Ganga Arati

5pm Saturday
Maria had Vedic priests come bless our opening ceremony. They chanted
vedic prayers, gave us each a tilak with rice stuck in it (lots of
forehead flair!) and tied red string around our wrists as we entered
the yoga practice space.
After a short practice we prepared for Ganga Arti (are y'all googling
these terms?). This ceremony is performed nightly on the ghat (steps
into Ganga) directly facing the enormous Shiva murti (statue of
deity). Hundreds of people gather each evening to honor Ma Ganga. Our
group of 13 was led to a corner of the roof covered temple. The priest
had just begun the homa (fire ceremony), we all quickly took seats
around the firepit. While chanting he passed around a copper pot
(chester) with Ganga water to be poured into our cupped hands, next
came rice. At the end of his bhajan we offered rice to the pit and he
lit the fire. More forehead flair, flowers were then placed in our
hands, after a blessing, the flowers were put along the frame of the
pit. Next, hand size palm leaf baskets were passed around. Cow dung
and sticks. The priest began chanting the gayatri and other mantras.
At the end of each mantra we chanted "swaha", he poured ghee on the
flames and we tossed the clump of dung and sticks that we held pressed
to our hearts into the fire.
After homa we moved to the main part of the temple for kirtan We had
reserved seating behind the singers, directly in front of Shiva.
At night Shiva is lit up and you can see every detail of his
magnificence.
I recieved serious darshan from that carved piece of marble. An
experience that will stay with me for a very long time.
I also was treated to the full spectrum of emotions, from anger to
bliss, to tears, humility and surrender. India is like that, she will
hold and nourish you but also shake you to your core, strip you
completely bringing you to your knees and then cradle you. Crazy shit
happens here. If you are looking for healing, transformation, and
creation then come to India.
There was a film crew at the ceremony that taught me a valuable
lesson. Rude american actors danced inappropriately obscuring
eveyone's view, the man filming was constantly bouncing in and out of
the sacred center of the ceremony. I oscillated between contempt and
surrender. My racing mind pulled me out of the beauty repeatedly. How
could they accept such privilege and not have had the respect to
prepare, to study and to not violate the sacred traditions! How could
I be so irritated in such an amazing space! I was creating my own
suffering. Ultimately whatever these people were filming would expose
people to this amazing spiritual culture and it's worth the sacrifice.
My gaze was so fixed on Shiva that when interrupted by the film folks,
I simply closed my eyes and there he was, seared onto my mind's eye,
my soul.
We lit a ghee soaked wick in a palm basket of flowers and set it, with
our intentions down the Ganga. Standing knee deep in her I knew I had
to go all the way in. I fell back and let her hold me. When I came up
from the water what else could have possibly happened than the camera
dude being right in my face asking if he could use the footage in his
movie 'valley of the flowers'. Come on! Hysterical. I said yes. I
could barely speak, being so overwhelmed with emotion from my plunge.
He asked me to speak into the camera my name and that I give
permission .....yada yada yada.
What a night!

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