The Ordinary Mystic

Why would a person who doesn’t believe in or worship “idols” enjoy listening to a forty-verse devotional anthem to a monkey god?

That’s right, a Hindu monkey God - the divine monkey - also known as Hanuman.
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One of the things I like about listening to internet radio at work, is that I get introduced to artists that I would have otherwise overlooked. Snatam Kaur is one of those. I had seen her CDs in music stores, but was never moved to check them out. But then while at work I kept hearing this one song over and over - Ek Ong Kaar - and it got a hold of me. The more I heard it, the more I became mesmerized by it until I had to find out who the artist was.

That was when I was re-introduced to the devotional music of the Sikh faith.
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When my family and I arrived at the temple at the Mata Amritanandamayi’s ashram in San Ramon, a member greeted us and asked if we were first timers. We said yes, then she placed colored dots on our clothing as an indication of our “status”. There is definitely an effort to make newcomers feel welcome and to make sure that the first experience is a good one.
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