Sun Worship

Worship of sun in Aryan vedic rites always felt like an ancient ritual to please the elements. Looking deeper, it seems that at some subtle level all the energy and matter work very closely (every living thing has derived energy from solar energy) so at some level gross expression of respect and gratitude is a form of communication.

A flower that I had floated in a crystal bowl draws its petals inwards in the night even when it is not attached to the plant and is away from sunlight. How come the cells of this flower detect the sunset? What is the necessity in a plucked cosmos to draw its petals at night? Maybe cells of our body, with the proven fact that each cell has memory and gray matter, communicate with the source of energy. It is just a thought that consciously aligning our mind and spirit to this subtle communication , brings us into balance and harmony with nature and elements. Maybe this was the reason that all the ancient religions had rituals where they revered the nature. Have also observed that when we communicate the need to be healed to nature, it is herd by some intelligence and works out somehow. When I venture out in sun, I sens its rays and feel that they cleanse all negativity, it seems we should not fear elements but know that they are an integral part of our being, this way the elements work to keep us disease free and young. Dunno, came to me as I was watching sunlight bath treetops in mellow pale glow.

Mundane Things

I was talking to a friend during our evening walk and mentioned that how as a newly married woman I had found a question about maintainance money very awkward. She replies, but I get it too, and I was quiet for a moment as I had thought that is was funny to be getting money that one would spend on oneself from the husband. In fact my take on the issue was that once the intense phase of infant care and early childhood are over a woman should earn to contribute towards the family kitty. In this of course I had never taken into account the massive housework that is single handedly done by Indian housewives. I do not know about the finer points about these factors that grant spending ability to a woman in these situations but truly it had never occurred to me. Her forceful point that women who take care of the house should have some money solely kept aside for their own care sounded very logical. She gets massages and facial done with the money, with the rest she keeps saving it till a bigger amount is there, here, she showed me, 'these ear rings I got with this saving!' Well, either I am dumb or I can silently hope that practicality and worldly ways dawn upon me before I hit forty.

The Rabindranath novel I was reading speaks of these feminist issues, am amazed that the issues are still contemporary. The central character, Kumudini refuses to accept precious jewelry that her husband gifts her as he continuously tries to show her side of the family down, she accepts a crumpled paper with cardamom seeds that a child gives her with joy. She is completely reliant on her husband and yet she struggles to resist the attempts by the husband to control her.She is shown to be brought up lovingly by her brother and this instills in her the confidence to turn down that which is given to her without respect.

Commonwealth Games with Kids

Was at the stadium yesterday to see the diving, there were children watching with frequent squabbling over seats as the techniques were quiet complex and each even had many rounds. Was quiet amazed at the spectrum of people commonwealth is attracting, while waiting for the lost and found volunteers, I sat on the grass. A while later a foreigner came and sat near by me. I was quiet flustered with tracing back the steps to try and find out the purse and needed some thing to take my mind off this trying to go back and figure out where exactly I dropped it. I asked his nationality and he told he was German, I said but Germany is not taking part in these games(are the common wealth games so popular!) Well, he tells me that he is a diver and was in the national team of Germany. In the state of extreme frustration my next question was, are you still diving, well no, he was an engineer with no time for this hobby and was in India to see the Taj and the usual golden triangle of Jaipur, Agra and Delhi. I suggested the HO HO buses moving across Delhi for tourists and locals as a safe bet. His colleagues working with Delhi Metro and so from Singapore he was visiting Delhi, I compared the plastic nature of Singapore to the natural diversity of India, a good way of taking out the frustration! Then about the Berlin wall coming down and just as he mentioned north and south Korea, I could speak of the dictators there as I had read in a blog recently about the horrors of dictatorship in Korea. Indeed it seemed that Korea was an alien planet with such stone age practices. How much we learn each day about the world from social networks and the blogs and how much can be learned about a whole civilization is a few minutes! The potential of human interaction never ceases to amaze me. He asked me again and again if I was an Indian, do I look some other nationality? The minutes were ticking by and whole family was scattered, my son by me on the logs, husband and daughter waiting at a parking place as Delhi is a virtual fortress these days. Now, I will remember to keep my attention focussed when I go out to a crowded place with the kids.

It was heartening to be received with politeness by the police and the paramilitary forces deployed there. The volunteers were very courteous and friendly and that made me realise that events like these commonwealth games instill a deep sense of responsibility and unity in people. People from across the world are visiting the stadias and enjoy the hard work of players. Even when the day brought frustration due to my own carelessness, it was a learning experience to receive help and sympathy from other humans.

Pic: Is unrelated to post, beautiful Nainital in Himalaya.