Page 16 - The Indian EYE 080423

SPECIAL FEATURE AUGUST 04, 2023 | The Indian Eye 16

TOWARDS BETTER LIVING

Mandirs: Personal Pinnings

ery recently, I came across
a video demonstrating a phe-
Vnomenon known as quantum
locking or flux pinning. It occurs when
a superconductor, becomes ‘trapped’
within a magnetic field above or below
a magnet under certain temperature
conditions, giving the appearance of
a floating object. When this happens,
the superconductor ‘locks in space’
and will not move unless acted on by
an external force.
It got me thinking about “quan-
tum lockings” that exist in our own
lives, forces that keep us rooted to who
we are and the person we are becom-
ing. Everyone’s “pinning” is different.
The query for my own quantum lock-
ing took me numerous decades into
my past, back to a childhood memory.
It was an early morning, full of
light. Yet, my seven-year-old eyes re-
mained unwelcoming to the rising sun. incredibly calming. He explained to BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad, India
“We’re here,” I heard my father say, me that in mandirs, the ghanti is rung
watching him peer high to the top of to dispel our worldly thoughts, call- hands, and I watched as she looked at spent with my mom and dad. Sacred
the windshield at something outside. ing the mind to a cleaned slate. Only the murtis of God intensely, closed her and pure, it is also a mark of my first
When I looked up, I was amazed by when you empty your cup, he said, can eyes, and bowed her head with humili- introduction and meeting with God.
what manifested before me. It was you fill it. It was a way clear our minds ty. My mother told me, that I too could We have since moved to the Unit-
marvelous and the most beautiful and to announce to God our arrival at use this time to talk to God. ed States and settled in the small town
thing I had ever seen! the mandir. After darshan and prostrations, of West New York in northern New
It was so white, like a big cloud in As we walked towards the center we were given almonds, golden raisins, Jersey. Now, as I frequent the local
a deep blue sky and it was grand. Its shrine, I was taken in by the scents and sugar crystals from the sanctified BAPS Swaminarayan mandirs, I am
steps welcomed us, beckoning us to of the burning agarbattis, or incense offerings made to the murtis of God. able to disengage from the busyness
come inside. Before going in, my mom sticks. I asked my father why it smelled I still remember picking out the raisins and trifles of life. It’s become a place
explained that removing our shoes was so nice. He explained to me that agar- for myself, while my mother explained of reset and recalibration — a sanctum
a gesture of dual meaning. It not only battis are lit in many Hindu rituals. Its the significance of the prasaad to me: that helps expel my relentless ‘fields’ of
helped maintain and respect the sanctity burning purifies the air and helps us meaning grace and joy, prasaad was an fears and doubts; and in turn, find se-
of the place, but also signified the shed- concentrate and easily meditate on extension of partaking in God’s grace, renity and strength. It’s a place where
ding of the world behind, helping us to the murtis, or images, of God we were a spiritual joy. I connect with the divine, and now, I
focus and take in what we were about about to witness. We all encounter triggers that too call home. When I think about all
to experience — the mandir, a Hindu We then walked into the inner immediately bring us back to specific the experiences, people, and things in
place of worship, and the home of God. shrine to behold the darshan of God. moments in our past — moments that my life that have helped me to become
Atop the stairs, before the entranc- Derived from the Sanskrit verb- hold incredible meaning and value, and who I am today and the type of per-
es to the inner shrines was the ghanti, root drush, meaning to see or per- shape the identities we hold today. This son I wish to still become, I find that
the bell, which hung from atop the ceive, darshan, a form of worship, childhood memory marked the mo- the mandir has played an immeasur-
dome ceiling. My father picked me refers to the act of beholding the ments of my first visit to the BAPS Shri able role. It has been, and continues to
up, and I took the center clapper and divine images and all associated ele- Swaminarayan Mandir in Ahmedabad, be, my quantum locking.
struck it to the side of the bell, creat- ments with reverence and adoration. India. Full of innocence and discovery, Bhavisha Doshi,
ing an auspicious sound, which felt My mom showed me how to fold my it’s a cherished memory of the time Civil Engineer, New Jersey

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