The Black Outfit

BY JEYANTHY PILLAI

SUBANG JAYA, MALAYSIA – My children were so very excited to return after their maiden sojourn trip to Mayapur this year. Not that Mayapur was boring….far from it. They had an amazing time. It was like living in Srila Prabhupada’s books that we had painstakingly preached to the children all these years.  They even missed their monthly exams to see the Maha Abhishek for the Pancatattva. Their friends told them, “Your parents are really cool!”

But something closer to their hearts was their desire to see our very own Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasunder being abhisheked by their personal hands.  The two exquisitely beautiful deities arrived to our home on the start of the auspicious Purushottama month last year.  Unfortunately, my Rheumatoid Arthritis had taken a toll on me and I was unable to perform abhishek for Them. So we simply did what They loved most – Kirtan. The children simply adore Them. We also dress up Them up, perform arati and offer bhoga daily. But the kirtans we have every evening are what we relish most. It is our very intimate moments with our deities.

In Mayapur, we also got a set of Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhatra deities. The children had seen many deities where the arms were cracked at the joints, so we made sure we bought ones that were carved from one log and not joint at the arms. They are a replica of the Puri deities, we were told. All the paint were made from vegetable and fruit juices.

So we had a wonderful Gaura Purnima at home. A full abhishek for Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasunder while watched by Sri Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhatra. After a good massage with perfumed oil we bought from Mayapur, we proceeded with showering of milk, yoghurt, ghee, honey, sugar cane juice, coconut water and sugar cum rose water. My mum and dad were also there to join the abhishek. It was a loving family affair and They sure looked blissful. A reciprocation of love …..

Just before we left to Mayapur, I was searching for a soft material to sew for our deities. All I could get was a black material with patterns on it. It looked pretty good but the locals here do not really fancy wearing black on New Year. so I was a little anxious. Nevertheless, I still made the made Their outfits as I didn’t have enough time to go searching and it was getting closer to our trip to India.

My mum and I did the final touches with some of the gold beadwork. The outfits looked quite grand. Imagine the shock of my life I had when I saw the Pancatattva as well as Sri Sri Radha Madhava and the Astasakhis wearing the almost similar black outfits  in Mayapur on different days. It was as if  They were reassuring me the outfits are fine to be worn by our deities. Amazing!