Last Saturday morning a stronger than usual smell of incense was wafting under our door. A louder than usual chanting was echoing the halls. "Is that in our building?" It was eerie. We are surrounded by the worship ceremonies of Hinduism, the "pooja", but it hadn't been this close to home, in this intensity.
As we left for a morning excursion, we saw the five priests leaving the building too. They donned motorcycle helmets and button down shirts, but wore the traditional wrapping (toga-like) of holy men, their faces dotted with sacred dye and smelling of charcoal and incense. Later that day I went down a floor to my friend, Hari's house. The door was open, the idols adorned with fresh flowers and a huge pile of ash was being swept up right in the middle of their living room floor. "What happened?"
Hari's mother-in-law, Lakshmi told me about the pooja that had been performed that morning. "It is for the whole building. For prosperity and longevity. Now we are cleansed." They had offered ghee, jaggery, seeds, flowers, etc into this holy fire to appease Shiva, the god of war (among other things).
I knew I would encounter this here. I just didn't know it would be so jarring. I didn't know I would be inviting my friend to a movie-night while her househelper swept away ash and burnt offerings. I didn't know I would feel so suppressed by the chanting and really really want to pray.
We are surrounded in a sense. Yet the God who made the flowers, the wood that was burnt, the jaggery, the ghee and my neighbors is much closer and much more powerful and cleansing than a pooja can ever be.
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| The designs on the floor are worship, the fresh flowers are worship, the idols and picture are of Ganesha (removed of obstacles) |
Hari's mother-in-law, Lakshmi told me about the pooja that had been performed that morning. "It is for the whole building. For prosperity and longevity. Now we are cleansed." They had offered ghee, jaggery, seeds, flowers, etc into this holy fire to appease Shiva, the god of war (among other things).
I knew I would encounter this here. I just didn't know it would be so jarring. I didn't know I would be inviting my friend to a movie-night while her househelper swept away ash and burnt offerings. I didn't know I would feel so suppressed by the chanting and really really want to pray.
We are surrounded in a sense. Yet the God who made the flowers, the wood that was burnt, the jaggery, the ghee and my neighbors is much closer and much more powerful and cleansing than a pooja can ever be.
