Discipline in Pune
Two flights and a lengthy ride from Pune Airport
Now, you can see the high-rises doing just that, rising high
on all sides. We are talking about
residential buildings, some of which will take care of living needs of
community members.
We were greeted by an eager bunch, as is common at all the
places we go to where there is a monastery. In this particular ashram you are a
strict practitioner when you join. You
are upholding four regulative principles: no meat, fish or eggs, no gambling,
no intoxicants and no sexual connections before you join. In the first year of
residence as a brahmachari you are in yellow attire. The second stage is that one wear white for
five years. The next phase you get
diksha or initiation from a guru (spiritual master). At some point you will don saffron coloured
clothes.
I would say it is a happy regimentation. The young men seem content with their
discipline. The prasadam (food) is good.
Another note about strictness is that while our group had been invited
to participate in the weekend’s Youth Festival, called “Dhristi,” our drama
“Krishna Is…” was to be presented, but not in the full production. One scene where dancers portray Krishna and His female devotees dance in the night, we
agreed to leave out of the drama, being too sensitive to the large portion of
audience members consisting of students and monks.
There you have it!
May the Source be with you!
3 Km
No comments:
Post a Comment