Shivaratri in the Hard Light Ashram, Ganeshpuri, Nimbola Part 2
This entry was posted on 3/6/2008 10:40 PM and is filed under India.
The chanting of the Brahmins never stopped and it
was very melodic and mesmerizing. We wondered what would become of
this melon (see part one of this blog entry if you missed this story). Later
- Doug was picked to take it outside and throw it on the ground to let
the abundance of the blessing be spread throughout the ashram. (By the next morning all of the coins were gone.) He then
put his hand in the red kumkum placed inside the melon, and marked the
four corners of the ashram with a handprint. Watch this movie...
Here is a photo of the hall with the Brahmin priests honoring the Guru...
Then the chanting and rituals began and continued through the night...
A look inside the yagna pit...
Here's a movie of the Brahmins as the yagna was underway...
Enjoying the proceedings...
Another part of the morning's yagna was the blessing of the entire grounds and buildings of the ashram. The pandits led the processional across the yard, around the property, and then through every room...
In this movie you'll note that two of them carried hand-held microphones, and continued the mantras as they walked...
At
1 pm we took a break and had lunch with some of our guests. Then we had
the afternoon off until we gathered again at 6 pm for the evening
session.
This was when the Brahmin priests really started
their work. The fire was blazing, fueled by over a gallon of ghee spooned into it and
special blessed herbs, leaves and seeds thrown in. They never stopped their
chanting doing the Rudram 10 times and the Chandi and other very
special ritual chants. We were mesmerized by their devotion and their
years of training to do this.
The Brahmins continued nonstop until 1 am. Then they retired for the night and we continued to sit in the mandala for the rest of the night
meditating until 6 am. It was a most incredible experience to stay up
the whole night meditating. We did it much easier than we had imagined
and only struggled the last hour or so.
