To Nanda and All on my Chandi progress

[Guest guest]

Nanda wrote:

This Navaratri , one of the Brahmins that was honored was a devotee

that helps out with construction work at the Mandir. He was a sight

for sore eyes - dressed in paint splattered clothes and work worn

jeans but with a pristine yellow cotton shawl block printed with red

"Om Namah Shivaya" . He looked looked like a cross between an ad for

Heineken beer and an Indian Pujari.

Dear Nanda ~ what a picture you paint! It is wonderful. I wish I could

see it. I am actually taking this opportunity, with you having

mentioned the Navaratri to let everyone know I am still limping along

in my recitation of the Chandi, but I am almost done. It is a

wonderful experience to compress the recitation into fewer days,

rather than reading it as a book, which I have done before, several

times. The whole bhava of the experience is more wonderful,

instructive, delightful. I really wish I could have kept up with the

group, but I am glad I decided to continue, even though I couldn't.

 

Also, I understand now why, I think it was you Nanda, earlier talked

about xeroxing the books and putting them into notebooks so they

could sit on a music stand while doing the recitation. It is really

difficult to hold the book, chant, and do some of the other things.

For me, it is even difficult just holding the book after awhile,

because of my pain.

 

Once before I had started to go through the Chandi, listening to the

tapes and making marks in the book where Swami or Maa's pronunciation

differs a bit from how I am saying it. Of course, then I discovered

that this made the book more difficult to read in those places.

Somewhere in the beginning of the Chandi, it refers to people who

write "these passages."

So I have decided that my next Chandi Sankalpa will be to type the

Sanskrit transliteration and the English translation, but use larger

type and leave a bit more room in between. Then I can go back and do

my pronunciation sankalpa with the tapes, and I will have a book that

I can put in a notebook that will sit on my music stand. I don't have

a font that puts the little dots and dashes in, so if anyone knows

where I can download this font, that would be great. Otherwise, I

will just put them in with a pen.

 

I remember the story of Swami told of one of his masters having him

sit in a very crowded place and chant the Chandi backwards! That is

how I feel. I want to know the Chandi, the Mother, backwards and

forwards. Just having read the Vedic praise to the Goddess, and being

reminded of Her presence in everywhere and everything was wonderful,

and also, I think the answer to the question about volunteerism vs

seva. As so many have said, it is really comprehending there is no

difference because She is Everywhere in Everything, and as the

passage I just read said, "right beside you." Jai Chandi Maa ~ Linda

[Guest guest]

Dear Linda,

 

I'm glad you haven't given up, and as for your idea of typing out the

text: go to http://www.sanskritweb.net/fonts/, and there is a list of

fonts you can use. I myself use URW Palladio SKT, and you will find a

Lookup Table where all the letters with dots and stuff are enumerated.

For instance, for an 'a' with a bar above it, you type Alt0192 etc. It

may seem complicated but after a while you know the combination for

many of these letters by heart (there are a lot of words with these

'a's in them!), so after a while you develop more speed in typing.

I am also typing out the Chandi, both the Sanskrit transliteration and

then I translate the English text into Dutch (a rough translation,

just to make sure I understand). So we would be typing away together,

which is a nice thought.

And I had not even thought about the possibility of allowing room

between the lines etc. for notes!

 

hope this helps,

 

with love,

Henny