Sunday, March 2nd, 2014

Mayapur, India

Remind Yourself

Today was the first day of some illness.  Nothing major.  Some tummy problems.  I hear some residents of India call it “the Delhi belly”

Like anything in the mundane world it is just temporary.  This is the consolation.  By mid-day, operations were back to normal.

I have written before how tough it is to move from one building to the next without being greeted by admirers of monks.  In Indian culture people adore their swamis, even if you are not born in this mother land.  At least in this Mayapur setting where the Vaishnav culture is in full swing, anyone wearing that saffron with the pleat-free-in-the-back dhoti and perhaps carry that staff (danda) - regardless of your skin colour - will attract attention.

The usual routine is that when a pilgrim spots a sannyasi he/she may halt walking, slip out of the shoes and offer dandavats (where you flatten yourself on the ground or bow with head to ground), all out of reverence.  Some pilgrims while cycling will stop and do the same.

Personally I feel these gestures, sincere as they are, are a little bit overkill.  They are whole-heartedly executed but at least from my side there is an inconvenience when crowds require a flow of movement.  It is one of several austerities that a monastic person has to undertake.  You can't avoid the celebrity stature.

The question is, "How do you deal with all the attention and not let it all go to your head?"  What comes to mind is the early morning conscientious internal effort made to remind yourself that, "I am a tiny spark of life with a dimension of one ten-thousandth the tip of a hair.  There are trillions of such sparks existing in the world and I am just one of them.  I am small.  I am humble."  Sometimes a little illness is the best reminder.

May the Source be with you!

4 KM