On devotion and building what comes next
Hiya!
I had a dream the other night about the close, devoted friendship of Lord Krishna and Arjuna in the Mahabharata.
I have fond memories of my grandfather telling us stories from the Mahabharata or reading the Amar Chitra Katha graphic stories as a child.
For days now, I keep remembering the times that Krishna helped the Pandavas, for example he helped Draupadi with food when she couldn't feel their guests when they were in exile and he build Indraprasta with them - toiling along side them.
And I was thinking about how when it comes time for war, Duryodana and Arjuna both approach Sri Krishna for support. Duryodana elects for Krishna's armies, yet Arjuna accepts Sri Krishna as his charioteer.
It's then, on the battlefield when they have that beautiful conversation that we now know as the Bhagavad Gita.
I have thought about how devotional relationships like that are transformative, how much I feel moved by watching them, living in them. I think about my own devotional practices and the stories that I tell through my dance in my Bharata Natyam practice.
Would I rather have nameless, faceless armies of people who will not know me and who will fight for their cause, or would I rather have close personal friends who would be with me through thick and thin? Would you?
I know life doesn't offer neatly defined choices that most of the time. But the intimacy and vulnerability of devotion has always spoken to me.
I think in my past, I allowed that devotional part of me to be exploited because I couldn't find the boundaries. I couldn't understand why everyone wasn't direct, honest, willing to link arms. Part of that comes from complex trauma and part of it was a Pollyanna approach, looking for good, by passing the warnings and trying to have faith. I did myself a grave disservice, because in allowing people to use my devotion to further their ends at the expense of my well-being.
But those relationships, like that of the relationship to the land of the Sonoran Desert that has always held a special place in my heart. The partnership with the water, this precious life giving liquid. The transformation relationship with my life partner has been one of the most devotional friendships I have ever experienced.
I share this, because it illustrates the pieces for building something new, something beyond what we currently have.
Before I met Peter, I knew what I wanted but hadn't yet experienced it. I had read stories of devotion and love but when I felt it, things changed.
In our bones, we know capitalism, cis-het patriarchy, and white supremacy aren't what we desire going forward. We know we want something different, but it feels uncertain of how we get there from here or even to name what we want or select our personal and professional strategies to be part of the building process.
I'd love to invite you to our October events, especially the workshop on the 20th, where we'll talking about strategies around building what comes next. Register here.
In solidarity,
Anuradha