After what has been a physically, mentally and emotionally trying three weeks, today I inadvertently found solace in a house of worship. Well not just a place of worship, but three distinct places.
The first was completely spontaneous. While at Biketoberfest (an outdoor celebration of bikes, beer, brats, and bands), we spotted a beautiful church behind the stage and decided to amble through between bands. They happened to be having a service, so we sat in for a bit.
After Biketoberfest, I went to a Diwali celebration by Penn's Hindu Student Council. Here I witnessed and participated in my first puja and arti, very exciting!
Finally, since Diwali is a festival celebrated by three different religions (Hindus, Sikhs and Jains) in India, they proceeded to the Sikh celebration as well (singing hymns, or kirtan).
At each and every event today, I felt this amazing calm fall over me, especially while listening to the choir or singing hymns with everyone. While I had no particular affinity to the content of any of the prayers, the soft singing and sense of a community bound without ulterior motives was very soothing. I don't know if this makes me more or less atheist, or more or less Sikh, but it was a good day.
:-)
Stock Market Crash
15 years ago
No comments:
Post a Comment