“With folded hands Tulsi asks Lord Shiva for the blessing that birth after birth he belong only to Rama, be related to Him, have love for Him and receive love from Him.” (Dohavali, 89)

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नातो नाते राम कें राम सनेहँ सनेहु
तुलसी माँगत जोरि कर जनम जनम सिव देहु

nāto nāte rāma ke rāma sanehum̐ sanehu
tulasī mām̐gata jori kara janama janama siva dehu

You try your best to be polite. You try to follow etiquette. Sometimes, there are too many rules to keep track of. While in alignment with one set of procedures, you are brazenly attacking the longstanding tradition of another group. At least that is the accusation, and the criticism is not mild. It is delivered angrily, steadily, and vehemently. In the following hypothetical situation, rather than risk incurring such wrath in the future, you decide to go along. On this particular day, you follow what the hosts recommend, but deep down you have something else in mind.

You are away on vacation. Not necessarily the kind where your itinerary is already filled prior to leaving home, this time you are somewhere away from home, but staying with family. Your hosts will decide what to do, where to go, what to see, and what events are on the calendar. The area is foreign to you, after all. So is the country. You could not even imagine driving in this part of the world. You cannot read many of the street signs, as the script they use bears no resemblance to the Roman letters with which you are familiar.

You are staying with extended family, and the hosts are a generation older. You defer to their judgment. The leader of the house recommends that everyone visit a temple. It is the chosen outing for the day. This particular temple happens to be quite old. They say it has been standing there for thousands of years. The architecture is amazing. How can anyone claim with a straight face that man evolved from monkeys when human beings so long ago could produce something so amazing? All without the assistance of modern technology. In fact, the people of today throw up their hands in frustration; they would have no idea where to begin in trying to replicate such artistry. It is almost like mankind is going backwards, that we are becoming more like the monkeys, instead of the other way around. That pattern happens to align with the teachings of the Vedas, which identify this age as dark and full of hypocrisy.

प्रायेणाल्पायुष: सभ्य कलावस्मिन् युगे जना:
मन्दा: सुमन्दमतयो मन्दभाग्या ह्युपद्रुता:

prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ sabhya
kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ
mandāḥ sumanda-matayo
manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ

“O learned one, in this iron age of Kali men have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.1.10)

Beauty aside, the temple is alive. It functions. It has a purpose. People visit in order to pray to the principal deity, who happens to be Lord Shiva. The line for entry spills out into the street. You barely get any time inside, after waiting for hours. You get a short glimpse of the deity. There is also a ritual you can follow. You can offer some water and a leaf. You are essentially praying to the great god, who is also known as Mahadeva.

The person leading the trip explains how Shiva is also known as Ashutosha. This means that he is easily pleased. Why would anyone forego worship, then? Why not take advantage of the situation? Ask anything from Mahadeva. Worship him through this process and there is a great chance of success. They recommend that you follow the same, that you should think about whatever it is that you want.

The issue is that you are not familiar with this path. You have been worshiping someone else since the time of your birth. Ever since you saw the framed picture in the center of the altar within the home. You watched your parents dutifully worship this picture through offerings of incense sticks, flowers, and sometimes fruits. They never really explained to you what was going on. They never encouraged you to follow the same. Any time you tried, they held you back. They advised that you wait until you became older and had a house of your own.

Despite the barrier created, your attachment remained. It is almost like the bond grew tighter the more the worship was prohibited. You later learned that it is okay to worship in this way. Whether succeeding or failing, moving forward or regressing, feeling happy or succumbing to hopelessness, you always worship. You always think about the person you are worshiping. You cannot be convinced of any other way.

On this particular day, you decide to follow through on the ritual. You are at a famous place, after all. If you refuse, people will think you are being difficult. You are being rude to dishonor their tradition. Instead, you make a secret prayer. You do not tell anyone about this. You ask Mahadeva for continued devotion. To the person you have known as your savior since a young age. You ask for that devotion not only in this life, but in any and all future ones that may occur. If he is easily pleased, then let him be kind on you to make this wish come true.

In Closing:

After hours standing in line,
The altar area to find.

Where advised to pray,
Offering water and leaf to say.

But secret inside,
That always to reside.

As servant of Sita’s husband so,
In whichever lifetime to go.

Categories: stories

Tags: dailyprompt, god, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, religion, shiva