Breaking Coconuts and Lighting Lamps

Yesterday I went to a gorgeous little temple in Changi Village. The Sri Ramar Temple. The scenic drive with the Changi waters on one side and the airport runway on the other side was itself a beautiful peaceful preclude to an audience with the divine. The temple itself appears quite nondescript from the outside and deceptively so. There is no tall gopuram and my friend Harish and I drove past it before we realized that probably we needed to U-turn. Upon entering the temple you see a few buddha shrines with chinese joss-stick holders on the left under the alamaram. That is the beauty of Singapore. Indian temples are a cultural melting pot where not only Indian practices flourish but that of other races and religious influences overlap. This necessarily reflects the community within which the temple operates and its diverse population that it serves.

The temple had a huge 21 feet hanuman. And it was a joy to behold him. Tall, mighty and black inside the temple compounds. Yesterday was also the first time I broke a coconut in the temple. The act of breaking the coconut is symbolic of dashing one's ego. The ego that separates one from god and other men. It was only on my 2nd try that the coconut shattered. But it was a grand feeling. We also lit a lamp for Hanuman and the 9 planets and committed to a Hanuman Jayanthi Puga on 27th Dec.

My mom also told me that my uncle NVV was a huge devotee of Ramar. I had never prayed to him. This was really my first visit to the temple. The Hanuman and the Shiva Lingam in the temple spoke the strongest to me. I will visit the temple again and see how my connection with the temple evolves. Unlike the other temples in the city this temple has a more humble and accessible feel to it. And the priests also seemed to have a strong connection to the devotees who come. In fact one of the priests even gave me his handphone number so that I could give him my parents' natchathira details for the Hanuman puja. Wonderful !!!!

Distance Healing

A few days ago I was called back to the Veerama Kaliamman temple. First to pray for a beautiful lawyer friend of mine in Los Angeles who I just found out was very ill. Second to celebrate my friend's birthday as he was coming down from Malaysia and wanted to start his birthday with a special prayer. On the first visit I was fortunate to be accompanied by my dear friend Harish who actually told me that I should pray to Kali. Goddess Kali is the remover of all evil and the protector so praying to her to remove all illness in the body would be ideal. So early last Saturday morning I showed up at 8am for the temple puja and prayed hard for my friend to be healed. My second visit a few days ago was to celebrate my good friend Jermyn's 37th birthday. It was Jermyn's idea to visit a temple on the morning of his birthday with me. And I could not have given a dear friend a better gift. The temple was beautiful and peaceful and we got there just when the morning puja was starting. Praying with a good friend heightens one's spiritual energies. I realized that it is a very special thing. It not only serves one's connection with a higher power but it also does amazing things for the bond of friendship. It creates empathy between friends and compassion for others. It serves as a reminder that we are all under the power and mercy of a greater force and that we should take care of each other and love each other. Often and well.

Veeram Kaliamman Temple

My mom used to tell me about how as a little girl she lived in a shop house across the temple. The temple which I seldom frequented is in Little India on 141 Serangoon Road. In Little India. One day out of sheer "coincidence" I had taken a friend of mine there to visit. My friend has just bought some jewelry from Little India and wanted the stones blessed before wearing it. Indians believe in the healing and energizing qualities of gemstones. And that stones carry vibration that can protect the wearer. When I stepped into that temple that day I realized it was a gorgeous temple and in particular it housed a gorgeous Durga. The Durga here was huge and had dewy eyes and a incredibly kind and loving face. And she was BIG !!! Very tall and had so many arms. I had been regularly praying every Tue to Durga this year. This was a new ritual I had started. So I was already cultivating a deep bond with this Goddess. So when I did see this beautiful Durga in this temple it really moved me. And it made me realize how we often overlook details and important things until we are truly ready to receive the wisdom embedded in them.

After this visit I did not visit the temple for sometime until another "accident" took me back there. This time it was an artist from Santa Fe who wanted me to take her to my favorite place in Singapore. I realized that the Durga in this temple was a favorite of mine and I know that it would be wonderful to take her on an early morning visit to the temple when it is quiet and deeply meditative. So last Saturday I woke up early morning to go to the temple. It was raining very hard. And rain for Hindus is a beautiful sign - washing away the old and bringing in the new. So braving the pouring rain I showed up at the temple at 8am. And bang - I was there for the morning temple puja with the musicians playing a tribute to the Goddess and a few devotees praying intensely. It was beautiful as it was very dark in the temple due to the rain and the sky being overcast. But the temple had switched on these beautiful fairy lights. And it was all quite magical. My friend I went with sat on the temple floor and said that she could feel the floor of the temple was so peaceful. And indeed she was right. There was a great vibration in the temple. After spending two hours talking to the priests, praying and taking some photos we left. My prayer when I left was that I want to come and visit Her every Saturday morning And I wanted her to give me a reason to do so. And she did very shortly.

9 weeks for Durga

The Shiva Durga temple in Potong Pasir in Singapore is famous for the Goddess Durga. Many Durga devotees come to pay respects to her and to ask her to grant their most deepest wishes especially on Tuesdays. Tuesday is Durga's special day. In particular there is a tradition to light lamps on green lemons for Durga for nine consecutive weeks in order to manifest your desires in the physical world. Today I just finished my 9 weeks of lighting lamps for Durga. It was an incredibly moving and satisfying experience for me.

For a long time I was not ready to do this 9 week ritual. It did not particularly resonate with me. It felt superstitious and greedy to me. To ask God for certain things in my life. But with greater spiritual maturity I realized that doing something in a steadfast manner for 9 consecutive weeks is actually a great way to deepen your connection with the Goddess. This is regardless of what you ask for. Asking for something specific actually helps one get closer to God as it makes one more humble - it is a recognition that there are higher powers at work and that you are at their mercy after you had done everything that is physically possible on your end. It is an opportunity to set the ego aside and let honor the divine's hand in our everyday lives.

The vibration in this temple is also incredibly strong as many devotees come there with an intense spiritual focus. This I witnessed over the 9 Tue when I was there. There is very little socializing or chit-chat. Many mediated and prostrated before the Durga statute. Through kneeling, lighting lamps and walking around the Durga shrine you see faith in action in a powerful way. That in turn reinforces your own spiritual conviction and brings you closer to the divine.

The smell of the burning lemon and the intense heat the that tray of lighted lamps exude is also incredibly energizing. It stimulates and activates your senses and beings you in touch with your natural elements. The flowers, incense and the temple music also help raise the vibration. This is what makes the 9 week ritual powerful.

If you are ready to take a vow or to ask for some help the Durga temple in Potong Pasir maybe a wonderful place to start and to re-invigorate your connection to the divine.

The Born Again Hindu

Yesterday I went for a fancy dinner for commodities brokers in Singapore. One of the white boys there decided to lecture the rest of us on the table about Hinduism and how he has embraced it with vengeance. Selling ice to an eskimo eh? These born-again Hindus are a scary lot. These people have not been born HIndus or brought up within the Hindu faith. They have very very limited contact with the Hindu community and have never travelled to India, the birth-place of Hinduism. BUT have picked up some technical jargon. But no context. They pepper their conversations with dharma, karma and all sorts of vedic references. But often fail to get even the fundamentals right. Many of these people are very vulnerable to the Hindu cults that proliferate today. Hinduism is a lived faith - there is no one way to pray or one way to be a Hindu. But Hindus are against conversion and the best Hindus treat their faith as a highly personal encounter with the divine. The devout Hindus I know are humble people who often radiate deep contentment on their faces. They know that Hinduism is a heart-centered practice. Not just a intellectual practice.

Khumbhabishegam at Sivan Temple

Yesterday I went to the temple consecretion ceremony at the Sivan Temple. Me and 22,000 others were there. But it did not feel like it as the event was so very very well organized. The organizers had wisely estimated the crowd that was going to turn up and had many volunteers and traffic marshals in hand to help the devotees and ensure that things went orderly.

The pouring of the holy water onto the Khumbum of the temple is the highlight of the event. A green flag is waved before the holy water is poured on the Khumbum - the symbolic head of the temple and the highest point of the temple. The Hindus believe that this holy water is particularly sacred and has amazing vibration. So when we entered the temple a couple of priests also sprinkled the water on the top of our heads. Wonderful.

The MC or compere for this event was amazing. He was a bilingualist - fluent in both Tamil and English. This is a difficult area to be bilingual - temple rituals, processions etc are filled with technical jargon - many of them do not lend themselves well to translations in English. But he did a superb job translating for those in the audience who were not conversant in Tamil. His Tamil quality was also excellent. His choice of classical Tamil words were right on. He used high Tamil and poetic words that had deep historical and spiritual significance. Like English Tamil is becoming a functional language - so it was wonderful to see that he was not falling into this trap and stripping either language of its aesthetic qualities.

All the devotees also received a "goodie bag." This is a really strange Singapore phenomenon I abhor. People want free things to take home after an event. Can we please stop all this consumption? What about the environment and trying to create less waste? Sigh !!! However, in the context of this event, the "goodie bag" became a very important source of cultural, spiritual and intellectual gifts. Whoever designed the goodie bag was a thoughtful person. The bag itself was a reusable bag - ie a cloth bag that one can take grocery shopping and thereby cut down plastic bag consumption. Secondly they had imported the most delicious sweets from the best candy store in Chennai - Sri Krishna Sweets. Thirdly they had put a CD on divine Shiva chants. Again something beautiful for your ears and that can be part of your library's personal collection. There was also the holy water in a bottle and kungumam. Great.

The next 48 days there will free concerts every night at the temple to celebrate and raise the vibration of the Gods and Goddess. Some world class performers from India will be coming. Wonderful ways to keep our traditions alive in Singapore

Kumbhabishekham at Shivan Temple

Two days ago I went to attend the pre-consecreration ceremony at the Shivan temple in Singapore. It was one of the best pujas I had been to. There was a team of about 7-12 priests - the very best handpicked from both older Singapore temples and from India. They were all powerful singers and chanters and they had carefully planned their pujas and coordinated their sacred hymns with the temple musicians. There were 4 musicians - two nadaswaram players and two molam players. Praying to the Lord in the context of such divine music is truly an uplifting experience. The key is to focus the mind on the divine and align the music with your bhakti. Sometimes this is difficult if the music does not resonate with you. It can actually be a source of distraction as opposed to enhancing your divine concentration.

Praying to Ancestors

Today I had a chat with my mom about our altar and how generally the practice is not to co-mingle pictures of God with pictures of our ancestors. My grandparents are all dead. Their photos sit in a separate area outside but next to the main family altar. My cousin Bala whose shop I just visited yesterday also said the same thing and offered me a possible explanation. He said that since the souls of our departed ancestors may return via rebirth one cannot assume that they have reunited with the divine. Hence, it is inappropriate for them to be sharing the same altar with the Gods. He also said that in his shop altar he had placed his deceased father's photo alongside Ganesha but was advised to separate them. In fact he was told that the God statutes should be at the highest point and then the pictures of departed elders should cascade below them. So there is also a height dimension to the display of photos.

The Power of Family Prayer

Periamma or my Aunt 1 recently had a narrow shave with death. She suffered two heart failures and a mild stroke. Her whole immediately family gathered around her and pulled her through. Her daughters in Perth, Australia and her sons and daughters in Singapore undertook serious personal prayers. They demonstrated to me the power of distance healing, sincere prayer and family love. When my Periamma's grand-daughter and great-granddaughter flew in from Perth to be by her side - she recovered dramatically. Since Periamma belongs to a prayer group with networks in Pune, Chennai, Coimbatore and Australia - all the members there too recited healing mantras and went to the temple to pray for her recovery. I made sure that powerful mantas were playing in her hospital room too. Sacred sound has the power to heal. All her kids are deeply spiritual and pray twice a day and go for 2 hour prayers sessions every Sunday mornings at 5am to recite mantras in a group. They feel that group prayer significantly raises the vibration of the Universe and benefits everyone on the planet. I pray everyday too but this incident taught me the difference between intense meditation like prayer and more casual and quick conversations with God. This incident inspired me to deepen my daily prayer and to intensify my devotion.

Today I went to visit my Periamma at her home. She had been discharged from the hospital and was now recovering at home. When she saw me she grabbed my hand very hard and whispered something in my ear with great urgency. I understood what she was telling me. In fact I felt honored that she would share how spiritually her life has changed since her brush with death. She says she has visions of divine souls and receives clear instructions from them to renounce her material life and wear an orange robe and remove all jewelry. I know others who had such privileged access to higher realms after a near-death experience. What she told me did not surprise me. But I also knew that it was her daily prayers over 70 years that had prepared her and enabled her to have sacred encounters like the one she described to me.

Letters to Ganesha - Ganesha Temple in Singapore

Last Friday I visited the Ganesha temple at Ceylon Road in Singapore. I noticed a temple sculptor working on one side of the temple. When I chatted with him - he said that he had been brought in from Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu. Chidambaram is a beautiful temple town and the Shiva temple in Chidambaram is revered by dancers as legend has it that this was the site where Lord Shiva performed the Ananda Thandava dance. The sculptor told me that he was a 3rd generation sculptor and this crafted was handed down orally from his forefathers.

When I was leaving the temple - we ran into the temple president, Dr Theyvendran. He knew my mom and we had a nice chat about India and Chola temples. He pointed out to two good innovations that the temple had implemented. First a Devotees Guide - a small booklet that sets out temple ettiquette and some history and architectural features about the temple. Second he gave us each a Personal Letter to Lord Ganesha. He requested us to write our prayers and post it to the temple. The priest would place our wishes on the altar and burn them after 3 days of prayers. What a wonderful idea !!! And finally he gave me a beautiful gold and silver miniature Ganesha and told me to pray diligently to him for 45 days. I have placed him on my altar and I look at this face and pray to him everyday.

Hailing from a family of spiritualists

Yesterday I went to my Aunt's house. This is my 2nd Periamma or Aunt 2. PeriAmma in Tamil literally means Big Mom. She is my mom's elder sister. Since my mom has two elder sisters - I have two big moms. See earlier blog on Aunt 2. They are both repositories of heritage knowledge and beautiful memories of a glamorous past. My two aunts were both married to very illustrious business men in Singapore. My aunts were often followed around by local photographers since they together with my mom were also reigning Indian beauties and fashionistas in Singapore in the 60s. I guess the equivalent of paparazies chasing the Hollywood celebrities LA style. When I visited my aunt a few days ago she started telling me many old stories. Great parties and temple traditions. I asked her for some evidence (being a good lawyer) and old photos. She promptly pointed to a cabinet full of old albums and WOW !!! She had an AMAZING collection of rare photography and soulful images. I was soo deeply touched and honored to see them. It was evident that I did come from a deeply spiritual family and all the stories my mom told me about their deep involvement in the local temples in Singapore and the wonderful celebrations they orchestrated all came alive in the photos spread out before my eyes. I share one photo taken by this very famous photographer PS Maniam on 31 Jan 1961. My grandma, my mom (22 years old), my Aunt 2 and her husband are all lined up in this photo (from right to left). They are surrounded by my cousins - all of them kids then but who are now in their 50s. Devi - the devout little gal in pigtails - at the forefront of this photo is a gorgeous dancer. In fact my mom was her official dresser and stylist and often made her hair, makeup and costumes for all her dance performances. Devi inspired me to become an Indian classical dancer and often encouraged me. Devi's daughters, now 27 and 16, are both great dancers and singers. Beautiful memories and beautiful photos.

My Little Krishna for Halloween

For Halloween I decided to dress up my five year old nephew as Lord Krishna. This was his choice. He loves Krishna - especially as baby Krishna or Kanna. In fact we often listen to songs about Kanna. And flip through beautiful paintings of Lord Krishna that I got him from India. Based on the pictures I was able to dress him up using alot of my dance jewelry, my dad's dhoti and my mom's necklace. He loved divine. Just like Kanna coming to life. Children have the spark of divinity in them. I felt blessed to be able to use my artistry and my dance/temple jewelry to adorn him. The energy that he gets by wearing all the ornaments handed down from his grandparents and his aunty (me) is incredibly powerful. I hope that he carries this energy with him throughout his life. Whether or not he is in costume.

Shop Altars in Little India

Indians are deeply religious people. This is evident when you visit the indian shops in Little India in Singapore. In every Indian business you will see an altar in the store. This is usually just behind the cashier. In some cases when the store is outdoor then you see a mini altar on the roadside like the one here. So is this just superstitious? That you want to place an idol next to the cash register to ensure wealth and protection? Since Hinduism believes God is everywhere and in everything - in the plant, animals and humans - why do you need to put an altar with an idol? Simply because it is a nice reminder and a wonderful way to bring the spiritual into your business and be guided by God. Some of the top Indian businessman I know are deeply spiritual - in fact it shows on their face. They have a great energy about them and are generally very stoic. They understand the ebb and flow of business and their faith in God sees them through.

Temple Etiquette & Dresscode

A temple visit is always a very special one. In the same way you will wear your Sunday best to church on Sunday you also honor the Hindu Gods and Goddesses by dressing up and in a formal manner. In the Indian context it means wearing silk and putting flowers on your hair. So an ideal attire would be a silk long sleeved kurta top or selva kamis. For the more ambitious I would recommend a sari. There is nothing more graceful than a woman in a flowing sari.

As for etiquette the general rules that one observes in a place of worship applies. An attitude of contemplation and reverence. No loud discussions. Try and avoid taking too many photos and disrespecting the core activity of the temple - prayer, meditation and contemplation. People generally do not appreciate being photographed while they are having an intimate conversation with God. Neither do the priests like it as it breaks the spirit of reverence and prayer in the temple. In the Hindu temples generally one is not allowed to photograph the deity in the sanctum sanatorium.

Another important rule to remember is to sit cross legged. Not to sit with your feet stretched out. Pointing your feet at the deity or another other human is considered deeply disrespectful.