Wednesday, October 05, 2011

At the Ramakrishna Mission
Durga Puja is celebrated
the old fashioned way
with flowers, lamps and age-old prayers
perfectly recited by the monks
Sanskrit words resounding in the hall where
A perfectly featured image of the Mother
benevolent
Bedecked in red silk and gold
Her eyes large, all-seeing and kind, stands
The weapons of destruction and deliverance, in her many hands
blesses the crowd in their traditional finery
The flower decked altar also holds the Lord Ganpati, the remover of obstacles,
And the Goddess of wealth and the Goddess of learning
And Lord Kartikeyan, patron of the arts
Between them covering the four stages of a lifespan
The four aspirations of human living
Their realms
the throb and surge of life-energy
Manifestations, also of the same spirit, Shakti,
That moves and sustains, and occasionally, shakes up, overturns
the world.
I’ve returned renewed
Certain that the many interventions
The strangers who’ve been kinder, more gracious than family
fortunate chance but more often than not
The uncertainties, the many misses
That shape one’s life story
Played out too, to a celestial rhythm
Unheard.


6 comments:

norrbu said...

A very happy dashera to you di. Thank you for being so unfailingly good.

Anonymous said...

... what a wounderful idea, a long song.

Anonymous said...

Hello Austere,

Many apologies for not visitig you for so long! I hope you are doing well. I have been working really hard on a novel. It has come farther than any other writing I have done before. I often think of you when I write. I know your support for such an endeavor. I thought I would not aquire any patience until I died, but it seems I only needed to move beyond 35. :)

Take Care,
Melanie

PQ said...

Happy Dusshera! I haven't gone to temple this time...

AmitL said...

Belated Happy Dusshera..nicely written piece, this one.:)

austere said...

thank you- norrbu, mago, melanie, PQ, Amit.

Melanie-missed your energy shot. Your novel's going to make waves!