This Time May Be Different

Namaste Light Club readers. A thought occurred to me today as I was looking at some images of statues of Lord Ganesha from my Facebook news feed. The thought has to do with how I view the religious art and iconography of the Hindu faith, now that I have established myself within it. I wonder - has my view of it changed? Would I look at it differently now? I would like to think yes, but I wonder how exactly I got there. It seems quite the transformation that after I start following the dharmic path of Hinduism that I would look at the art of Hinduism with that much more reverence. I think I have infinitely more respect and reverence for it now, but sometimes the change is startling to me.

For example, the Memorial Art Gallery near me has an ancient (as in 14th century) bronze statue of Lord Ganesha, Thai in origin, on display:

I've seen it before in my visits to the Memorial Art Gallery. Back then, although I thought it was beautiful, appealing, and even cool, I still wonder if I'd look at it differently now than I have back then? Would I have a lot more reverence for it? I want to visit the Memorial Art Gallery again and look at this statue to see if my theory here would be right. I haven't had a chance to yet, though.

There's a part of me that thinks, though, that maybe it's beautiful art like this that might have guided me - perhaps ever so slightly - towards the dharmic path of Hinduism. My mind - and the will of God(s) - work in mysterious ways.

In Due Time?

Namaste Light Club readers!

I recently completed a meditation experience that was nothing short of blissful. It was so blissful that nothing seemed to faze it - not my left leg falling asleep, not the random noises outside, not even the random tingling sensations I seemed to experience across my face. More on those later.

I wasn't quite sure how long I should've stayed in my meditation...I wanted to stay there for as long as possible, but I also realized I had to come out of it sometime. I had no idea how much time had passed until I came out of it, and it seemed to be a full hour, or close to it, anyway.

Somehow I have this idea in my head that the longer I stay in meditation, and the more intense it gets, the more likely I would be "rewarded" somehow. I know that's not the point of meditation, and that it's my bloated ego talking that's asking for the "reward" of some sort. Still, it's the hint of a "reward" (sorry to keep using quotes) that keeps me going for long periods of time, and even motivates me to meditate at all sometimes.

As for what kind of reward I'm expecting...I honestly don't know what would qualify. A visible miracle of some kind? A vision from Lord Ganesha? I don't know. I realize that meditation and the benefits it confers are subtle, and they're their own reward, but there's a part of me that hasn't internalized that fact yet.

I'm trying to overcome that selfish ego, honest! But I guess that's the real reward of meditation I haven't gotten to yet, that final mastery of one's ego. Part of me wants it now rather than later, but I know that won't happen quite yet. Maybe it will happen in, as the old saying goes, due time. I just wish I knew when the due time would be!

Anyway, I'll close this blog post with a question: remember those tingling sensations on the face I talked about earlier? Well, what do they mean? I know a pressure in the middle of the forehead is the pineal gland getting stimulated, but I get tingling sensations elsewhere on my face too - below the eyes, from the top of my head extending down, and other odds and ends I can't pinpoint exactly. If anyone has insight on what those mean, I'd appreciate it.

Stay enlightened, my friends.

Identity Thieves - A Poem

(Enjoy this Hindu-themed poem I have authored, my attempt at shaking things up in this blog. Feedback on this poem is welcome, but please be gentle.)

Identity thieves are everywhere.
The mundane ones, they want your material wealth.
The ones to watch out for, they want your spiritual wealth.
Your soul.

Governments want to steal your identity.
With it, they buy consent.
Consent to impose authority.
Consent to wage war.
Consent to make laws.
Laws in which they keep your soul.

Corporations want to steal your identity.
With it, they buy denial.
Denial of your beliefs.
Denial of your choices.
Denial of your individuality.
The individuality of your soul.

Those who distort religion want your identity.
With it, they buy your servitude.
Servitude to guilt.
Servitude to blindness.
Servitude to death.
It spells the death of your soul.

Against these identity thieves, there is only one defense.
LifeLock will not save you.
No, there is only one agency, one authority that can help you.
Help you get your identity back.

This authority is the Ishta Devata.
The God you worship.
Through this worship of God, you regain your soul.

My God has the head of an elephant,
And I know through Him
That I am not the contents of my wallet inside the pocket of my khakis.
I trust Him to protect my identity.

Who do you trust?