Change in the Weather!

Hello!
Here I am, back on a monday afternoon. The weekend has surely been eventful and also hectic. Had been to my mother's place on friday night so spent most of saturday also there. Its always fun and relaxing to be there, spend time with Mom and Dad, chill out - the luxury of not having any chores to do, the pleasure of doing everything at your own pace.

The winds have changed here a bit. Its been raining almost everyday and the skies have been downcast for majority of the past week and weekend. Though raining in Calcutta means an unproportionate rise in the levels of humidity. I generally like cloudy weather as opposed to the fierce shining sun, so am kind of enjoying this draft of rains in the city. As long as i dont have to battle with them on the streets! As per the Hindu calendar, it is truly the month of Shravan ( sawan, as made popular by the Hindi movies!) which is known to be the beginning of the raining / monsoon season! Hail! the clouds are rumbling even as i write this!!!

Shravan actually is quite an eventful month around India. With almost every community celebrating their own festivals spanning across this month and the next! All the four parts of the country are celebrating - Teej, Rakshabandhan (rakhi) and the auspicious month of Sawan itself, observed as obscience to Lord Shiva. Color, good food, and lots of worship during the month are proclaimed to be the order of the month!
Sawan also heralds the start of the "chaturmas". Literally translated, it means "four months". It starts with the start of the month o Shravan with Guru Purnima when all devotees make it a point to worship their Gurus, and continues till Rakshabandhan - the day of brothers and sisters. each day is devoted to Lord Shiva and the mondays during this entire month are considered espacially auspicious. "chaturmas" lasts another month post this month, so actually its not really 4 months but calendar wise its 2 months. These are the months where the saints (who have been ordained wit sanyaas, having taken the vows of renunciation) are supposed to stay in one place (as opposed to their prescribed lifestyle of wandering about the country and preaching) and use this time to study themselves and educate their students / devotees regarding religion and scriptures. these are the only months when they would be available in one place for such a long time, else they be on the move all the time.

My Guruji is also doing his Chaturmas. Thanks to his benovelence, the same is being held here in Calcutta, where I live. 2 months of having him around, being able to see him and meet him whenever I want! What bliss!!!! I just came across this titbit the other day - this is his 60th such chaturmas! Imagine being a 'sanyasi' for 60 years! Is that a normal feat? Do we even see such liberated saints these days?

So am enjoying this season. Yes, the weather has changed a lot. Apart from the apparent changes in the sky and the sun, there are changes in the heart also. Excitement - when would the time come when i can visit Guruji again? Agility - to plan my calendar and schedules such that I derive the time to visit Him, Efficiency - thanks to the former, u must see how am working these days at office, wanting to finish my tasks and that too, in perfect order for the boss to be happy! Curiosity - many things that I have read and want to talk about. Pleasure - at having the chance to meet many other people associated with Him who have become like an extended family to me too. Greedy - to make the most of this time given to me!
Only this is occupying my mind. Despite all my responsibilities of home and office, I manage to go and visit. There are not enough hours in the day for me, but am happy. With a little help from the Lord ablove, I guess after all, where there is a will, there is a way.

Cheers, Vrinda