Vedanta - For Soothing the Soul
ARUNA SRINIVASAN
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My dear son, Whenever we celebrate festivals at home, we run into arguments. You and your brother rebel whenever we ask you to join us in the puja. You say you don't believe in rituals; that you can't relate to those gods framed and arranged neatly in the puja room.But the prayers are significant for me. They may be ritualistic, but they have the same effect on my mind as yoga and exercise have on the body , maintaining the equilibrium. If exercise keeps physical balance, my faith takes care of my inner balance.
Let me tell you a story . Saligramam -that tiny black pebble-like stone reverentially kept in the wooden box in the puja room -was given to me when I mar ried Appa. Sa ligramam is a fossil found in Himalayan riverbeds and is believed to manifest Vishnu.Saligramam is usually handed down from one generation to another like a heirloom.
When I went to Bombay carrying this small sacred stone in my suitcase 25 years ago to live with your Dad, neighbours advised me, “You have to be pious and maintain a strict code of conduct.“ I told myself, God is my friend.
My parents have given this sacred symbol to me so that He will always remain with me, ritual or no ritual. You once said that you eat chocolate when you are depressed.I turn to prayer. Happiness, satisfaction or sorrow, I share it with Him. So, dear son, when chocolates don't help, perhaps you can try a prayer.
Amma
Let me tell you a story . Saligramam -that tiny black pebble-like stone reverentially kept in the wooden box in the puja room -was given to me when I mar ried Appa. Sa ligramam is a fossil found in Himalayan riverbeds and is believed to manifest Vishnu.Saligramam is usually handed down from one generation to another like a heirloom.
When I went to Bombay carrying this small sacred stone in my suitcase 25 years ago to live with your Dad, neighbours advised me, “You have to be pious and maintain a strict code of conduct.“ I told myself, God is my friend.
My parents have given this sacred symbol to me so that He will always remain with me, ritual or no ritual. You once said that you eat chocolate when you are depressed.I turn to prayer. Happiness, satisfaction or sorrow, I share it with Him. So, dear son, when chocolates don't help, perhaps you can try a prayer.
Amma
