Deepavali or Diwali ( pronounced ‘dee - wall - ee’) is India’s well known Festival of Lights that commemorates the mythical King Ram returning to his kingdom and re-establishing his rule bringing about the golden age of India, some thousands of years ago.

During the five-day Diwali event there will be displays of fireworks, music, revelry and worship at the home & temple. It is typical to visit friends and relatives, wear new clothes, eat special food, light small ‘deeps’ which are earthenware oil lamps and give expensive gifts.

As followers of Christ we will be celebrating Diwali to the Father of Lights, who lights every person’s conscience, in hopes that they will recognize the Light of the World, Jesus the Christ. Our team and fellow Hindu disciples of Christ will be having satsangs (home fellowships) and special bhajans (devotional songs) focused on Christ’s advent during this festive time. Please pray for us and our friends we invite!

Interestingly, the Latin word adventus is used in reference to the Second Coming. The season of Advent serves a dual reminder of the original waiting that was done by the Hebrews for the birth of their Messiah as well as our waiting for the second coming of Christ. In many ways the festival of Diwali is our ‘Christmas’ and ‘Advent’ put together, since the Light of the World, Sadguru Yeshu (Jesus Christ), was born 2000+ years ago and will come again to establish his kingdom forever.

Mrinalini: A Diwali Thanksgiving Gift

We are very thankful for a very special Diwali gift that came to us this month as our baby daughter, Mrinalini Isabel, was born on October 2nd at 6AM. Since Mohandas ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi, the father of modern India, was also born on October 2nd it is a national holiday in India and that means Mrinalini gets a holiday for her birthday every year she is in India!

Mrinalini is an Indian name that means ‘first petal or first bud of the lotus’. The lotus is a well known symbol of gyan (knowledge) in India since its beauty rises out of a muddy, watery swamp. This mire in Hindu thought is symbolic of maya or avidhya (ignorance).

Being this is the second baby we are currently experiencing no avidhya, or ignorance, on our parental duties! Mama & baby are both healthy and doing well. In India you can call her Mrinalini or Nalini.

Isabel is of course spanish/portuguese/italian for 'Elizabeth' but don't call her Isabel around Indian Christians as in the Hindi bible translation of JEZABEL is IZABEL! To bad for all the pretty little Isabelles out there... Latin languages vs. Sanskrit & Hebrew... ummm... yeah...

A Long Long Time Ago in a House on Pooh Corner

Sometimes I feel like I live on pooh corner. Except there is no Winnies or Kangas only piglets and sad eyed eeyores wandering about.

We were unable to complete a house purchase. The paperwork of India destroyed us. In the end they wouldn't give us a loan because they were nervous we would default.

We held a wonderful artist retreat in the Yeshu Ashram. It was beautiful and we generated many artworks!

So Long School of Hindu Studies

Well it has been a bit o time since the last blog... that is the state of my faculties during School of Hindu Studies. Even before SHS I was at wits end and now after SHS I feel like I am still runnign pillar to post to get other duties finished. That will come to an immediate end with the departure of myself and Arjun to USA for the month of May!

Here is a short photo montage followed by an update...









School of Hindu Studies: A shelter for the psycho-spiritually challenged!

School of Hindu Studies began in early January and ran for 12 weeks. We had a variety of teachers on worldview, culture, music, communication, prayer, worship, satsang development and even a week on developing authentic Indian spirituality at a Catholic ashram.

Each morning of the ashram spiritual retreat weeks the students and staff of the School of Hindu Studies were immersed in a practical application of our lectures. We rose just before the sunrise and took our places in the mandir, a type of temple for the ashram. The mandir was constructed in Hindu style with a simple representation of Christ on the cross to the side, incense, flowers and an oil lamp signifying his being the light of the world.

Evenings we would retreat to the meditation hall, or dhyan bhavan, for teaching on Christ as Guru (spiritual teacher), as Swami (spiritual master or lord), and as the supreme Yogi (the one who leads you to spiritual union). One of the more touching illustrations the teacher gave that week was that 'Jesus wants us to let down our nets in the deep waters'. Students would sit in padmasana, which is universally known as the lotus position, and spent deep times of interiority, prayer, yoga and communication which generated a depth of intimacy with Christ in Indian style.

It is hard to imagine that our modern day universities were often birthed out of places like these in the West where monks spent time in deep contemplation, meditation and learning. Likewise it was hard for us to slow down our busy lives and become silent, listen, and pray to Christ silently without our mind wandering! We also had excellent times of wild bhajan singing where we expressed our love to God through loud singing, drums and great emotion!

At the ashram there was ‘a shelter for the psycho-spiritually challenged’, so we knew we were in the right place! Actually it is for those with psychological disturbances and those who have been attacked by evil spirits. The inmates are brought by Hindu relatives and left at the ashram as a last resort before being committed to the state mental hospital facilities. Some of the patients have returned to normal through prayer, worship and loving kindness.

So many stories could be told for each of the weeks but eventally all good things come to an end and the School of Hindu Studies concluded at the end of March with 13 graduates. The graduation message was given by Jai’s former mentor and co-founder of the School of Hindu Studies, Dr. M.A. Raju, now a neurologist with a nearby hospital, the very same person out of whose house Aarti and Jai were married 7 years ago! Jai and the area director of a local organisation, Narendranath Tiwari, handed out the certificates.

Gurukulam Training Programme

Aarti is excited to develop the upcoming Training programme here in Varanasi. It will be very close to the approach of the School of Hindu Studies. Much more times of teacher student interaction and one on one spiritual development times rather than lecture. It will be called the ‘Gurukulam’ which is a Sanskrit word for ‘school’ or place where the Guru resides to teach the disciples. Apt huh? This will begin mid January 2009.

The Ashram

You may remember that we were able to purchase a property to use as an ashram. This 250 year old heritage building is the reason and motivation behind Jai joining INTACH and it has now been running smoothly for over one year! We were able to host an Indian music concert (bhajans, tabla and violin) in the ashram on Easter weekend which also fell on the Hindu holiday of Holi so we also used as an opportunity to share of Sadguru Yeshu's death and ressurection in relation to Holi, as that holiday also has redemptive links in that direction. It was attended by many neighbours and all of our School of Hindu Studies students and staff. We even got a mention in the local newspaper!

Family News and Tidbits

Aarti will have her hands full with directing the upcoming Gurukulam project but she has also expressed her desire to help local poor women in sustainable job development through the ashram. We need to see how that can work out practically. She will also be involved in hosting a Bhajan Music seminar next fall with the ashram.

Jai has been interested to enter more into the fabric of society, to incarnate himself in service to Hindus and continue his learning in a variety of areas, so he is trying to enter Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) which is distance education towards a BA in the area of Social Work. He also has been trying to get an artist workshop of the ground to paint on the issue of ‘Pollution of the Ganga River’ in September with the ashram.

Arjun now 3 years old has been going to ‘Fun & Learn Play School’ down the street from our house. Each day Jai walks him there and Aarti picks him up. His Hindi is great and he can quote a few English and Hindi poems and songs. He is pretty excited to travel all the way to USA with papa in the month of May 2008!

Our family has hosted tons of guests this winter and spring and has been growing in a depth of understanding of our part here in the city. As a family we have been persevering in prayer to purchase a small house in the centre of the city as well. Jai will head out to USA with Arjun for a month in May this year and Aarti will go to her hometown in Gujarat with a friend.

With love

Jai, Aarti & Arjun

Happy New School of Hindu Studies

2007 has come and gone in a flash. Now 2008 is upon us and the fourth School of Hindu Studies programme is in session. The students of this batch are interesting and diverse, each with a harrowing, and at time heart-rending, story to tell. The violence that some new believers in Christ are subjected to is absolutely, hands down, demoralising and demonic. It makes me want to run out on the streets and say to the Hindus 'Are you crazy??? What are you thinking??? Why are you doing this??? I will stand against you!!!'

I would do this if it weren't for small but very meaningful verses about 'turning the other cheek', 'remaining in the place where you were called', etc. Also, a small but important fact that Christians (I must include myself amongst this sorry lot unfortunately) have been missing all along, the fact that asking a Hindu to leave his birth community is devastating to the family members and is akin to rejection of everything to do with the way that they raised their child which cuts deep into the core of their Hindu worldview. Add into the mix, the change of name, which the parents gave with love, and perhaps not a good bit of finances to the astrologer, as well as a public baptism, shaming the family before the rest of the community legally,(though this is never the intention of the initiate or preceptors)as an offical conversion is neccesary in India to become a 'Christian' (which in this case is understood as a social community as opposed to the biblical concept of not needed to discard culture and community to embrace the good news of Sadguru Yeshu.

Here's to a great year in 2008, a year of long suffering for justice, for turning the other cheek to those who hurt you, for loving Hindus as Sadguru Yeshu would have if he were incarnated in their community.

jai

New Aradhna CD

Did I mention how much I love Aradhna? Aradhna is a music group who sings Yeshu bhajans. The root word of bhajan is 'bhaj' which is a love connection with God. I like that. I need to develop my love connection with God more. When I do I find myself at the lotus feet of Sadguru Yeshu.

Here is their recent album artwork, featuring a beautiful painting by the artist Jyoti Sahi, for the upcoming 'Amritvani' which means 'The Eternal Word'. I would assume that the picture is also implying Yeshu is the 'eternal word' as mentioned in the book of John, found in the New Testement of the Yeshugranth.

Some other cool dead guys

Brahmabandhab was a cool dead guy. There are a lot of others from a lot of different countries, even a dead woman. We mostly see dead people come alive in films. I am mostly interested in the Hindu dead guys who became Christians, as well as those who remained in the Hindu community but were disciples of Jesus Christ. I have been learning at their feet for some time now.

Here are a couple...



Nilkanth Shastri Goreh... a Hindu Brahmin from Benaras who openly antagonised the missionaries but then later followed Christ after being convinced by one.



Keshub Chandra Sen... the famous Brahmo Samaj leader in 1900's who focused solely on Christ with the Naba Vibhan, Church of the New Dispensation.



Pandita Ramabai Saraswati... the well known Brahmin female social reformer who followed Christ after the death of her husband.



Sadhu Sundar Singh... a mysterious Sikh who followed Christ early in life and later donned the robes of a sadhu.

If you google search any of the names you will find info about them. When I get a chance then I will add some short introductions about them. Many already have written about them so I will link them later.

November Thoughts

The Old & the New

Thanksgiving is here and December is almost upon us! Arjun turned age 3 in September and last weekend was a milkman for his first annual school function. He was also going to sing ‘isty bitsy spider’, but became a statue instead, riveted to the stage without any sound. Anxious parents watched nervously and encouraged him afterwards on his good preformance!

The advent season has almost begun and if you are like my US family then you will have recovered the tree from the box in the basement after Thanksgiving festivities have expired. Maybe you have contemplated buying a real Norway Pine from one from one of the lots that will sprung up around the cities (I won't even comment on ambitious people who cut down their own trees). The old, old, story about a little baby newly born to Joseph & Mary will be told countless times through sermon, song, play and program.

Old Forms & New Content for Christmas

The Christmas tree is a beautiful symbol of our Christian heritage that we inherited from our Germanic and other European ancesters. Many of us forget that Decemeber 25th held quite a differn’t meaning in Jesus’ time and for a few hundred years after his death and resurrection as the church of Jesus Christ grew and expanded via the grassroots of society. Decemeber 25th was the day of the famed Saturnalia, a bacceleian feast of lust and human sacrifice, celebrated as Sol Invinctus as well, signifiying the Roman emporer as the Invincible Sun. Tender young fir trees were cut down for the winter solstice and placed in the house, along with holly, wreaths, candles and presents, to signify the passing of the long cold winter and the new fertility that the Teutonic sunrise goddess Easter would bring the following spring.

How amazing it is that in just a few hundred years all vestiges of these pagan rites would be eclipsed andredeemed in worship to Jesus Christ! The old forms remained with new content infused within them, expressing the culture and diversity of ancient Europe as it left behind the worship of gods and goddesses, groaning it’s way into medieval Europe.

The local peoples enjoyed the festivities of giving gifts and the smell of a fresh Spruce or Norway Pine filling the house, now symbolic of the aroma of Christ that permeated the family of Christians that believed God Himself incarnated and took advent as a small baby, born in Bethlahem a small Palestinian province of the Roman Empire to a poor Jew of King David’s lineage. What a beautiful history of redemption that has carried on from the creation of the Hebrew nation which became a blessing to the Roman one who became a blessing to us today!

Old Forms & New Content for Hindus

I begin to wonder about the Hindu people and their love for vibrant and meaningful festivals, meaning the spiritual 'forms' that they are used to. They have a deep devotion to gods and goddesses, so similar to the Romans two millennia ago. Will it be a European Norway Pine tree that speaks meaning to them or a plant that they view as sacred such as the Hindu tulsi plant (holy basil) or something completely different? Will they have a grassroots movement that will sweep through their homes and villages that include redemptive analogies filled with the aroma of Christ this Christmas, meaning the new 'content'?

Problably not until the Good News of Jesus Christ incarnates among them from within their culture and traditions.

until it happens...

shanti (peace)