Phagwa/Holi Celebrations March, 2009-Trinidad

I left a gap in showing this footage to mark the death of the wife of the Secretary of the Sanathan Dharma Maha Sabha(SDMS)-Shanti Maharaj who died admist the Phagwa celebrations.I felt it only fitting as all of my footage/coverage was taken of the SDMS Children's Phagwa celebrations. While I was there attending I had no idea that she was ill and her husband Sat Maharaj was the Master of Ceremonies at the event- a very dutiful and brave act of seva I'd say to carry on with his Dharma/duty although his wife was ill. Later on I would find out that she would normally oversee the preparation of the approximately 10,000 lunches that are made for the kids that attend from all the SDMS schools across the island. However that was the first time in how many years she was too ill to do so or attend the function. Anyway death and leaving the mortal coil and perhaps again returning is part of the way of the Universe and so also all part of Universal Collective Prayer but for those of us that live on the earthly plane the dance that is Universal Collective Prayer must go on...no choice in the matter really...Subsequent to that delay I prepared a draft of this post on Mar 23rd but then went into a kind of hibernation meditating with the Shiv man as you will see mentioned on my two previous posts...so finally...here it is the footage of Phagwa Celebrations in Trinidad for 2009!

I attended the SDMS Children's Phagwa celebrations on Sat 14 Mar 2009 at the Simbhoonath Capildeo Tunapuna Hindu (SDMS) Primary School. I'm sorry to report that I'm not yet ready to give up my day job as an engineer to become the roving reporter for the prayers and so you will just for now until the prayers who knows expands and I can hire a roving reporter of my own have to bear with me! So me as a not true roving reporter kinda made it to the event late...but I was good enough to listen to the opening remarks on the radio while I made my way to a friend's house where she lives when visitng the island from UK. We actually had the good fun of walking to the school from her house which was about half a mile or so away.

Here is one of the reasons I was late! I was mixing abeer last minute and putting it into these little contraptions I put together using empty Coke Zero 20 oz bottles and a little spray gun thingy I bought at a pooja store...made in China have you not India! However the abeer for mixing in liquid and the scented powder were made in India. Here is my therefore made be a Trini ChinIndian contraption! :)

After mixing up my abeer and putting together the contraptions I drove to Tunapuna and listened to the kick off of the celebs on the radio-The SDMS's radio station Radio Jaagriti 102.7 FM. The main guest at the event was the President of Trinidad and Tobago the His Excellency Prof. George Maxwell Richards. The thing about him is that he is I think the first ever chemical engineer to become a head of state of any place and so was honoured by IChemE- The Institution of Chemical Engineers in the UK. He attended the University of Cambridge and used to teach at the University of the West Indies and was also the principal there for many years. He used to teach the dreaded Transport Phenomena courses and yep he also taught me! :) So was pleased to hear his excellent speech in many ways. I can't quote it and as I just told you I'm not a good roving reporter as yet but here's the gist of it:

He spoke about how it was admirable that the festival was being held even 164 years after the first arrival of Indians to the island and about how although the festival bore resemblence to the carnival celebrations that were just concluded it should be noted that it was very much a religious celebration unlike carnival. He spoke to the children about not being led astray in society and about being focussed and values and all of that. He lamented the absence of the High Commisioner of India to Trinidad at the event but noted that he had a prior event to attend to in Tobago and he had only just taken up his office in Trinidad a few weeks prior. He however noted the presence of Mr. Santosh Mishra at the festivities on behalf of the High Commission and his particular role in attending to matters of religion and culture while attached to the Commission. Those of you on the prayers here would note Mr. Santosh Mishra from my previous blog post on the launch of the Pundit Parasram School for Hinduism. Mr. Mishra also gave a brief speech. The head of the Pundits too was there-the Dharmacharya Pundit Utaam Maharaj.

President Prof. George Maxwell Richards


Pundit Utaam Maharaj-The Dharmarcharya

So by the time the speeches were done I was at my friends and they and this is how we looked before:


My friend was pretty excited to be going to the event as she had attended a SDMS Hindu primary school when she was young and remembered taking part back then- Chanka Maharaj El Socorro Hindu School. Here are some pics of us getting to the event from above the highway cross over (up high)





And as I told you my friend was really excited about her past school! :) So much so that she took a picture in front of their tent! :)


My old school was somewhere there too but I live right next to it so I literally see it every day! :)

And now I leave you to the sights and sounds...of various culture groups and the school kids themselves performing and playing and at the very end my friends and I at the end of it...not very coloured I'd say which is why I played again on Sunday not at any event but just at home with my nieces and nephew...and well I got more coloured.! :) One point to be noted is the girl in blue and gold outfit dancing with the Sharda Dance Company is actually deaf and dumb and I guess dances based on the vibrations she feels...and Mr. Sat Maharaj noted this and the girl was taken to meet the President personally! :)













The Sharda Dance Company


The Sangre Hindu Primary School



Me and the Neices and Nephew on Sun 15 2009....more coloured! :) Note the first bloom of my sunflowers...suraj mukhi in my garden in the foreground! :)
THE END!

Jai Santoshi Maa! - A Film of Ultimate Surrender to the Divine Mother!

I've seen the 1975 Indian film all through my life growing up...seen it several times and the song clips. My mum now owns the dvd of it! :) I've often wondered though how people can be so mean while watching it...if I ever had a company slogan it would be "Don't Be Mean!" akin to Yahoo's "Do No Evil" perhaps! :) In this film there are some mean people and things being done to this lady...made me wonder growing up if some of the meanest people exist in India (but I think some of it has to do with resources per person so it is a matter of survival) alongside some with very strong faith in the Universe! :)

I never got when seeing this film why the ladies put the limes thingy in the lady's prayer stuff and why Santoshi Maa got mad in the first place...I mean isn't she all knowing so...but I guess the Universe works in mysterious ways and so pretending to be mad would have been to teach the meanies a lesson and to test the faith of the lady who did no harm...

Either way the film stands as an ultimate work in showing ones surrender onto the Divine Mother and it has one of my favourite offerings to the Divine Mother ever on its soundtrack...'Mein To Aarti Utharoon Re Santoshi Mata Ki' sung by Usha Mangeshkar, the song done in worship just before the meanies put the limes in...I also like the dancey sequence done here too it kinda makes you want to get up and dance with the ladies even the meanies...but why didn't they whip out actual mangeeras?:)...we used to whip out actual mangeeras when I use to dance...So I'm sharing that tune with you and some others from the film whose soundtrack is overflowing with super tunes in surrender to the Divine Mother! :)In the second tune-'Madad Karo Santoshi Mata' it is where the ultimate surrender occurs after the meanies put in the limes and everyone feels the wrath except the devotee but she is blamed and then the devotee surrenders...check it out! Although like with any real ultimate surrender it requires some tears...

I Surrender onto the Divine Mother!- Again!

On the prayers I've taken a break for self reflection and meditation all this week following the example of the supreme yogi that is the Shiv man! So I've not posted anything today to mark Nav Ratri...however I did take part in the prayers on a personal level...I realise I have a responsibilty to my readers to keep up with the prayers as it manifests and so for this I apologise but I can't connect to the dance if I dont also go into the cave...and recall that I did post about my surrender to the divine mother in the last Nav Ratri here and leave you with a link to this post on Intent by my brother in Universal Collective Prayer, Vashi Ram Chandi...

Vashi's post about Nav Ratri on Intent

See also my comments on the post to him where I note my favourite Ganesh aarti just for so that I will repost here as well along with the Durga Chalisa version which I listened to this morning and evening in my personal prayers...

A Farewell- Shanti Maharaj!

While I prepare my Phagwa/Holi Footage blog I say Farewell today to Shanti Maharaj daughter of the pioneer Bhadase Sagan Maharaj and wife of the current president of the Sanathan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) here in Trinidad and Tobago- Sat Maharaj.

In Hinduism there is a form that is taken based on the duties you have to perform and if some weren't administrators and managers doing what must be done including not always being liked then somethings may never have been! And for that Hindus in Trinidad have a lot to be thankful for when it comes to Bhadase Sagan Maharaj and Sat Maharaj. Shanti Maharaj who is about to take the journey into the next plane was a supporter to both through her lifetime. Today all SDMS schools have been granted a day off by the Ministry of Education here in Trinidad so that staff and students may attend Shanti's funeral.

Shanti left the mortal coil on Sun 15 March 2009 admist the Phagwa revelry. Interestingly this marks the same date that my grandfather the late Pundit Parasram Maharaj left the moral coil too but 5 years ago.

So Universal Collective Prayer salutes you Shanti Ji as you make your journey onwards and we sit in soothing prayers with the Secretary of the SDMS your husband while you occupied the earthly plane and the rest of your family. May your journey continue to be filled with love and it's pure, clear light! :)

Happy Holi or Playful Phagwa 2009!

Poster done by my soul sister from Mexico Adriana Ochoa. She owns her own Advertising firm there.

This one's for my friend from the Intent community Alok aka Care Forall. He loves when I do the dance and he made a special request that I do something on Holi. He says although I've never even been to the subcontinent I've awoken in his heart all his memories of Hindu/Indian festivals. I've even inspired him to blog himself but he said you do the Holi blog cause well...:)

So this one's for Care as we call him for short...

Holi is actually called Phagwa in Trinidad as it is the Bhojpuri word for it and the majority of Indians who settled here in the 19th century spoke Bhojpuri. Holi or Phagwa is not only celebrated in India but throughout the Indian diaspora-Trinidad, Suriname, Guyana and other countries where Hindus live like Nepal and of course in the newer diaspora of North America where Indians started to migrate to in the 60s basically. Care is a member of the newer diaspora from what I gather...

Here is the summary of the exchange between Care and I on Intent that has led to this blog! :)

I wrote in response to his asking if I celebrate Holi in Trinidad and if I'd blog it:

"and care yes we celebrate holi here aka phagwa but for us it is less about the spring now as of course no spring in caribbean and more about the religious aspects...here it is strict no alcohol etc in the festivities...you have to appreciate however in the context that we exist in a society that has carnival just before...people have if they choose I guess many other avenues for release and partying in a multicultural society...so...we also have chowtal singing and of recent years a group had their own innovative creation of social commentary in English but with Hindi mixed...perhaps Hinglish if you like...something called Pichakaree...but yup we have the abeer and stuff...more the liquid is used here than the powder...but we have both...look fwd to your post...perhaps if I get less busy I'll post something too and get some vid footage of the festival as celebrated here to put up on my Universal Collective Prayer. If you write something of value I can share it on my blog too...with editing if I notice the need..."

Care Forall's response:

"For others the words used by Babita are translated as:-
1. Pichkaree( Its kind of a gun which fires water mixed with colours , it comes in all varities , i prefer the tradition one , the one used by Lord Krishna to color his Gopikas ( grl mates :-)) )
2. Abir : Powdered color , its mixed with little bit of intoxication too i guess
3. Bhang ( its a tradition drink made out by mixing milk , almonds , toxic leaf , flavour ) .

1. In the morning the wet holi is played with water colours ( you better wear your old clothes or something you dont love as that would be definitely torn ;-) ) and better protect your lovely cheeks and hair as that would be colored with all wet colours .
2. Then in the noon people take bath (it takes atleast 2 hours to take off those colors and it still doesnt go so fast )
3. Then people have bhang (drink ) , Chole , Jalebi , Dahi Vada ... etc etc .
4. In the evenig dry holi is played with powdered colour , men are dressed in Kurta Payjama and girls in whites too .

Bura na mano holi hai ( Dont mind guys as today is holi and we have the liberty :-)) ) thats what you can say anyone for all the fun you are having with them that day .

Babita i will prefer to read your article than write my own."

So you see I'm the anointed one! :) So blessed to be given the power of the Pichakaree...ahmm...I mean pen...I mean power of the finger tip to keyboard!:) But yep I'm the one who must write...

I can say that in Trinidad Phagwa is seen very much as a holy festival and here the Hindu rites are very strict in terms of Vaishnavite traditions I guess so no use of meat, fish, eggs or alcohol or bhang when taking part in anything involving mainstream Hindu rites. So our Phagwa has no bhang or alcohol use. It is in stark contrast to the Carnival celebrations that the island is known for in that sense as no alcohol use is allowed on the Phagwa playing grounds! :) And I like that I mean for me the dance that is Universal Collective Prayer should be done on a natural high which can easily be found no need for the intoxicants! :) But as I say to each her own! :)

When Care translated Pickharee for me he said about the gun used to squirt the abeer but here in Trinidad the Hindu Prachar Kendra under the then leadership of local Hindu icon Ravi Ji developed these special Phagwa celebrations that included a song competition called Pichakaree where the contestants sang on the ills of the society i.e. social commentary if you have it...sort of similar to calypso but with a Trini Indian slant usually incorporating Hindi words or as I was saying Hinglish even and usually focusing on issues relevant to the Indo Trinidadian that may have been particular to them and overlooked in the songs of the calypsonians who were mostly of Afro origin. I have personally been to that Kendra's celebrations once or twice when they were held and I'd have to say they were quite the thing! :)Hats off to ya for your creations Uncle Ravi Ji! :) Hope Geeta continues on...

Then the mainstream Hindu organization on the island the Sanathan Dharma Maha Sabha has significant traditional celebrations in their schools and on a national level. I've taken part in all of them at some point in my life. I grew up also playing mostly with the liquid abeer at home and have fond memories of when my grandfather the late Pundit Parasram used to lead a chowtal singing group! :) In the traditions the chowtal singing is in Hindi/Bhojpuri and usually songs about Ram!

Here are some songs of Holi or Phagwa all over the diaspora and that famous Bollywood tune thrown in for good measure! :)One of the songs is done by the SWAHA group in Trinidad which is another Hindu organization that promotes traditional Hinduism as was practiced by the people who migrated here from India in the 19th century. Happy Holi! Playful Phagwa!:








PS:The President of Trinidad and Tobago is going to be playing Phagwa with the kids at the Maha Sabha School in Tunapuna this Saturday and everyone is invited. If I get the chance I will go down and grab some footage to share! :) On the whole Phagwa is marked as a major festival in Trinidad and Tobago's calendar of events! Tourist invited!

Meditative and Reflective Ash Wednesday to All!

Tonight on Universal Collective Prayer I wish all a meditative and reflective Ash Wednesday as I feature the voice of my brother in sharing the Eucharist that is the Christ...Deacon Greg Kirk! :)
Oh...the dance that is Universal Collective Prayer! And guess who is the muse?! :)

Ash Wednesday


Feeling my way through the church, the darkness is a stark reminder of how much darkness there is to overcome: the darkness that comes from wanting more and more, the darkness that comes from seeking pleasure and avoiding pain, the darkness of duality. The scents of beeswax and incense beckon me to the sanctuary. Slowly, I turn up the light. As the Roman lights begin to burn, I once again appreciate that enlightenment is a "process," something that can't be forced or rushed. I feel the words of Jesus vibrate through me "I am the light come into the world" and "you are the light of the world." Of the many words I've heard to describe enlightenment, "light" is no doubt my favorite.

I move to the altar and begin lighting candles. As candles flicker, I remember Jesus the light and I smile. I'm not thinking of the rural rabbi, the historical man. I'm not thinking about Jesus, the construct of theology. I'm mindful of the Third Jesus, the teacher of God-consciousness who came forward to offer a path, a way that is universal, a way that is open to everyone. I offer a prayer for three special friends who share in this understanding of Jesus: a shaman-Candyman in the north of Mexico, a beautiful historian in Mexico City and a metaphysical tea drinking muse in Trinidad.

I strip the altar of elaborate fabric. Beholding the stark, grainy wood I am reminded of the beauty of simplicity, I silently pray the mantra "keep it simple." Turning, I gaze above on the massive crucifix hanging behind me. The corpus on the wood speaks of another stripping - a naked man who bared his soul to the world and finally turned self over to Self, in a heroic act of trust. Throughout this process, he offered many lessons on how to enter the kingdom of God, a kingdom that is love and only love. This is my task, this is our task, regardless of the path we follow. To strip away fear, to let go of everything that hinders us from embracing the One beyond name and form. To live is to trust in the non-local, trust in the universe, trust in the power and eternal dimension of love.

The people file to the front of the church where Father John and I await them with ashes - burned palm leaves from last year's Passion Sunday. The ashes remind me ot the brevity and unpredictible nature of human praise and affirmation, the ashes remind me of the certainty of death. I impose ashes on foreheads repeating "turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel." Each face I gaze on, each sign of the cross I make with ash is a prayer for this person in front of me to experience the Third Jesus. Each cross I trace is a request for this brother or sister to experience enlightenment, to reach Self-realization. Each time I hear myself say "turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel" I know that I am really intending "may your self trust the Self."

Goodbyes have been said and the parish has gone home. The candles are extinguished and lights turned off. As I feel my way out of the church, I realize that this is how it is now. One of the most important teachings the Third Jesus imparted to those who follow him is that one's greatest teacher is oneself. I must feel my way through life. I must feel my way to enlightenment. Gaining from the knowledge, experience and wisdom of others will always be important. But ultimately, I am called and you are called to the same unity, the same oneness with God that Jesus of Nazareth experienced and lived. Each way is unique, each life will experience and express it differently. As I leave the church I am certain that someplace deep inside of me, a place so deep it cannot be seen or touched, the following words are whispered - " be yourself."

"I come from Elsewhere, and though I do not know where that is, I am certain to return there in the end." - Rumi

Love, +Greg

Maha Shiv Ratri-A Night of Sitting for Lessons from the Supreme Yogi of the Universe!

For some on my island the carnival begins
For others with Shiv we will sit and pray
Shiv is for me the supreme yogi
And also the dancer
And we the dance
He is also an animal protector
A real hippy master
Of him I now blog on my Universal Collective Prayer!


On Sunday night Trinidad time which is the closest equivalent time at -4GMT to the festival being celebrated on Monday night in India I and other Trinidadians will be celebrating Maha Shiv Ratri 2009. For me it will be a time to sit in pray and meditate on the lessons of someone I consider to be the supreme yogi-Shiv himself. To me you can want no other guru in the Art of dance, meditation and yoga. Those of you following my blogs will be fully aware of my obsession with the great one when I started this blog in Aug of 2008 going on about how a friend I made on Flickr from a place one may not normally associate with Shiv-Estonia, gave me full rights to use his beautiful picture of this beautiful statue-murti of Shiv sitting in meditation himself at Rishikesh in India. Jarmo went on to explain to me that the murti is a little bit bigger in size than the average human being so large enough to be awesome but not too large to become distant...I felt the murti so lifelike that I could see myself sitting at his feet and learning the art of meditation and yoga straight from him! :)

I had the picture up on my computer in work...at first it was a bit intimidating for me...after all snake and all and so serious...but then as I watched and watched...I realised look at the form look at the discipline...look at those abs....look at the positioning of the back...the fingers! And to me he look so focused so at peace...such a supreme yogi! It more and more dawned on me that when he is so immovable so at peace so engrossed in his contemplation of the universe well his hair just grows...all manner of things sit on him...so even if a cobra wrapped his neck while sitting there he would not be disturbed...a normal person would have felt fear, danger at such a poisonous creature poised on his neck...but not him such a Super Supreme Yogi is he! Of course I know officially Hinduism has a list of reasons for the iconography but this is my journey...my story...and in my contemplation of the murti is what I saw...what I learnt...

Then one night when I had moved away from the desktop image...I had a dream of him...I saw myself in my room as it is and it was as if I could see myself asleep on my bed yet I was in a dream and at the top of my head there was water flowing and I could hear the water falls...and the swirling spiralling from up above...He sat at the top of my head at the top of the fountain...and as he sat then a snake wrapped his neck...I recalled the coil...I recall the actual path of the swirl...I noted the shape on my white board at work...what did it mean I still do not know but it was so profound an experience and incredibly refreshing and inspiring...also when I awoke and I looked at my clock it was 3:33 AM. Some say that numerical combination is a sign that the gurus are among us! All I can say is that it was one of the most profound, refreshing dreams I've ever had!

Hinduism as it is practised in Trinidad is mostly Vaishnavism but I believe Shiv was such a strong character that when the Aryans invaded India from the North and they started to move to the South and I believe eventually to Lanka (hence the Ramayan epic)...they couldn't help but embrace the Shiv form. So the Vedic civilization that formed very much embraced Shiv as an integral part. He was that supreme you see! :) But yet still most of the North are the Vaishavites...the South the Saivites. My ancestors came from the North as most of the Indians here and so we are mostly Vaishnavites but we all hail the supreme yogi!

Shiv is so much...he is the dancer and we the dance...he is a protector of animals and perhaps in the local folk lore of Trinidad he would be like Papa Bois a bit...is how I see it...he lives in the forest at one with it and with all its inhabitants. My grandfather the late Pandit Parasram Maharaj used to always tell us that story on Shiv Ratri night about how the man who was a hunter got lost in the forest on Maha Shiv Ratri night...the story unfolds about Shiv's love for animals and compassion for all living creatures...

I always knew of the cosmic dance of Shiv in Hinduism but I never fully understood the concept of 'God' or 'The Universe' being the dancer and us being the dance until I was reading Paulo Coelho's The Witch of Portobello and he was saying that and it baffled me...but on contemplation over a year or so I fully appreciated it...it also made sense in terms of this picture the Hari Krishna's have in their Gita in one of the pics describing the universe as this big body...showing a planet as a knee...a sun as an eye etc...Vaishnavites and Saivites combine...one cosmic dance! One Universe...learning from all...Universal Collective Prayer! And it just makes you want to swirl with it all like the dancing dervishes of Rumi and Sufi mystic fame! :)

I used the dance idea in my theatre production Me Eat Manicou?....my character Maa Chinee - Mother Sugar (to represent the Indo Trinidadians as the last people who worked in sugar in Trinidad and still live mainly in those areas). She is a cosmic mother of sorts and combines forces with Papa Bois (the old French Creole character who guards the forest and its animals.) Well she does this dance to show her anger at how things were unfolding...and while it wasn't exactly the cosmic dance it drew on that energy and I show you it here!



And as I leave you in Universal Collective Prayer I attach a vid I've shared on these blogs already when I prayed for the Dalai Lama's health in 2008...here it is again on Universal Collective Prayer...Shankar Sahney reciting the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra amidst some of the famous Shiv sites in India. The Maha Mrityunjaya mantra sits in the Vedas as one of the great mantras next to the Gayatri. Again an indication of how the Vedic civilization was one for incorporating the best from all parts and corners of the land at the time. I have my own personal story with this mantra as well but I will leave that for another time. Hope you enjoy the lessons with the supreme yogi on Sun night Trinidad time. Blessed Maha Shiv Ratri 2009!