Ghee Lamps In A Bag and The Lord In My Hands
Diary of a Traveling Monk - Volume 11, Chapter 14 - February 12, 2011 By Indradyumna Swami In India I am always on the lookout for interesting puja items, so the other day in Jaipur, I visited the antique shop of Mr. Sharma, an old friend. As I walked in he greeted me and we sat down to talk. "Do you have anything interesting for me?" I asked. "Yes," he said. "I've kept aside a few small items you can use for puja." "Great!" I said. As Mr. Sharma looked through the desk drawers for the items, my eyes were drawn across the room to what looked like a salagrama-sila sitting on a dusty shelf. I walked over and found it to be indeed a beautiful salagrama-sila, smooth and shiny with an indented reddish mouth. "Looks like Lord Nrsimhadeva," I thought, "Nrsimhadeva in a peaceful mood." Mr. Sharma started showing me the puja items - lamps, achman spoons, and plates. They were interesting, but my mind kept wandering back to the salagrama-sila. "Mr Sharma," I said, "I noticed a salagrama-sila on the shelf over there." "Oh that," he said, looking toward the deity. "It's not for sale." "He's not an 'it,'" I said. "According to scripture, salagrama-silas are deities. They are directly the Supreme Lord." Mr. Sharma shrugged. "Perhaps that's why that stone was worshiped in the royal family of Jaipur for several hundred years." I gasped. "What?" I said. "That salagrama was in the royal family for hundreds of years," he said. "Priests would worship it on behalf of the royal family. One of their distant relatives brought it in the other day along with a number of silver items. She had come into difficult times and was selling some of her valuables. She mentioned that her great-grandmother had told her how special the stone was when she was young. But it hadn't been worshiped in many years." "Mr. Sharma," I said, "that salagrama is just sitting on that old shelf gathering dust. He should be worshiped." Mr. Sharma shrugged. "I keep it there for good luck," he said. To read the rest of the story click here. | 
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