birthday bliss. birthday sari.

birthday bliss. birthday sari. there i am in changing room getting unwrapped from sari, yes, the one in pix, i hear 'knock, knock.' who's there, i say. fast forward a few minutes later i am  talking sari colors with this woman who followed upon seeing me passing through the temple. she says, ' i've seen beautiful colors, beautiful saris but this. and the way it is all put together.'

well, i sure accept the sincere compliments with gratitude. as i contemplate about it i realize something. when i saw this sari i knew i wanted to get it. the pic doesn't do the fabric and design justice. there is an intricate interplay between red, fuchsia, orange and pink. just like sunrise and sunsets. once wrapped in this six yard of silk and gold i can't help but experience the reality that i am inside a benevolent furnace. the fire of grace removes dross and gold remains. my outer appearance matches the inner experience, that i am the Self which is always beautiful, ever golden and dripping with cooling, pearly moonbeams.

i was more than willing and happy to take the time and effort to learn how to wrap because it is a beautiful and tangible way to express gratitude for the benevolence and abundance that has been showering me all these years.

btw i was invited to wave light in ashram after i returned from first round of panchakarma in feb 2012. in my mind the purification treatments help prepare me to be ready to perform this beautiful act of worship. while i am waving flame, making offering to the guru without i am also acknowledging my inner guru, my own light within. it is with this understanding, this bhav, that i find choosing a beautiful sari, applying cosmetics, adorning myself with jewelry and head flowers become sacred actions. i see clearly why i am doing all this. this outer beauty is a reflection of who i am, a celebration of how i lead my life.