Something old, something new..

 Something always reminds me of you. I can say this about do many people. I don’t necessarily have to tell them, or even let them be aware.

Today, I decided to resurrect, rather liberate something from my Drafts. One of the drafts detailed a long dream about/ with Shailajaji. She was asking me to do something about the influx of refugees that has descended upon the temple. Some of the other temple higher ups are also there. However, that dream was maybe reflected my posts about the Langar? So decided to go with another.  

It’s not fair to write about something, and then keep it in the dark callers of the internet, destroying one’s own creation, just because I’m not ready to come out with something. So randomly chose one draft, out of the 160 posts sitting in the drafts, so there will now be 159! 

This is it, below, and was about my quest for Jainism. Having sort of come out about it, I can share how I initially experienced it. 

 Paryushan: where it started for me. 

A couple of years ago, probably in 2016, I discovered the Jain festival of Paryushan. Though festival is what it can be called, I don’t think there are many festivities attached to it. On the contrary, it is an eight day period of introspection and consisting of eight designated days, providing an opportunity for self improvement. 

My discovery happened when I chanced upon video talks by a Jain Swamiji with an Ashram in Texas. The philosophy while basically the same as mainstream Hinduism, was more refined, or better honed I should say, because it analyzed deeper, had more detail, and presented a profoundly comprehensive  understanding of the concepts, leaving one with a longing to delve even further into its teachings.

One of the talks that intrigued me was about the different kinds of Karmas, and one particular karma, the name of which I could not get, and have not been able to find, despite a reasonable amount of effort. That Karma was thus briefly defined by the Swamiji, as affecting the unfortunate ‘native’ (my vocabulary, for lack of a better word) so as make them live in a perpetual state of unawareness, and thus being incapable of availing any good fortune that befalls them. Yes, that is right, the good fortune ‘befalls’ them, but they don’t see it, let alone partake of it. The Swamiji said something to the effect that, if God were to come in their presence, and stand right next to them, they wouldn’t see anything, they wouldn’t even know it. God often does that. God really is always around us, not just in Creation, but also in opportunity.

So it was quite natural to do the next thing and ask a Jain person about it. While I did not have much success with finding out more about the circumstances that would create such a karma, I did find out from a lovely Jain family that there is an active Jain Vishwa Bharati locally, an institution that caters to furthering the spiritual life of the Jain seeker community. 

That I took action upon that information must mean that if I had been suffering from the particular Karma as mentioned above, those damned days are now over! Because I followed up, and discovered two amazing, the two most beautiful and wonderful women I have been fortunate enough to experience. 

As a young child, whenever I heard or saw some injustice or was exposed to some other sad instance in life, I always questioned my Mother about it. She would acknowledge the...evil? And then she would explain to me, that this world is filled with a lot of different types of people, and yes, there is injustice and there is evil, but the world still stands, and the world stands on the shoulders of the few good people who are so good, and do so much goodness for the upliftment of mankind, that the world is saved from chaos, because they don’t deserve to suffer. 

Life on this beautiful Earth is preserved by the passion of these few people. How frequently do we encounter them? They dwell quietly amongst us and do their thing. 

To return to Jainism, as the saying goes, “when the student is ready, the teacher appears.” That must have been it. If not ready, at least willing. 

That is exactly what happened, and it so transpired that I got the opportunity to read about, and interact with some Jain clergy. It was awesome. I can boast that I’ve passed my exam of Jain Vidya book 1. There is a book two. 

Grateful, God sends me teachers, when I’m ready to meet them half way. I could never have expected this great bonanza. I love reading about Jainism, and feel a great affinity towards their ethics, especially that of Ahimsa. 

Grateful and thankful for that.

It was also Lorhi today. However, we did not go out to celebrate. 

Veenu  Banga

01/13/2022. 

11:57 pm.