Since I have been here I have found that much of what I have read is true. The spirit here is very palpable. First off, religion is very much a part of the culture here. Most everyone here not only believes in a God but is also very much devoted to their God. You can see this almost anywhere you go. People everywhere are praying, on the sides of the road, in the train, on the bus. There are small temples and chapels erected on almost every street corner representing all different religions. People pray at these places morning, noon, and night as if their soul depended on it. It is beautiful to see. I can see God is alive here. I can feel it in the way prayer is an active part of each person’s day. There doesn’t seem to be a routine of when and where to pray to God. I feel people here are constantly praying to God as if their conversation with God is never ending.
I also have been moved to pray more here; to have more of a constant dialogue with God. It isn’t something I force. Instead, it is something that happens naturally. Maybe it is because I have more time in the mornings and evenings. Or perhaps it is because without all the familiarities and securities I am accustomed to in my life, I am learning more and more how to depend further on God. The other possibility, however unrealistic it may sound, is that the spirit here does have a different air about it that is unavoidable. I think it is probably a combination of the three. Nevertheless, I feel I am growing closer to God.
I appreciate being in a culture where most people feel free to be open with their faith. This makes it easy for me to be more open with my faith and to share my passion of God with others, another reason I feel closer to God. I have had so many rich conversations with Christians, Hindu’s and Muslims and I am discovering what I have always known deep inside, that we are more similar then we are different. It has been so wonderful to speak with people who share a deep devotion to God.
Through my relationships with people I have found God in the small things. Drinking tea together, sharing thoughts, spending time, learning about one another. I have made many new friends here. One lady in particular I feel and affinity toward. She is like a grandmother figure to me and in fact she reminds me of my father’s mother, my Mimi who died when I was nine years old. She has a fire in her that burns and her love for Jesus is very deep. Her husband pasted away this past March after five long years in which he could not move or speak due to a stroke. I have visited her a couple times and each time she reads me amazing poetry that she wrote about her struggle the last five years and how she found Christ in the midst of it. I have been brought to tears numerous times. Somehow I feel God has led me to her. It is like we are both another piece of the puzzle of life for each other. One poem in particularly moved me to tears. It reminded me of a thought I had in the other day in the train. My thought was if we are more dependent on God than on our self, we are more likely to see life as a gift we have been given than as something we have created, and therefore our gratitude for this gift of life outweighs our self-sufficiency. Here is the poem.
Busy they all were with their work and prayer,
None stepped in to say a word;
When did we become so self-sufficient I wondered,
When did we become so urban, losing our humanity?
Self and sufficiency have made monsters of us all,
Who pay no heed to the needs of our neighbors,
Yet we profess to be followers of the One
Who laid down His life for others.
Can these go together?
Will God be pleased with us?
Yet nothing stirs our conscience-
Why should we interfere, we say;
Yet were we not all the time finding fault
And spreading news of our neighbor?
Damn our self-righteousness,
The thing condemned by our Lord the most;
Can’t we follow with simplicity
The things that our Master taught,
Why should we make life so complex
For ourselves and for others?
Love God, worship Him,
But love your neighbor as yourself,
Because God loves him, and is with him.
Find God in your neighbor’s sickness,
His loneliness, his tragedies and pain,
His agony, his confusion,
His helplessness, his loss.
For that is where God dwells,
That’s where we can find His footsteps.
- Anna Verghis
I have also had the opportunity to visit various churches and temples. I struggle a bit with finding peace in the church services, mostly because they are in Malayalam, last for two to three hours at a time, and sometimes seem more like a show then a worship service but I can sense the spirit and the believer’s devotion to the spirit. I also accompanied a dear friend of mine to her temple, the temple of the snake God. It was during a Hindu holiday so it was packed! I am talking New Orleans Mardi Gras packed, where there is no space between you and the people surrounding you and you are more or less being pushed along with the crowd. After my initial Closter phobia, I just let myself be carried along and started to notice the utter devotion of these people. It was truly moving to see all these people gathering in this holy place. What was especially touching was when we got to the entrance of the temple, everyone’s heads bowed and hands clasped almost automatically and they began praying, some loudly, some softly. It was as if the spirit filled their bodies as soon as they entered their sacred place or worship. We then began our pilgrimage through the temple, visiting all the different statues that represented different God’s along the way. Again, people continually bowed their heads in reverence, praying to their God’s all along the way. It reminded me of some of the Cathedrals in
I also had the chance to visiting an Ashram with some friends one evening. Of all the spiritual experiences I have had thus far, this is the moment I would have to say I felt God’s presence the strongest. When we got to the Ashram, just before dusk, it began to drizzle ever so softly as if setting the tone for the peaceful evening ahead. At first we spoke to the Achen or priest of the Ashram and as usual here had some tea and biscuits. We then proceeded to the chapel, a beautiful structure with all sides open and looking out to the surrounding forest. This type of architecture reminded me of our connectivity to God’s nature. At the far end the roof rose up in a spiral cone as if pointing to the heavens. A small alter was under it. There we sat on the ground in a circle as the sun set. Soon there were no lights, only our voices that filled the room and spilled out into the forest. We went around telling our faith stories and how we each had come to know God in our life journeys. At one point, I laid down on my back looking up at the spiral ceiling. I could just barely make out the curvature of the ceiling cone or anything around me for that matter but I remember being filled with an unsurpassable peace. In that moment I knew I was exactly where I was suppose to be, as if it had been planned for thousands of years even before I was born into this world. I felt in that moment the spirit was very much alive in me and in all things around me. It reminded me of a similar moment I had on the train coming back from a weekend trip when the sun was setting and for several minutes I felt completely part of everything. It was as if I had lived in
