Karwa Chauth can be a bit of a controversial festival because of it being something women do for men. I don’t know if I believe that me fasting benefits my husband but I still like to do it. It’s definitely not necessary and is only a tradition in some parts of India. But I find fasting increases my mindfulness because I have to stop and think before unconsciously munching. I also like the sisterhood of it. At the bottom of... Read more
Got another character on my Facebook page. Someone trying to talk me into Christianity. This happens once in a while, since some branches of Christianity teach their followers that there is only one answer to life and its name is Jesus. I’m having a fine conversation with this fellow (an Indian Christian). It does seem like he is following some kind of script on how to convert Hindus. But he doesn’t know what he’s in for because I do have... Read more
This is the strangest conversation I have ever been a part of. I am pretty flabbergasted. From my Facebook page: Harshvardhan Singh N what makes you feel navratri has anything related to women ?Dont u knw difference between Goddess and women? The White Hindu There is no difference between Goddesses and Women. We are all divine. We all have God within us equally. The Goddesses are manifested in women as the Gods are in men. Harshvardhan Singh Show proof of your bullshit from... Read more
Sometimes one person suffers so much that it boggles the mind. It’s very hard, probably actually impossible, to understand why one person would have to shoulder such a burden. While I do believe in karma and perfect justice, it doesn’t feel right to say that someone deserved their fate. I think that’s a way for us to comfort ourselves. To say that person deserved it so it’s okay. And that can actually be really horrible. I think karma is more... Read more
You know what? I feel really content and a peaceful bliss. I’m not sure exactly what shifted but there’s been a few things that changed that allowed me to experience a deeper contentment and happiness than ever before in my life. I’m not pregnant anymore! I struggle with very intense clinical depression when I’m pregnant, not to mention being tired and achy and nauseous, etc. I didn’t cook at all the entire nine months I was pregnant. We mostly lived... Read more
The past few weeks have been very rough on women in America. I don’t know about women elsewhere and how much is getting reported about our current situation. It’s all been touched off by a man being nominated to join the Supreme Court. This would be a lifetime appointment and he would have significant influence over how our laws are interpreted. A woman came forward to say that he had sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers. The arguments and... Read more
On Wednesday, Garrick Ravi’s day off from school, we made it over to the temple for the morning puja. It was a less than twenty minute drive and no highways. Very pleasant. I didn’t realize, but should have, that it is a smaller temple than Sri Shiva Vishnu, so we were actually the only people there other than the priest! He was super nice. He stopped what he was doing and came over to talk to us. He brought us... Read more
Our family has moved. It was a crazy hectic summer as we sold our house and bought a new one about an hour north (not to mention also having a baby!) I have to admit I was not a very regular atendee at any of the (multitude of) temples in my previous area. We were close to Silver Spring, MD, which is packed with Hindu temples. I want to get in the routine of visiting a temple regularly, particularly now... Read more
I’ve always valued being awake. Aware and concious, striving towards enlightenment. You have to be awake to make any progress. Enlightenment is even described as an awakening. It is described as being like waking up from a dream. Sleep is obviously necessary but it is also an indulgence, an escape, a waste of valuable time that could be put towards life’s goals. Yet now as I watch my newborn daughter sleep hour after hour after hour day and night I... Read more
I don’t need my faith to be magical, to be otherworldly, to break the rules of physics. It seems like some people use that as a measure of the strength or validity of their religion. To me an important part of a religious system is that it supports and explains what we see in the world around us. The very definition of miracles is that they are events that are impossible according to the laws the universe functions in. These... Read more
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