Blog 14 KL Rathyatra

By January 3rd I had happily settled into life with the Mataji and her daughter. 

My daily ritual had fallen into a pattern of chanting, meditation, eating and association. No pressures were put on me, no expectations were expected, everything I did was smiled upon and I felt amazing.

There have not been many times in my life I have been able to completely let go. 

Responsibilities, even self imposed ones, lurk on the horizon of each day.

'I should' becomes our daily mantra with guilt imposed if we don't, yet at the Temple there was no 'should', no guilty, just a peaceful being to each day.

I sat for hours just watching and being in the moment. I interacted and sat apart, the freedom to do anything and nothing was an amazing concept to experience for a while.

Around me things were done, the world continued to turn and life evolved.

As the departure time for the Rathyatra drew near I roused myself from my internal reflections and joined the others as they loaded themselves and instruments into the mini buses to head to Brickfield Street in Little India.

Four cars had been decorated to transport the Deities from the Temple to the chariots.

Flowers adorned their bonnets and satin covers had been place on the seats.

In convoy style we all traveled across the city to Little India.

Horns hooted as we drove along, people patiently waited for us to pass as we approached junctions, allowing the cars continue their journey together. 

Everyone was aware that this was something special even if they didn't know what that 'special' actually was!

At Brickfields the San Kirtan was already under way and our arrival saw it swell as the Russian Devotees once more brought speakers and volume to the occasion.

One by one the Deities were lifted onto their chariot as people of sang and took photos.

Arti was performed with crowd participation on a huge scale, blessings were given coconuts were smashed to the floor and with the longest ropes so far, the chariot was pulled into the moving traffic of Kuala Lumpa.

Our other Rathyatras had been in smaller towns and areas where traffic had been stopped while we walked.

Here in the huge busy city the flow of movement needed to be maintained and cars were waved past in a constant stream as the devotees and walkers were waved together to keep us safe.

Step by step we walked around the streets. Again the crowd swelled as we walked, again offerings poured from the homes and shops as we passed.

At each of the Rathyatras we had been accompanied by either horses, peacocks, giants or some other specialty to the area.

In KL all these guest walkers had joined us along with dancers, parasol twirlers

and strange faced runners!

The procession stretched out along the road while the devotees danced enthusiastically in front of the chariot.

Blessings were given as prasadam was thrown into the open windows of the passing cars as hands reached out to wave.

The energy of the procession grew at every corner gathering more and more walkers into its folds.

People brought babies to see the Deities,

and as the light began to fade I realised this was the biggest procession I had attended so far.

Each time the procession halted the devotees would dance with new enthusiasm, jumping and swaying their marching steps to the music. At bridges and power lines the large canopy over the chariot would be lowered and then raised in well practiced rhythm.

As we reached the final leg along the arch road of Little India the costumed dancers came into their own.

They had joined us about half way along the route swaying and twirling as they moved between the ropes.

As the San Kirtan moved ahead to clear the way through the huge crowd that had gathered, the dancers spread out to keep the route clear and then launched into the most amazing dance imaginable.

Sticks were struck to mark the beat and complex turns and cross overs flared their costumes in the street lights.

Three peacock men opened their tails and twirled left and right, glittering make up shimmering as they moved. They danced for the crowd, they danced for the Deities, they danced for the pleasure of dancing and the crowd responded enthusiastically.

Cameras came out from everywhere to film this spectacle as we inched forward to the large staged area by the elephant fountain.

Lazar lights darted out into the crowd, speakers amplified the music and the crowd surged into the area in front of the stage. The Deity chariot was maneuvered into position as the dancers swept in to join the dancing crowd.

Drummers upped the tempo, voices cried out the mantra, cymbals and cartel's chimed in abandonment as people danced back and forth, arms raised, faces smiling.

I made my way to the back of the arena to join Mataji at the book stall. Here I met and greeted curious white faces, explaining the event and inviting them to take prasadam. The San Kirtan in front of the stage continued despite the organisers attempts to begin the evening program. Each time the music stopped the crowd would just continue to sing and dance until the musicians gave up and joined back in!

Eventually things were slowed and the performances of the evening began. From my position at the back I watched as drummers gave an amazing performance that had us all dancing behind our stall. Wonderful food was brought over to us and I was encouraged to eat but I was so busy enjoying myself it was difficult to actually stop!

As the performances came to an end the crowd was asked to help clear the area while another Kirtan began on stage. People instantly began to stack chairs, clear any litter, sweep and pack until within a bare 15 minutes, the entire area had been packed away. The music drew to a close, people began to drift away. The boxes of books were loaded up and my final Rathyatra was over.

Each one had been different, each one had been amazing. Tomorrow I would begin my journey through Malaysia to a different Workaway. I had been with the devotees only three weeks yet I had experiences to fill a book!

I gave thanks for my blessings, I gave thanks to the wonderful people who had shared so much, I gave thanks to Universe who had nudged me in the directions I had needed to go and I looked forward in anticipation at all that was yet to come!

Check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF2r5f2Z5b0 I am there at 1.59, 2.09, 3.50, 4.11 and 4.16!! I was there you know!!!

 See if you can spot me at 4.43!! X X X

For clearer videos than mine you can check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rONiN__sD-E