Maha Sankranti!

On Saturday, I have led primary at 7:30. This might be my favorite class of the week. It seems to be less crowded than the other led classes and doing led primary seems somehow less difficult after all the sweat and exertion of the mysore classes that preceded it. Only one more class to go before rest day! After the class, Sharath gives a conference at 9:30. As I wrote previously, Sharath asks us not to disseminate what he says during the conference; I will refrain from much commentary. My feeling from listening to Sharath for only two weeks here in Mysore (and after hearing several talks in during his tours in NYC), is that Sharath has a very common sense approach to yoga and that he is very adverse to complicating yoga unnecessarily.  He has a fun sense of humor and he conveys a feeling of gratitude and appreciation towards his students. As the lineage holder of ashtanga, he carries a lot of weight on his shoulders and there are many people clamoring for his attention from many different places.

After conference, I went with my friend Michael (from NYC) to visit a temple in the city center where Sri K. Pattabhi Jois sought instruction from Krishnamacharya (the latter also taught the former in the Mysore Sanskrit College). We visited some really nice antique stores nearby--right in front of the Jaganmohan Palace. One specialized primarily in old paintings of Hindu deities as well as other religious objects. The pieces were rather pricey, but I may return to see if I can bargain for a beautiful red Ganesh painting that I saw. There was another antique store that was less charming that had a lot of English colonial style furniture.

Later in the day, a few of us visited the nearby town of Sriragnapatna. This town is basically an island surrounded by three rivers. Where the three rivers meet is a sacred site--the Kaveri Sangam. It was beautiful and serene, and there were lots of families celebrating Maha Sankranti by the river. Many people come to this sangam to take a purifying dip in the rivers' waters. I was not brave enough to take a full dip, but I did put my feet into the river as well as my hands. I splashed some water over my head as well. So far, it seems that I have not contracted any fatal disease.

Cows dyed yellow all over Mysore

This cow might have been the winner of a contest, but she was not at all happy.

Taking a dip in the holy waters

Families celebrating Sankranti

It is somewhat difficult to pin down the exact meaning or purpose of Sankranti. It seems to be a harvest festival and it has a special significance to agriculturists and farmers. On this day, people decorate their cows (if they are light colored, they dye the cows' fur with turmeric to make them yellow). It also might involve making the cows jump over hot coals or something dreadful like that. I did not see any hot coals or jumping cows, therefore, I am unable to speak to the cruelty involved in the ritual I am hoping since cows are revered as holy animals, they would not do anything here to hurt them. Sankranti is also a celebration of the new year--a recognition of the lengthening of the days and moving away from the winter solstice. Young girls wear brand new (and apparently brightly colored dresses) and offer food to on plates to loved ones.

The line to get in the temple

The drone: the spirit of
Lord Ranganatha?

After visiting the Kaveri Sangam, we tried to visit a nearby Vishnu temple (the Ranganathyswamy Temple--Lord Ranganatha is a resting form of Vishnu). We were not able to enter the temple because it was a holiday and there was a line about two hours long to get in. The area around the temple had a carnival like atmosphere. There were lots of vendors selling food, religious items, and tacky glow-in-the-dark objects.  There were thousands of people, and many came from hundreds of miles away for the celebration. We were however able to witness a ceremony in front of the temple. As the sun set, a group of priests assembled and performed about 30 minutes of vedic chants. The entire area in front of the temple (almost like a roadway leading to the temple and about 200 yards long) was fenced off for the event.  The entire ground and the fencing were covered with oil lamps.  As the sun began to set, lights illuminated the temple and worshippers began to light all the diyas. We were told that there were 100000 oils lamps in all. The sight was overwhelmingly beautiful.  Oddly, there was a drone flying above the scene, and it seemed to lower towards the ground in front of the priests at important moments during the chanting ceremony. We had no idea that we were going to witness any of this, but we were grateful to witness the breathtaking scene.  Everywhere you look in India, there seems to be something unbelievable right there before your eyes. Often the sights are sad and tragic, but there are just as often beautiful and moving.

Michael and me.

Deb watching the diyas being lit one by one.

Lighting the diyas.