Sitcom Sitters Chat Club #3 - Page 116

Originally posted by: Wisian

@Erudition: ☺️ ☺️ ☺️

In everyday life, I think I am problematic. I can be extremely intolerant towards intolerant people; and even though I have taught myself to hold my tongue, my face betrays my thoughts. If I have a low opinion of someone, it shows on my face - so, I guess, I drive away the guys (even when I am completely silent).

Now-a-days, so close to returning home, I have purged all the negative emotions related to being single... of that misery, I will only concern myself after returning from vacation. 😆 😆

@Ashtami-navami: Nahin, I'd have made halwa, but I ran out of ghee (I don't use oil for maing halwa). There wasn't enough ghee to even do an aarti last night, so I did the aarti with camphor instead. [So much for being an Arya Samaji. 😛]

What did you make? Kheer, halwa, puri??

Originally posted by: Wisian

@Sai Baba: You have an interesting story there. I can believe that Baba does manifest himself like this from time to time...

I too got inspired to go to a Sai Baba temple in a similar way. I was in my first year, kinda unhappy with the pace of life - we had hardships at home, and I was emotionally distressed - when one afternoon, I was returning home in a DTC bus and was sitting on the long seat that they had at the back of the bus.

I should tell you two other things that are essential to fully appreciate this story:

1. I am almost never parted with my money. I spend it very judiciously...

2. I have the puritan attitude that Arya Samaj extols. So, I spent quite a lot of time time reading the puranic literature, and even though I stretched the limits of personal faith to include all the Hindu Gods, I never accepted Gods or entities that are not recognized in the scriptures. For instance, the scriptures make no mention of a Santoshi Maa. She is only the creation of the film industry, so even though I would recite Durga Saptashati sometimes, I'd scoff when the priest in the neighbourhood temple would do an arati of a filmy goddess. It was the same with Sai Baba - his pictures can be found all over Delhi; but I'd see them and sanctimoniously decide that that does not constitute pure hinduism.

So, this afternoon when I was sitting on the back seat of the bus, lost in thought... quite abruptly a sadhu leaped into the slowly moving bus, took sometime to adjust his footing, looked at me (as I was sitting on the seat nearest to the door), and said to me: "Sai baba ke mandir mein jaao, sab theek ho jaayega". I don't know what I was thinking, or what came over me at that time, I had a coin in my hand - and I gave it to him. That was his dakshina. He got off the bus almost immediately after that.

Some days later, a Sai Baba temple opened up in our neighbourhood. I went there with my mother. They were singing the arati in Marathi, and it sounded very beautiful. Whilst in the temple - as the priest waved the aarti-paatra before Baba, I became overcome with emotions (my eyes teared up, and my voice choked), and in that instant, I became devoted to Baba.

There is always a voice (distinct from you) that speaks to you - we can call it the conscience. I notice that when I visit this temple (every time I go back home), my conscience speaks in a different voice (and by that I don't mean the physical characteristics of the voice, I mean simply that the amount of compassion and kindness in the voice is w-a-y more than usual)...

From your story, it would mean that your wedding has Baba's blessings. That is so nice. 🤗 🤗

Originally posted by: Wisian

@Vegan: Seriously? I have thought of that, but it would require so much adjustment, I'm ot even sure that I can pull it off...

I have not eaten eggs by themselves, but I will have to re-write almost all my recipes for baking if I were to not use eggs at all - so, in cakes and cookies, I still continue using eggs. But milk and cheese, and ghee (oh, ghee! How will you make anything without ghee?!)...

@White chocolate: Yep, I am on the same page as you; I've never quite liked the white chocolates they sell at the supermarkets, but I once had the white chocolate with the nuts at laederach - and it was amazing. By far the best chocolate that I have ever eaten (including the most decadent of the dark chocolates)... 😳😳

What are the usual gifts that one buys when returning home from SG?

EDIT: spelling, grammar... Gosh! I can't believe how many mistakes I'm making in every post. 😳😳

Originally posted by: Wisian

Accha? Perhaps then, I will check it out... But I think, most mythological serials that I have watched (other than Ramayan and Mahabharat) were just trashy. They have no sense of context, and they editorialize too much.

I'd prefer if the show were to follow one - JUST ONE - scripture scrupulously. Like, I was watching a show on Ganesh ji many-many years, and even though it started off with the story of Ganesh ji's birth, after only a few episodes, the show had meandered into ALL mythology. When they started covering the matsya avatar and samudra manthan, I decided to skip that show...

Mythology seems to be ever-evolving...

Have you ever been to Kurukshetra? I went there with my grandmother when I was still a student. We went there because my grandmother wanted to take a dip in the sarovar on the day of an eclipse; but then we went on to visit the other temples in the city.

They had a Brahma temple. "Yeh Brahma ji ka janma-sthaan hai," the priest told us.

Me: Achha? Yeh janma sthaan hai? Brahma ji ne srishti-srijan karaa, toh phir iss sthaan ka srijan kisney karaa?

The priest only just glared back at me.

They had a Mahakali temples - and the priest helpfully told us, "Yahaan par Krishna Bhagwaan ka mundan huaa tha"?

Me: Accha? Krishna Bhagwaan, Mathura-Vrindaavan se yahaan aaye they mundan karwaaney?? That is so unpractical, nahin?

The priest had lost interest in us by then.

There was a tree under the shade of which bhagwaan Krishna gave the Gita-updesh to Arjuna. That tree is supposed to be thousands of years old.

I don't think that that tree was even 20 years old.

So, when the priest came to tell us of the tree's glorious fortune, I wanted to ask him a few questions, but my grandmother shushed me...

Originally posted by: Kwerky

😆😆😆

Why am I laughing? I ran out of ghee too. [Ok...as I write this it would seem that there is too much of a coincidence happening here all the time...but I can't help it. That's how it is.😳] And halwa without ghee...that is sacrilege, I tell you.😆 I didn't have enough milk for kheer. So I had to make do with whatever was at home...a milkmaid tin, milk powder, saffron and elaichi lead to some instant milk pedas. 😳 And of course, some aloo-poori.

As far as you judging/describing your temperament goes, I will say that no one is perfect and a lot of things constitute a personality. What you are describing is a very minuscule part...oh, you have no idea how impatient and rude I can get with inefficient guys or chauvinists or racists or plain idiots...the list is endless. The building blocks that make up Wisian are admirable...at least to me as I appreciate education, wisdom, culture, sense and sensibility. Just saying...

And of course, I have said this before many times...aaj kal ke aadmi andhey ho gaye hain.😆😊

Originally posted by: Kwerky

That seems like a beautiful experience, Wisu. 😊 And I know what you are saying because I have had a similar experience at the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirling in Ujjain. I had gone there with my family a five years back and as soon as we entered the temple, the aarti started ...the chants and the ringing of the bells were so DIVINE...and inexplicably, my tears started flowing. Never happened before, never happened after that. Whenever I recall that experience, I feel a strange peace and maybe bliss...can't describe it...but it seems like everything is fine with the world, even if just for a second or two.

@wedding: Yes, it would appear so...that it has been blessed by Baba.🤗 I will tell you the story some other time.😊

Originally posted by: Wisian

LOL @ coincidence.

Batao - did you also make ghee yesterday? 'coz I did.

Butter is so outrageously expensive here, that I almost never buy any. But then sometimes they have it on sale (yep, butter ki sale) - so at that time, I buy 2-3 kilos, and put it away in the freezer. And from time to time, I make ghee with it.

So, kal, I made plenty of ghee. 😆

@Aaj-kal ke aadmi and Wisu's building blocks: You are very generous, Kwerky. Thank you. 🤗 🤗

Originally posted by: Wisian

I have had such experiences many times... And even in the most ordinary places. Once, while still a child, we went to a neighbourhood Durga Puja - and if it the play of light and shadows, the sounds of the drums and conchs, the smell of the incense , I will not know - but for a few moments, I lost awareness of everyone else around me... for these few moments there was just me and the idol of maa Durga, and then that idol sprang to life as maa Durga plunged the spear into the heart of the demon. That is all there was to that experiences, because I became conscious again of being in the crowd after that. But I had teared up then too, had goosebumps all over me, and my voice had choked up. These are probably the commonest symptoms of having undergone a spiritual experience. 😳

@Mahakaleshwar: They perform a bhasma aarti there, isn't it?

You are so lucky to have had the chance to see it... It has been my wish to visit Benares and Ujjain for such a long time now... It never worked out though. I guess, it has to be predestined for anyone to visit the holy places...

There is the story of how Paramhans Ramakrishna left Dakshineshwar to go on a pilgrimage to Benares; but after covering all the distance, at the outskirts of the holy city, he realized that he can't set foot in the city. He saw the imprint of Shiva on every stone and pebble there, and could not bring himself to trample those stones and pebbles beneath his feet. And so he turned back, never to have had a chance for Vishwanath's darshan.

Whenever I think of this story, I console myself that if anything, even great saints remained deprived of the joy of seeing these holy shrines; I am but insignificant. 😆

@Story of your wedding: Haan, bataana...

I am a bit self-conscious that we are sharing so much of our personal lives here... and who knows, who other than us will read all of this... But perhaps it is all okay... of all the millions of posts on IF, someone will have to have an interest in us to want to check all this out... 😆😆

Originally posted by: Kwerky

Arre great! Finally you watched it. 😊 I quite liked the addition of Hugh Laurie to the cast...he brings out Selena's insecurities and stupidities like never before. 😆

September is when a lot of shows come back with new seasons. I caught the premiere episode of The Big Bang Theory yesterday as I was curious to see what happened after the surprising finale last year...did you guys watch the last season?

Originally posted by: Kwerky

@bold: 😆😆Issey kehte hain - ulta chor kotwal ko daante. 😆 Emotional blackmail, huh..GG?.😈