Windows to Chowpatty

These snippets are from my journal, and as I am a little at a loss for words, I think you will enjoy peering through these little windows to be transported… if just for a couple moments.

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So here I am in the temple, writing in soft golden light. Someone just turned the overhead lights off in anticipation of Sayana Arati. High-speed fans and hums of voices fill the air. When I glance back, I see a little sea of faces, all turned to the altar, waiting.

*

I went down to Chowpatty beach today, and although it was quite filthy, I just stood on the shore and listened to the sea. Such a great, wild sound, so unlike human noises. The great sea air tangled through my hair and pressed on my sari. And I wonder what it must have been like in ancient times to stand on that beach.

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So Harinam and I turned a corner… and there was Ban Ganga – a vast ghat that is fed by a crystal clear spring. We walked down the steps and crouched before the water. I felt so at peace there, watching the wind create ripples on the water. The world seemed to quiet a little. Various temples by various sampradayas (lineages) encircled the ghat, their architecture carving the sky like they had been for hundreds of years.

*

I am writing this in my room in Chowpatty; the fan is whirling above me, and rain pours in heavy whispers outside. Metallic drips sound through the window as water falls from the roof. A picture of Radha Gopinath is hung on the wall above me, and They seem to give Their blessings. And an old maroon copy of Srila Prabhupada’s Lilamrita sits on the bottom shelf of my bookshelf, quietly telling me Srila Prabhupada’s story, and that he is the reason I am even here.

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A Poem for Srila Prabhupada

A Poem for Srila Prabhupad
on the occasion of his appearance, Sri Vyasa Puja
August 25th, 2008

When I first drew breath
Srila Prabhupad was the air in my chest

he is the shadow
when I enter the templeroom

he is the silver voice
just beyond the margins of a bhajan

he is the rhythm of my footsteps
when I dance in a kirtan

he is the echo of my heartbeat
in the stillness when I chant

he is the smile
when I serve the devotees

Srila Prabhupad
gives me faith -

I would draw away from the Deities
question the scripture
and refuse to chant
without his example

Srila Prabhupad
is the significance in my life
the reason I breathe
and I believe
that you, my dear Vaishnava,
feel the same.

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