I have always thought of pujas and other rituals as being more about intention than about exact details. I figure the Gods understand if I don’t get every detail right, just as Sri Krishna said that he accepts any offering made with devotion even if it is just a drop of water or a leaf. I also see the purpose of rituals to be more about refining my inner Self than supplicating to a “higher being.” But many of the... Read more
I recently shared an article about Nikki Haley (who I have since learned is the US Ambassador to the UN. Yes, I didn’t know that. I’m ashamed) and whether she claims to be white or changes back and forth about being white or Indian. I don’t know whether the article is accurate but I thought it brought up some interesting questions, particularly around how long we are supposed to identify with the ethnic identities of our ancestors. But anyway, that... Read more
You guys know I have a pretty tumultuous relationship with Christianity. I try to remember all the good Christian friends I have but it’s hard to hold onto that in the face of so many Christians trying to take over the world and destroy other people’s faiths. However, a couple weeks ago a Christian stranger did something remarkable for me and reminded me that most people are good, most people want to help others, be kind, and make the world... Read more
I feel that my post the other day about feeling awkward sometimes with people who are ethnically Hindu was not well articulated. People seem to be taking it and reading it in ways I didn’t intend. I think I should have left this topic for a time when I can actually devote depth of thought to it. Being pregnant and chasing a toddler is making it very hard for me to think as deeply about issues as I like to.... Read more
Garrick Ravi has some news to share with you all… Doesn’t he look thrilled? Amazingly I have fallen pregnant without really trying or knowing it. True we have not been doing anything to prevent pregnancy, but considering the infertility struggle we went through with Garrick Ravi, neither of us expected it to be easy and normal the second time. I am not much of a “woo woo” person but I truly believe that His Holiness Sri Bharati Tirtha cleared away... Read more
I’ve reached a point where I’m in the awkward position of sometimes knowing more about Hinduism than some people of Indian ethnicity that I encounter. Being Hindu is a huge part of my life and I dedicate a lot of my time and energy to it, so it’s not surprising that by this time I have a reasonably deep understanding of the faith. At the same time it seems there are many children growing up in the west with Hindu... Read more
A Mom friend said to me last week, “My husband says life is suffering and the root of suffering is desire.” I said, “Funny, my husband says that too.” She said, “It’s never more clearly true than when looking at a toddler.” She is so right. Toddlers are nothing but a bundle of desire. I’m a super permissive Mom, I don’t want to be saying no to things because of continence or things that are not critical. Yet even I... Read more
I was playing an app game the other day when an ad played for a language learning app. I’m usually disappointed by these since they rarely include Hindi and usually only have European languages. But it said it had 33 languages, so I clicked through to look and Hindi was on the list! It’s called Mondly Languages. So I downloaded it and I’ve been using the free trial. After a trial week it costs $9.99 a month. I’m not sure... Read more
One of the other moms in my moms group is married to an Indian man and they go to the self realization fellowship founded in the 1920s by Yogananda, the man who wrote the very famous book Autobiography of a Yogi (which I have but haven’t read yet!) She invited me to attend and this past Sunday Garrick Ravi and I went. It was really nice. They have a parent/child room so Garrick Ravi could run around and play while... Read more
Last week my little brother got married. It was such a wonderful event and I’m so happy for him. His new wife is everything I could want in a sister-in-law! We didn’t have to do anything for the wedding, just show up. It was so much fun to see both sides of our family for the weekend. It was very emotional too. The wedding ceremony took place in a Catholic church as the bride and her family are Catholic. My... Read more
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