Blessings

As an adult I use to think to myself, what would sustain my life? Will it be money, material o rmy university degree? After checking out all of them, I can easily conclude that my life is fuelled by heartfelt blessings.

As we started preparing for our journey we saw blessings flowing in different forms from around the world. At a logistical level, except for our clothes there is not a single thing we had to go and buy. Gradually the spectrum of blessings started getting subtler and subtler. It started pouring in in the form of prayers and silence.

There are no accidents says Master Shifu and me bumping into few Buddhist monks at Gandhi ashram wasn’t a coincidence either. I was holding this intention for some months to say prayers at Prarthana Bhumi  (Prayer Ground in Sabarmati Ashram where Gandhiji prayed everyday morning and evening). I landed there absolutely unplanned a couple of days before the pilgrimage. Just as we finished our prayer, a friend came along with few nuns and monks. We all sat in a circle, we said our prayers and when they knew about the pilgrimage, they offered blessings.

And these kids that you see here, they are our local Santa beaming joy all the time. Their biggest gift is the spark in their eyes, the contentment in their hearts and the curiosity in their mind. They are like a family now and our doors are always open for them. As a part of our farewell all the kids wrote a beautiful letter for us sharing their prayers and wishes.  A lot of their prayers were like, “Didi do not pick up a fight with anyone. Take care of your health. Do not walk too fast. Cover your ears, chest and legs from harsh winter winds.” Every single advice from our little friends was just bang on.

And this picture is from my work place. It is a shelter home for women who are at risk and my work is to create healing spaces for them and somehow create a common interactive space between them and the officials.

The day I was leaving for parikrama, all of them got together and prayed for both of us to have a peaceful journey for the coming months. It takes a big heart for the vulnerable self to pray for the other and their prayers showed me the power of love. With all the hugs and warm wishes they did not let me go without having puri and kheer which was part of their lunch.

These are just few stories. The blessings that we are being showered with makes me feel like the meteor shower on a dark night. It feels as if each stone, each tree, the falling leaves and the wind are blessing us on the path that we have chosen to walk.