Every once in a while I like to do a post of links to my previous articles because there’s a lot of new people who find me through search engines or recommendations and most, I think, are interested in some very specific issues of being a non-Indian Hindu. So rather than have you get lost in day-to-day posts, here are some links to the posts that best explain me and the way I feel about being a convert to Hinduism:... Read more
This is not really a subject I ever planned to talk about. But now I realize that I’m not the only one who is questioning tradition on this issue. So I think I need to admit my feelings about it. Okay, to back up for a moment, tradition dictates that a woman is ritually “unclean” during her menstrual period and does not go to the temple or worship during those times when she is bleeding. However, I will admit that... Read more
I heard someone ask this question and I was intrigued because it had never occurred to me. Do we measure divinity by the physical space that something occupies? If God is in everything, is there more God in a boulder than in a pebble? If a pebble is one part divinity, is the boulder 500 parts divinity? I don’t think so, personally, but it’s a very interesting idea. I am reminded of a story I was told growing up. A... Read more
At last my due date is actually within sight. It felt like this time would never come! But now I’m five weeks from the expected arrival of my son. It’s absolutely amazing. No matter how many billions of times this has happened before, it is still such a miracle. And it is SO HARD to wait to hold him in my arms, to look into his eyes! One might say that it requires patience to get through the last month of... Read more
When I looked at the Gamaya toy it got me thinking about the different ways in which we create and use images of the Gods. The Gods in temples have been consecrated with sacred ceremonies but the ones that we have in our homes usually have not. A lot of times we have no information about how our murti were created or by whom. I wondered how we distinguish between murti and toy. And then I had two thoughts. First... Read more
Note: Now that this article has been posted on the Patheos main page, I’ve gotten a lot of anger about it. I feel that I made a big mis-step in writing out these thoughts. You guys who know me know that I like to ponder things “out loud” through writing and I’m not trying to make the argument that I’m the one who is right about everything. I wanted to bring up these issues because they are things that I’ve... Read more
We tend to get very identified with our bodies and see them as “us.” It’s not an easy habit to see beyond yet pregnancy is kind of a gift in that way. It is an experience that shakes your sense of your body belonging to you. For ten months you share your body with someone else and things you thought were all yours become influenced by someone else. It’s not just your torso growing bigger. You and your child are... Read more
I’m not sure if guilt is quite the right word. Kind of a mix of guilt, shame, embarrassment? Whatever it is, I’m super prone to it. I feel it particularly about my past. I’m embarrassed and guilty about things I did as a kid. Sometimes just normal kid things. Every temper tantrum I ever had I am ashamed of. I feel bad for every moment of greed or selfishness. And I don’t just feel it for myself. I feel it... Read more
There’s been a rash of articles recently making fun of parents in a Georgia school district (for non-U.S. readers, that’s a state in the “Bible belt”) for being upset about yoga being taught at school. The parents apparently called it “anti-Christian propaganda.” The liberal circles in which I run immediately called them stupid and ignorant. And while I do agree that yoga is not “anti-Christian” or “propaganda,” I have to wonder why no one in any of these articles has... Read more
Today is Holi! It’s one of my favorite holidays (see lots of information about it here), but no opportunity for me to celebrate it this year, sadly. It’s tough when the rest of the world around you is not celebrating something. Particularly a community celebration like Holi. Almost every year I’ve lived in Maryland I’ve gone to the Potomac ISKCON temple near D.C. for their huge Holi event. But this year I accidentally scheduled my baby shower for the same... Read more
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