On 22 Sept I did an abhishegam for Goddess Durga. My favorite goddess who resides in the Kali temple at Serangoon Road. It so happened that the day I chose also coincided with Navarathri. And for Navarathri the temple was doing a "special puja" for the Goddess of Courage. Navarathri always has a special place in my heart. My first dance performance as a little girl of 4 was at an Amman temple during Navarathri. Also as dancers we always honored our gurus on the 10th day of Navarathri.

The "special puja" turned out to be a massive yagna (a fire sacrifice) as well as a Maha Mehru puja. It seems the Srichakra in three dimension form is inspired by the mythical Mount Mehru - a sacred mountain. And Durga resides at the apex of this great mountain. Hence, there were many senior priests all chanting with intense devotion at the time I arrived at the puja. The vibration at the puja was intense as the yagna had been lit and stoked with ghee and had already received many sacrifices. Many devotees were also sitting with their scriptures and chanting the verses for the puja. The head priest has observed serious austerities in preparation of this puja. He was on a silent fast and ate only one meal a day without salt or any sauces. The goal is to cleanse yourself and deepen one's focus on the divine.

I bought a tray of sari and offerings for the Goddess which was then thrown into the yagna. The abhisegham was also conducted in my family name at the end of the Maha Mehru puja. It was a moving event to observe and participate it. I had always felt a strong affinity to Mountains. And this event married the Mountain with the Goddess who resides at the apex. Mountains have such strong spiritual energies and have always moved me. The first time I felt the amazing power of mountains was on the ancient tribal Navaho lands in the American Southwest. At that time I did not know about the Hindu connection to the mountain and how it is regarded as a focal point of cosmic powers. Another time when the power of mountains inspired me was in 2007 when I spent a few months in Santa Fe. This time I not only found the mountains inspiring but also deeply healing and restorative to my tired soul. Sitting at the Maha Mehru puja that day helped me recall and meditate on the power of these mountains.