BLESSED
SOLTICE EVERYONE!
Further reviews of the pre-blog newsletters are being
given this week - firstly to save my over-taxed brain and secondly, because
they give a good picture of life on a city ashram.
ANL 20 -
14th Oct 2012 - after the first year anniversary of the course, the increase in
study levels began to tell upon us...
Things
are getting ‘hotter’ in the study market. Don’t think anyone thought that was
possible, but I suspect we’ve only seen the thin end yet. The Q&A review sessions
moved to weekly and today there was a hint that these could become twice weekly
– much of this process will cover texts already forgotten – and for that very
reason I s’pose!
We now
also have to prepare daily in case of being called to talk on any verse from
Katha Upanishad. There is ridiculous amount of memory work involved which is
understandable for the young’uns, but we over 50s are grateful for Acarya-ji’s
understanding that this is a bit beyond most of us.
Have
decided that Dory really is a good nickname for me – it is a fine acronym for
the fright/flight sensations that come over one when the name is called; Duck,
Oscillate, Run, Yell! – then it becomes Do Oration Right Yamini…
There has
been a sense of the tree being shaken a little bit – and indeed two more
fellows have departed in the past month, as well as another having his status
altered from student to part-time employee of TCT, being allowed to continue in
the vedanta classes only. Now that arrangements are getting finalised for our transfer to Vibhooti (2nd Nov. to 21st
Nov – slight change but this is set in stone now), there are a few grumblings;
it was announced that room sharing will be there (all are now used to having
their own private ‘cells’) and packing will be significant as it is three weeks
and all lessons will continue, therefore libraries required also… titiksha,
(forbearance) people!
Ashram
was crawling with folk today. Bala Vihar had their annual Gita Chanting
competition, every kid turned out to the frill and the parents shrill. Then
Swami Iswarananda-ji arrived from the US with half the population of that
country accompanying him – and luggage enough for the entire populace of
India!! Thankfully only here for
a day then off goodness knows where.
This
follows a comical interlude two days ago when we had Japanese tourists staying
for a day – classic Nipponese style of tour; “all sight of different ashram
with many photo opportunity”. Hilarious. Two of the men came in to morning
vedanta and filmed Acarya-ji mid sanskrit, then departed half a dozen sentences
later… it felt a bit like we were creatures in a zoo!
One more
snapshot before I go – the ladies who help out with hospitality were caught on
candid camera yesterday morning; there are many workers here, but these ladies
I have the most ‘truck’ with, particularly Pushpa (at back) whom I find to be
warm and sisterly. Middle is Vidya, a bit ‘ruff’n’ready’ but big hearted and in
front is Asha, the real motherly type. It was coming up to lunchtime and they
were clearly having a wee ‘smoko’ before eating. They are good workers, so who
can blame them?
Except for the studying, it all sounds fascinating to me, Yamini. I'd love to spend time there, but not as a student. Maybe as a Japanese tourist.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you included the photo Pushpa, Vidya and Asha. I feel like I "know" someone there besides you.
Speaking of workers, I am only recently over a year of worse-than-bad health, and I find myself up to my eyeballs in busy. My strength hasn't returned, so it's very foolish of me, but we're having a "garage sale" to get rid of (some of) the superfluous stuff in our possession.
Two elderly packrats have a serious amount of superfluous stuff. It didn't all make it out to the garage and the tent today, but I tried, with a lot of help from my husband and our good friend and cleaning lady, Bonnie.
I just realized we don't have any change, and the local bank is closed. Dick is somewhere in the city refereeing basketball, but I don't know where. He's probably not near the one bank that stays open late.
I knew we'd forget something.
Sigh.
K
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteOh Kay I think you would be a much more sympathetic and interested tourist than those Japanese men!!
Decluttering is one of the truly great joys of life, as long as you are ready to release. otherwise it can become long, arduous and highly emotional - not to mention the hoarding for "just if in case"!! I am one of life's keen and expert declutterers, but my sister Mac2 and friend Aitch have both recently had a go. Semi-succcessful. At least now they are again in complete awareness of what their clutter consists of!!!
Good luck with the sale - may it bring the change you are without as you typed.. . YAM xx