My trials, tribulations, triumphs and more... - Arjuna.

Chapter 37: Marriage

Around evening time, the rest of our brothers returned home by bringing in some of the essentials, and afterwards we went to the nearby river stream to have the evening bath to purify ourselves and come ready for our usual daily ritual to chant and meditate on Lord Mahadev. Kunti maa along with Draupadi and all of us brothers gathered in the small pooja room and first we offered our obeisances to the almighty Lord by bending before the Shiva Ling and started the chants with devotion to purify our hearts and minds and give us the necessary strength and courage to carry forward with determination whatever destiny had to unveil.

We chanted the holy names of Lord Shiva and recited prayers by offering bilva patra (bel leaves, a favourite of Lord Shiva), lighting of incense sticks made of natural herbs which purify the surroundings, offering prasad in the form of fruits, and by pouring in the crystal clear cold water collected from the hills on the Shiva Ling.

We chanted the holy names of Bholenath ...

Om Namah Shivayaa... Om Maheshwarayaa... Om Trinethrayaa... Om Neelakantayaa... Om Mahakalayaa... Om Mahadevayaa... Om Mritunjayayaa... Om SadaShivayaa... Om Karaunakarayaa... Om Gangadharayaa... Om Jatadharayaa

We recited the prayer to have the blessings of the merciful Lord Mahadev.

Kripa samudram, sumukham, trinetram,

Jatadharam, Parvati vama bhagam,

sada shivam, rudramakanda roopam,

chidambaresham hrudhey bhavayami hrudhey bhavayami ... bhavayami ... bhavayami ... bhavayami ...

(I meditate on that Lord of Chidambaram,

Who is the ocean of mercy,

Who has a pleasant mien,

Who has three eyes,

Who has matted locks,

Who has Goddess Parvati on his left side,

Who is ever peaceful,

And who is limitless.)

The chanting of the holy names of Lord Shiva and the subsequent reciting of the powerful stotr of Lord Shiva calmed our agitated minds and rejuvenated all of us with the vital energy needed to take on the battles of life that lay ahead with determination. Kunti maa asked all six of us to jointly light the diya and perform the aarthi together of the Shiva Ling. The evening prayer that day was a special one indeed, as all of us meditated deeply with our hearts and mind focused on the Shiva Ling, and we felt like the presence of Lord Shiva amidst us. The soulful prayer that day indeed was a lesson for me in the future on how to summon supreme concentration and focus on Shiva Ling. One has to start with his mind singly focused on the mental image of Shiva Ling and then invoke the prayer which should start from the pit of the stomach and slowly moving it upwards and finally all the way through to the top of the head and during all this process making sure to not utter any audible sound nor try to move the lips, all this should be done in pure thought of imagination and in absolute silence and that will help us to feel the divine in us. Of course, this was a very tough procedure to master but it eventually helped me to get the divya darshan of Bholenath Baba during my exile time.

After the completion of the prayers and aarthi, we had the prasad. Now, it was time to have dinner, and Bhim bhai was already feeling the pangs of hunger and was moving about from one room to the other. We had a tough time to control the laughter seeing the condition of Bhim bhai. Kunti maa understood the urgency of it, and asked Draupadi to help her in the kitchen to prepare the meals and the princess without any hesitation offered her help, and they both quickly prepared the meal which consisted of rotis, two types of daal, two kinds of sabji, and a desert in the form of kheer. Dinner was heavenly, as the one which is prepared with immense love always does. After that hearty dinner, we strolled out for a bit to have some fresh air under the pleasant sky, the moon was shining that day.