Spring cleaning is a big thing but to me the time for whipping your house into shape is fall. It is said that Sri Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity, visits those who have tidy homes. So in preparation for Navratri I start tidying in the fall. Now is a great time to do it as it is about one month until fall Navratri. This year we’ve just moved and there’s no better opportunity to start fresh with organization and cleanliness. I’ve... Read more
Am I back? Well, that remains to be seen. But I wanted to at least stop by to tell you all what’s been going on. Four weeks ago I gave birth to our daughter, Priya Ilana. She is probably the world’s best baby. Quiet and mellow, she really only makes noise when she’s hungry. As most of you know I named her for my dear friend Ilana Jonsson who was killed in a car accident in 2010. I’ve been waiting... Read more
Life has been incredibly hectic these last few months. I’m chasing after a two-year-old now (remember when I was just waiting to get pregnant?!) and now I’m due to have a little girl in the next few weeks. On top of that, we are selling our house and looking for a new one. We have to be moved by the end of the summer for my husband’s job! We aren’t moving too far, about an hour from where we are... Read more
So a friend of mine did some digging on the usernames of the people leaving the nasty comments that I wrote about last time. He has come to the conclusion that they are not Hindu and not Indian, but are in fact the famous Russian trolls we’ve been hearing so much about lately. I’m rather stunned by this revelation. Perhaps I have some notoriety if Russian trolls want to mess with me? I always take people at their word. It’s... Read more
There have been some very extreme comments on the blog recently, particularly on the post Proud White Hindu?. It’s an interesting pendulum between the acceptance and encouragement at the panel and the hatred and anger in these comments. [My husband says I need to put a trigger warning because I share a sampling of the comments and they are deeply disturbing] These comments may be hard to read (keep reading this post for a sampling of the comments). But I... Read more
I was browsing on Amazon and I realized that there are quite a number of books these days with detailed instructions for various puja rituals to do yourself at home. Ritual worship isn’t for everyone and you don’t have to do it to be a Hindu, but it’s a special part of my spiritual life. I have more information on why I love ritual here: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/whitehindu/2015/03/why-ritual-matters-criticisms-of-hinduism/ I’ve gone ahead and gathered the books I could find. Most of these I have... Read more
I was really inspired by going to Sri Shiva Vishnu temple for the panel. I’ve only been there a handful of times since I moved here nine years ago and always for cultural programs in the downstairs area. I know I checked out the actual temple and the murti but I actually don’t even remember what it was like! It is the biggest temple in the area, I would guess it’s the biggest in this DC/Maryland/Virginia area (which also happens... Read more
I have a book for Garrick Ravi called The Festivals of India (there must be a new edition because the cover looks different). One thing about it that I really like is that it is many Hindu holidays but not just Hindu ones. There are Christian ones, Muslim ones, Sikh, and Jain, and Buddhist, and even one Jewish one (though the description of Christmas is pretty wild. The explanation for the Christmas tree is unlike anything I’ve ever heard!). It got... Read more
Yesterday afternoon was the Panel that I was invited to speak at about being a non-Desi Hindu. It was awesome! I got to meet some other non-Indian Hindus and the audience was very engaged with lots of interesting comments and questions. The moderator (who now has a blog on Patheos too!) asked questions and then passed the microphone for us all to answer. That helped me to minimize my interupting! I get so excited and I always want to jump... Read more
I have been listening carefully to all the points of view on what will help curb America’s terrifying problem with school shooters. I believe I know an approach that will help, but it is going to take money. Significant money for every step. So what we need to be marching for and calling our congresspeople for and petitioning the government for is the funding to make these things happen: Resource officers. These are armed trained guards. In the school shooting... Read more
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