MahaShivratri

Rishikesh was packed this weekend, with Indian tourists flocking in for Monday's big Shivratri festivities. Shivratri is the day to celebrate the wedding of Shiva and Parvati. I started the day with a plain black tea for breakfast. (Tummy troubles never completely left after Valentine's Day. Seemed to be getting better for couple days after, but since then have been persisting. Woke up feeling pretty lousy this morning, but much better this afternoon. All that to say, diet has been pretty boring and simple to try to appease my stomach.) After tea, I walked over to Trika to ask a few questions I still had, and also to ask for suggestions of how to spend Shivratri. Sapna, who is the only Indian teacher, was the one who had just taught the morning class, and she told me she was going to satsang with Prem Baba then following him and his followers up to the Shiva temple in the mountains, where the chanting and festivities would go on until 3am. I told her I'd probably go to satsang, but wasn't feeling well enough to stay out all night. I then went for my Monday class with Swati. She had been to a temple in the morning for Shivratri, but wasn't doing much else to celebrate. Except fasting for the day, then sharing a nice meal with her family late that night. (But she said her son and husband weren't fasting: "They feel the hunger too much!") She suggested I go to the temple near where we live, which is where her mother-in-law would be that night. (Every temple in Rishikesh would be having its own celebrations.) So I took Sapna and Swati's suggestions. There actually wasn't any satsang with Prem Baba. He said he preferred not to use words that day, but simply let the chants speak. So the gathering started with a few Indian men blessing Prem Baba with Shivratri prayers, then the bhajans (chanting) went on for over an hour, as people lined up to walk past Prem Baba and receive his blessing. It was hot and stuffy in the hall, since there were many more people than usual, and I had to walk out onto the balcony for air and down to use the washroom a few times. Despite the tummy, I was able to enjoy the beautiful and powerful chants that came from hundreds of voices. When it ended and the group prepared to head to the mountain temple, I slowly walked back to Sudesh. Really not feeling well at this point, and disappointed that I might not make it to Swati's temple that evening. I napped, relaxed, listened to soothing music, went to Oasis for an exciting plate of rice and ghee with black tea, and decided I'd attempt the temple visit. Walked down around 9pm, found the place Swati recommended, and walked up the steps. It was a very small temple, with fewer people than I expected. Only about 50 pairs of shoes at the entrance. I peeked in, saw only Indian people, and hesitated to go in. But I did, and I'm very glad I did. I was indeed the only foreigner in the place, but no one stared or looked at me questioningly. They actually seemed pleased that I was there participating in the puja (ritual of offering). Everyone stood around a small central shrine, with something happening in middle (I stayed towards the back and couldn't see exactly what they were doing). A long red and yellow string connected all who were present, and we held onto it as we chanted, prayed or meditated. Since this was a celebration of marriage, I meditated on happy and harmonious unions for myself as well as all my loved ones, and for humanity as a whole. After the loud and rapid ringing of the temple bells (wedding bells) I stepped outside, walked around the temple a few times, and slowly made my way back home. Lovely, lovely night.