2HAIKU
02/22/06
Today Teelu, Madan's brother, Madan who got married, and I began the cleaning of the Mandir Štemple- at the Manikarnika ghat. The main burning ghat that takes it's name from an amrit pool where the water is of unknown source, hot in the winter and cool in the summer.
Parvatti, the consort of Lord Shiva lost an earring there once, so it has the root of the word for earring in it. All the gods were enlisted to search for this special earring made from the ruby stone,even today bathers hope to find it. Vishnus feet are also steps away so it's a dense bit of historical, spiritual and economic real estate.
One of the most endearing and basic tenets of Hindu philosophy is seva, that is selfless service. This is the primary motivation for the cleaning of the temple. Still of course the ego is fed by the reaction to the way the mandir saf dona has effected the locals. Of course many think I'm getting bilked by a couple of It was just an idea idea a few days ago and in one day of work has transformed the ghat. So the intention is still seva without direction.
Certainly the Brahmins that have lost confidence in the people, so they think that trying to transform the local worker toilet into a temple again is a crazy act. Yes the Mother Ganga claims her by flood every year, depositing sometimes up to a meter of silt. This could be considered architectural r&r. The rest of the year she flows calmly by. Bricking up the door will keep the lingam safe inside. during the flood. The Brahmins know of course they know also that it's much more work for them. People are going to expect puja's here now. So I'm treading on a different level of gangster; the temple mafia, the Brahmins. No worries the worst that can happen is a contract gig and my friends burn me here. At Manikarnika Ghat you don't need a weekend retreat to remind you that it's all temporary and an illusion.
It is the maha ishvara temple that we have cleaned. Tomorrow the sign can be read that is a dedication of the mandir. The translation may not meet expectation but at least we want the date of creation.. I know the pool up the steeps goes back to the age when shiva was a yogi here on the banks of the Mother Ganga. We settle for a date that the marble was last laid.
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There was almost 1.5 meters of fine Ganga silt surrounding the
temple and filling the inner sanctum. The preassure washer is in a boat just offshore and we go through 20 litres of diesel in the first day to just clear the area around the temple. It's a thick muck that moves in front of the hose. The kids flock to us hoping to find jewelry or coins in the run off.
It's a slow process and we take turns with the hose which is much more powerful than it looks. It's difficult but they let the gringo run it when he just wrestles it from them. This first day there is humour and scorn tossed from the peanut gallery up on the ghats. By lunchtime though the cleaning bug has caught on and the Manikarnika Kund gets a workover and the steps have all been swept. On the second day we power wash the steps down to the ghat and the platform above that holds the chai shop my friends have.
By the end of the day we have started at the entrance. No one really can tell me what's inside. You have to ask multiple people for every question you have, then you can filter the responses and see what stories overlap. You rarely hear, "I don't know." It's the desire to help you with your travels though not a sinister plot to mislead.
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After a long, fun and exciting first day we see the entrance down into the temple clearly. We think it could only be a day or two more, we're wrong, there is alot more to come.
John Perkins "Confessions of an economic hit man"
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If they had asked the pilgrims for visas and passports then scanned them for virus'. All those that love the great white American Dream should just thankful that they fed them. Clealy now for many the dream has always been the American Nightmare So maybe if the Teya or Iroquios had an immigration department if would have slowed but been no different. It's a fact that the first thanksgiving is may not be the starting point of the genocide of 100 million peoplesbut it's good referance point.
Will somebody impeach my president, please?
He's a two time election rigger, didn't get my vote but I respect the game of democracy and the rules are he took the oath, he's the president. But its impeachment we want and he has to be in office to get the honor of the fourth president to be impeached.
Is fear terroring U.S. apart?
Yeah I hear it all the time. How can it all be love? -Suicide bombers, Asian flu, killer hurricanes... It's easy to make a fear and terror list. Do you have a list of things you would stake your life to defend?
Memorial Day? Mainly this is just a day off, let's face it, most Americans think it's a signal that summer is here. Airfares go up, the sun is back, and the BBQ gets fired up. I got dead FAM, have some in my circle with recent war dead. When you have dead you knew by eye contact that Memorial Day is every day. These dead and especially this war, the freshest war, are painful in so many ways;are the recent dead the deadest?
Scripture in the toilet; now that's news! Flushing the Koran!? What's the counterpunch; garbage disposal the Bible, shred the Sutras and Vacuum up the Vedas. Looks like the World Conflict Inc. marketing department is working overtime.
This is an open letter to the children of Abraham. Okay I know I'm goyish and an infidel, hell I'm even from the left coast of America but stil... You Abrahamites have a family fight going. We can see since Sarah conceived the rift began, or so we're told. By the time Abraham got to the sacrificial alter the trend had been set. You don't even agree which child he dragged up the hill to sacrifice. It is the same voice from the clouds isn't it? Ultimately do you think you're speaking to the same God?
Not one damn dime? Divest from the economy for the day as a method of sending a message? Believe me, I'm behind all protest to the coronation of King George Bush, the 44th President of the US. I'm going to stock up at the farmers market, invite friends for food but my divesting will not bring much satisfaction or I believe much influence on the powers that be.
Death and destruction, birth and evolution; these are our daily polarities. These are more than interesting times. We set records every day as a species. Of all in the animal kingdom we prey on our own more than any other animal.
C'mon if you could rub a cream on your butt that shifted you to being smarter, pain free, sexy and strong would you lather up?
What sort of meal would it have been if the Iroquois nation had a terror alert of red and stopped the pilgrims at the beach, searched them and checked passports?
So you think Kerry took a dive? Like Sonny Liston, took the hope flickering in the hearts of the poor, the unemployed,
disempowered, young and old and flopped onto the canvas. After that whole time telling us it was on the way. That it got way closer than they thought they would get.
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Lies straight into the face, vote spoiling in battleground states, the knowledge that our village is ripped down the middle and still I Love America.
To the attention whores out there masquerading as 'undecided' voters in America: find a new pick up line.
Nine one one. Numbers here in the usa you call for emergency. It's now a wobble in our calendar.
If you bought some orange juice futures in august stop rolling in your dividends and hand someone a century note!
Golden temples smokin' in Najaf, gold medals danglin' in Athens. It swirls at the pace of a surprise hurricane.