Over the past couple days, one theme keeps coming to mind and it is from a simple sentence by Supreetha ji during our visit to the Attukal Bhagavaty Temple in Trivandrum South India on New Year's night. I have visited this temple before on previous visits, and I just love the darshan (blessings) there from the Divine Mother...so powerful, so healing, so peaceful.
Earlier that day, Supreetha had asked me if I wanted to use Ayurvedic herbs to clean my eyes. "It burns like hell," she said honestly and with a chuckle. "But your eyes feel wonderful when your done," she continued. Hesitant to experience something like that I thought to myself, "when in Rome..." and decided to give it a whirl.
Well, she was correct, It felt as though I rubbed my bottom eye lids with hot peppers. But after a three long minutes, it was over and my eyes felt amazing! They seemed so clear and refreshed.
Now, let's fast forward to that evening at the temple. The inner sanctum of the temple is where the gold Devi sits. She is surrounded be other shrines that honor other forms of God. Remember, Hindus believe in only one God, however, they also believe in many forms and names for that One God.
So there we were, packed elbow to elbow trying to catch a glimpse of the Divine Mother with other devotees. In front of the Mother is an ever-burning oil lamp that burns a flame to represent the One Light. It was similar to the one pictured below, but it was much larger and it had a special brass covering over it to ward out the wind and rain.
Over time, the black soot from the burning oil is collected on the underside of the cover. It is considered a very special blessing to take a bit of that soot and place it on your eyes, similar to the way you would apply eye liner.
In a moment of prayer, Supreetha whispered to me "Here, take some of the soot like this and place it on your eyes like we did in the morning." I followed her explicit directions knowing the supreme blessing she was inviting me to receive.
As we finished our prayers, I mentioned, "I'm so glad that we did that Ayurvedic eye cleaning this morning, even though it burned my eyes. I knew exactly what to do." Supreetha looked at me with a gentle smile and replied, "Every step prepares you for the next."
With that we continued on our way with a bit more presence of each step beneath our feet, knowing that we are forever being guided toward our highest good.
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Do you notice how God is preparing your every move? Can you see that each one of your life's steps have prepared you for where you are right now? What is it that is moving you? What is it that already knows what your steps will be taking and where they will lead?
Each moment offers an invitation..."What moves me?" Seek until you find the answer, for only there will you meet your Self and know the Truth about who you are.