldi toe.’ (Hey dude! What’s the rush, where are you going?). He replied in English, ‘My bus, my bus!!!’ I thought nothing of it and watched him rush off. I was merely scanning the crowd, waiting for the others to fix the price with the cycle rickshaws when I saw a flash of bubbly white plastic, just bigger than a cell phone go into a shabbily dressed young man’s pocket who was walking away, about 50 feet from me. I immediately knew it was my ipod!
How I knew for certain that it was mine I can’t explain, perhaps it was seeing the strange bubble white case I had bought in USA, but in one movement I shed my backpack, saw my zipper open, headphone wires half in and out, and took off in a 40 yard dash that would do a Minnesota Viking running back proud. I tackled him in the middle of the street, in front of city buses, motor rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, pedestrians, bicyclists and crowds of people, as I pressed my forearm against his neck the traffic came to a halt. I stunned him by smashing his head on the side of the rickshaw fender a couple times, holding him down I then gave him three quick blows to the face, bam, bam, bam, with my closed fist and yelled ‘Give it back! Give it back!’ He quickly gave up the ipod and immediately made a move to run away so, with ipod in one hand, I stood over him and pressed him halfway up against the motor rickshaw. I gave him a hard left hook, my fist connecting with cheekbone, then another to the jaw, his tooth slicing the top of my hand.
I looked at the crowd around me and saw the policeman standing nearby, so I assumed he would capture him and lead him away to the police station. The man squirmed out of my grasp and tried to run, as the policeman leaned on his lathi, a bamboo cane used for thrashing criminals (and sometimes the innocent) and did absolutely nothing, I was shocked! I just had time to catch the collar of the mans shirt as he dodged between two rickshaws and I heard a ‘screeeiiiiiip’ as the whole shirt ripped down his back, he moved sideways and I was left with his shirt in my hand while, along with the rest of the crowd, I watched him cross the divider and run full bore down the other side of the street, disappearing into the crowd. I was shaking with adrenaline and crossed the street to where Jon and Arasi were standing with Arjun. My hand was bleeding and I was breathing heavily when the policeman came over and said in Hindi, ‘Aapka samman sub tik hai, na?’ (Did you get your things alright?) and then he said in English, ‘You can beat if he has stolen, but we will not beat, it is good if you beat, we will not object!’
In reflection later on I thought about that young man, what made him choose to become a thief marking tourists on the train platform early in the morning? Would I be able to befriend him like Jesus did to the thief on the cross next to him and say ‘Today surely you will be with me in Paradise’? While thinking about God’s character, His sense of justice exonerates me, ‘eye for eye & tooth for tooth’, but thinking about his mercy I am condemned, for I follow a God who came and spent time with the weak, the poor, the oppressed, the prostituted and the criminal, ‘if one should strike you offer your other cheek to him as well’.
Next time I will be ready, not to offer my ipod nor a beating, but my cheek along with a long talk and cup of chai about a God who can change lives.
शांति (peace)
Jai, Aarti & Arjun
Friday, August 24, 2007
Renewal of Wedding Vows... Hindu ISHTYLE!
Yup,
It was just our 6th Wedding anniversary in June. So we decieded that since we got hitched in a church building (albeit with baraat (wedding party), horse and marching band) we could do with renewing our vows in Hindu ishtyle (the pronounciation of 'style' which has become a Hindi word) in the Kumoan Hills!
It was just our 6th Wedding anniversary in June. So we decieded that since we got hitched in a church building (albeit with baraat (wedding party), horse and marching band) we could do with renewing our vows in Hindu ishtyle (the pronounciation of 'style' which has become a Hindi word) in the Kumoan Hills!
Each small item is signifigant, such as the coconut sitting on a small brass, or copper, vessel with mango leaves... all of which together symbolise sampoorna 'fullness'. May the rest of ourlife together be full of love and devotion to eachother and Sadguru Yeshu.
After the renewal of our vows in late June we were also able to visit other places in the Kumoun Hills, a part of the Indian Himalaya. It was a 4 week summer working holiday (Jai wrote each day for 3 - 6 hours) and we ended by visiting Nainital, a hillstation where a friend gave us a very good discount through his connections at Balrampur House, which is a luxurious French Manor summer home of a former Indian maharajah! Arjun loved running on the grass!
When we were up in the hills Aarti & Arjun visited a friend's pre-school for a week and Arjun loved playing with the other children. So when we returned home and saw that Arjun was bouncing off the walls guess what? Yes! He started school, with uniform, bowtie and all! Age 2 years and 11 months!
शांति (peace)
Jai
Jai
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Summertime in the City of Light
We have been enjoying the summertime season (it seems like it is never ending) which stretches from March - November. The summer in the plains of North India is HOT! It is estimated that it will be 120 degrees Fahrenheit tomorrow with high humidity. Yep. Look at the wind blowing hot air near the riverside. Massive. The conversations at shops and home are relegated to a very Minnesotanesque weather discussion in reverse.
'Hai baprey, itina garam hi hai' (O Lord, It's so totally hot)
'Ji han, ummas bahout hai' (yes sir, the humidity is huge)
for more Hindi fun try to learn through bollywood songs... see links to visit section or click here www.cuttingchai.com
Our son is rapidly growing and doing strange and mysterious things. He seems to disappear an reappear at will. Today we found him sitting in the windowsill.
An interesting bit of news this last month has been the 'ashram facility' that we are developing. We began to have two new events each month. One is a 'ashram training' once a month for Yeshubhaktas (devotees of Jesus) who are leading a home satsang and the second is an 'ashram satsang' once a month for Hindu seekers of bhakti (devotion). These are typically well educated and intellectuals of the city. Seven people showed up for the first event.
We have also been diligently scraping paint at the ashram... and scraping... and scraping...
and scraping...
and scraping...
and scraping...
and scraping (see previous posts for picts).
Needless to say it will be a long project I feel. It is cathartic though and I have been able to spend once a week for 3 -4 hours a day myself doing it. Each Thursday I am there for a morning of scraping and an afternoon with Swamiji or writing on the computer. I have also just finished a big carpentry project in our flat. You remember the post about the furniture and doors that I have been cleaning.
We will be heading out of the city for a few weeks in July to escape the heat, attend our yearly retreat 'Sadhak Darshan' (seekers vision), to have a renewal of our wedding vows in a Hindu temple style which includes circling the sacred fire seven times (for the seven years we have been married as we completed 6 years June 2nd) and eventually we will land up in a little Himalayan town for my writing project.
Until then we remain,
Jai, Aarti and Arjun
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Mundan
The Mundan ceremony, is a Hindu sacrement, or sanskar, in which a child receives his/her first hair cut. Everything in the Hindu community is sacremental. We had a lovely time of prayer, puja and bhajans in the Mukteshwar Math, as a family and celebrated life!
Summer in the HOT
Perhaps some of you know that we were considering going to Switzerland. Switzerland is NOT hot. Actually we were more than considering. We prayed and felt confident that the Sadguru was guiding our plans.
For the last 10 years I have been living in India. Since arrival I have not had any refresher course in the University of the Nations. My last training was the 'Introduction to Community Development' program run by Mercy Ships in Tyler, TX back in Spring of 1997. Beginning in New Delhi in summer 1997 as a young fresh 25 year old with a commitment to the poor and destitute I began to work with MERSI (Medical Educational Relief Service Int'l). Then later in Mussoorie, as a Hindi language student, I began to develop a totally new course in the University of the Nations called 'School of Hindu Studies'. It came as a result of interaction with the good and the lovely of the Hindu world. Using Hindu forms filled with the Sadguru's meaning.
After marriage to Aarti we were invited to serve in our present locale which included leading discipleship training and eventually joining the leadership team of a local NGO that operates a 'Widows Home' among other activities. In 2003 we were able to strike out on our own and take up the 'School of Hindu Studies' again. It was officially registered with the College of Humanities & Int'l. Studies that same year. We also partnered with a few others and a 'Hindi Language & Culture' internship was registered. Two SHS followed in 2003 & 2005 and our NGO grew to about 17 people!
By that time we were ready for a time of refreshment... yet it was not to be. Aarti's visa came 1 week later than our tickets and we had to make a hard choice to reorient our lives to spend the summer in India. Why do these things happen? Is it providence, determinism, government red-tape or human error?
We ask our selves these questions, but in spite of having to live through the summer in the HOT we will survive in the grace of our Sadguru.
For the last 10 years I have been living in India. Since arrival I have not had any refresher course in the University of the Nations. My last training was the 'Introduction to Community Development' program run by Mercy Ships in Tyler, TX back in Spring of 1997. Beginning in New Delhi in summer 1997 as a young fresh 25 year old with a commitment to the poor and destitute I began to work with MERSI (Medical Educational Relief Service Int'l). Then later in Mussoorie, as a Hindi language student, I began to develop a totally new course in the University of the Nations called 'School of Hindu Studies'. It came as a result of interaction with the good and the lovely of the Hindu world. Using Hindu forms filled with the Sadguru's meaning.
After marriage to Aarti we were invited to serve in our present locale which included leading discipleship training and eventually joining the leadership team of a local NGO that operates a 'Widows Home' among other activities. In 2003 we were able to strike out on our own and take up the 'School of Hindu Studies' again. It was officially registered with the College of Humanities & Int'l. Studies that same year. We also partnered with a few others and a 'Hindi Language & Culture' internship was registered. Two SHS followed in 2003 & 2005 and our NGO grew to about 17 people!
By that time we were ready for a time of refreshment... yet it was not to be. Aarti's visa came 1 week later than our tickets and we had to make a hard choice to reorient our lives to spend the summer in India. Why do these things happen? Is it providence, determinism, government red-tape or human error?
We ask our selves these questions, but in spite of having to live through the summer in the HOT we will survive in the grace of our Sadguru.
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