It was Diwali time. My Nana woke. And as usual, he stared at his palms murmuring something. Ma - some 6-7 years then - had been noticing it for years. The same process. Wake up. Stare at your palms. Mur mur mur mur. Good Morning. Kids are a bit like monkeys. So Mum had also tried to do the same when she woke. Stare, mur mur mur mur in the same rhythm. Good Morning. But it was sooo boring! She really wanted to understand what this whole business was about. And why in the world Nana - her Babuji - seemed so cheerful doing this weird act. That day she mustered the courage to ask. What is going on. Babuji smiled at his daughter. Made her sit on his lap. Held her tiny hand in his big one. And recited an ancient poem, call it a shloka. कराग्रे वसते लक्ष्मिः करमध्ये सरस्वति । करमूले तु गोविन्दः प्रभाते करदर्शनम् ॥ A hand is not just a hand. At the base of the hand, the wrist, lives Lord Govinda. The masculine force that sustains the earth, Vishnu. In the front of the hand, the fingers, lives his feminine counterpart, Laxmi. The force that creates wealth, prosperity, abundance in life. And in the middle of the hand lives Saraswati. The force symbolising Wisdom. Let me remember my hands as these universal forces, each morning as i start the day. Many decades later, Ma - also a dance and sanskrit teacher - explains this to her daughter this way. The hand is what you create life with. The mool, the base, wrist is to be solid. Like Vishnu, the preserver. The Fingers have to be agile, flexible, flowing. Like Laxmi. Wealth. Prosperity. But the agility, the movement, the grace of Laxmi can only happen if at the centre you have Wisdom, Saraswati. That wisdom is the essential connection between the actions in the world - Vishnu - and wealth, prosperity, Laxmi. Without Saraswati centre, there can be no शुभ. Without Saraswati in the centre, there can be no लाभ. As we celebrate Diwali and await the arrival of Laxmi. As we read signs everywhere saying Shubh-Labh, Shubh-Labh. As we speak of development, of growth, of profit in our every second breath. We could do well to remember that old sholka my Nana recited every prabhat of his life. Prosperity is at the tip of our hands, only if at the centre there is Wisdom. There are many ways to say Happy Diwali. This year, I am gonna to say it with my hands!
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 17:01:08 +0000
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