Ganeshpuri 2 - Mahashivaratri

It’s time to practice what I preach, and put some words to my experiences so far. Since the last time I wrote, I have been busy having all the experiences! Arriving just before Mahashivaratri was wonderful timing. And I hit the ground running.

On Thursday afternoon, I participated in a Guru pooja and havan to get Gurudevi and Nityananda’s blessings on my journey. A pooja is a sacred ceremony to honor the source of the pooja. In my case, the Guru. Thursdays are the Guru’s day, so it was especially auspicious! A havan is a small fire ceremony. I have witnessed many havans, and it was super cool to participate in one. My host, Yogini, couldn’t understand why I had made any plans on my first day here. It was important to me to do this sacred ceremony in this sacred place at the start of my pilgrimage. It was very special, and helped to set the tone for my time here in Ganeshpuri.

Mahashivaratri was two days ago, and I am finally starting to feel recovered from the celebrations. On Saturday evening, I met up with my friend Vaishali. Vaishali always takes great care of the groups Gurudevi brings with her. It was a real treat to have some social time with her. There was a palki, which is a parade of people walking with Nityananda’s small statue in a carriage that two to four people carry.

This was an amazing experience! The palki went all the way to the top of Temple Rd and turned around. On the way back down the hill, there were lots of stops. People were waiting with Arti trays for the palki to come by. I was visiting with Vaishali when the palki came by on the way up the hill. We joined the procession to the top of the hill. At each stop, we'd dance in the street. That was awesome!

When we got back to Vaishali's, her mother, Kundan had an Arti tray waiting so we could offer Arti to Nityananda's murti (enlivened statue) in the carriage.

I saw people going under the palki. That is a big blessing. After I did Arti to Nityananda, I went under the palki, too. Thank goodness for yoga! I stooped down and half-crawled under the palki. People were very impressed that someone so tall could make it under without touching it. How about me?

After the palki moved on, Vaishali and I headed down to the temple for evening Arti. They have Arti (a candle flame ceremony) at the temple five times a day. I try to make it to four of them. After Arti, I joined my housemates for a chant session. It is said that repeating Om Namah Shivaya once on Mahashivaratri is worth 1000 repetitions on any other day. Contrary to my early to bed nature, I headed back down to the temple to join in the all night sapta (that dance I told you about) for a little bit. Then I spent some time in the Shiva temple, which is an incredibly sacred place any day, and especially on Mahashivaratri. I got home just after midnight and went to bed. Legend has it that if you stay up all night doing practices on Mahashivaratri, you can get enlightened that night. I'll keep working on that!

The next morning, I was back at the temple for morning Abishek and Arti at 4:30am. Then I meditated in the Shiva temple, had some coffee at one of the stands near the temple, and participated in the end of the sapta, which had been going on since Thursday. The end of the sapta includes a chanting parade around the temple grounds. Or so I thought! It turns out, we paraded to all the sacred sites in Ganeshpuri, and ended back at the temple. Then we had the opportunity to get closer to the life size Nityananda statue for "inside darshan". We didn't get to touch it, but I was able to lay my forehead on his platform, which was powerful. I didn't get back to Yogini's house until after 10am, which made for a very full morning on only a few hours sleep. I didn't think the chanting parade to all the sacred sites would take as much out of me as it did. I've been recovering ever since! It was an unforgettable experience.