Vedic wedding in city for US couples

November 19, 2009

Viju B, TNN 6 October 2009, 04:11am IST

MUMBAI:

Amy Pearce blushed into her pallu as Rohini Kumar, parikarmi (master of

ceremonies), chanted a Sanskrit mantra and then translated it into

English: This means you will have to take good care of all your cows.

He then added helpfully: Hope you have many cows in your backyard.

Pearce sat cross-legged besides her 6-foot, 4-inch bridegroom, Mark

Terza, a physiotherapist-turned-yoga fanatic, blinking as the thick

havan smoke enveloped the hall. But they werent the only Americans

getting hitched in desi style in Mumbai.

Beside them sat yet another coupleâ€New York-based builder T J

Macchiaroli and Melinda Pizzano, who runs a flourishing upcountry spa

in Putnam County in New York.

The couples garlanded each other amidst Vedic chants at the Radha Gopinath Temple at Chowpatty on Monday morning. The guests of honour were 14 other yoga enthusiasts, also from the US of A, brought to India

on a whirlwind 13-day spiritual tour by group leader Reghunath. This is

a historic first for Mumbai. Although weve had many such Vedic weddings

for Indian couples in the past, this is the first time two American

couples have decided to take the plunge into Indian culture together. And it all began after they started doing yoga, Radha Gopinath Temple founder Radhanath Swami said.

Pearce and Terza had decided to get married in India after they met two

years ago. And, while doing that, they affirmed that yoga was the

organic thread that united them. She was my yoga guru and I fell in

love with my guru. I hope that is okay, Terza, now a partner in his

wifes yoga school in New York, said laughingly.

They arent the flower children of the 1970s or the 1980s. We dont do

drugs, we dont drink and we dont touch alcohol. Neither are we into

Floyd or Dylan. We, follow, instead, the scientific principle of living

that is mentioned in Patanjalis Yogasutra, guru Pearce explained.

Macchiaroli and Melinda, on the other hand, knew each other from school

but both of us went our separate ways till I came back to learn yoga

from her says the bridegroom.

Swami even made a small speech at the wedding, explaining that even Mahatma Gandhi

had problems in his marriage. But everything great does not come easy.

You can easily have a one-night stand. But if a marriage has to

survive, it needs to be based on a higher principle, he said.

Yoga, according to him, unites peoples souls. The Americans are now slowly moving towards the next step, that is understanding Indian spirituality and culture through yoga, he said.

The group travelled to pilgrimage destinations like Haridwar,

Devaprayag and Vrindavan, took a holy dip in the Ganga and even

interacted with spiritual masters in the Himalayas for this initiation.

The greatest experience I had in my life was at Devaprayag, where we

prayed into the twilight chanting Hare Krishna.

I understood then what yoga really meantâ€the union of myself with the

cosmic soul, Ameliese Savchak, an HR manager with Pepsico and a yoga

practitioner for the last three years, said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/mumbai/Vedic-wedding-in-city-for-US-born-couples/articleshow/5092182.cms Thanks & Regards,Sudhir SrinivasanB.Arch, Dip.ID, Dip.CAD, Dip.PM, AIIA, IIID, ARIAI| Architect |