हिंदु hindu harbors शांति

Frankfurt Airport = Fraport. of course.
not my fav.
cold unfriendly culture,
unfinished construction in strange spots
too much exposed piping and ceiling junk,
weird confusing ways to get places, not very well-marked

finally wound around to wait at gate A55,
browse a nearby bookstore stocked with histories of Hindu thought,
perspective, and eastern paths to enlightenment
people search so hard, so hungrily for what will make them happy
for what will help them live more in harmony with
whatever they think the universe is.

met Mala (short for Nirmala),
who was returning to India after a few months in the States
visiting her two daughters and their husbands on opposite coasts of the country
making pilgrimage to five Hindu temples, especially one in Pennsylvania
so clean, she said, so clean and fancy
she loves her traditions and rituals so fiercely
her visits to temple, her poojas, her tilak and gold chain,
even her alms-giving, donating cloth and clothes to Chennai charities
she could see plenty of similarities between both of our faiths
as she shared with me her mango sour Altoids,
and i shared the story of Ruth and Naomi (who called herself Mara),
then Mark 12:28-33, where Jesus highlights the greatest commandment:
love

"and you're free to love,
coz i've given you my love and it's made you free
set you free"

i just wonder, wonder why
why would you want to live with so many restrictions,
so many requirements, rules, compulsory rituals
to satisfy someone else, to satisfy a stone carved figure
who does what, exactly, for you?
knowing that the figure only represents an actual personality they believe in,
but who is that, what is he/she like?
what power does it actually have,
why does it merit such dedicated worship?
i can tell you that my God is LOVE, that he is all good,
that he created each person and knows everything about us and about the world,
that he came to earth as a real person in history to show us what he is like,
that he is a healer, a joy-giver, a peace-maker, a provider, and again...
a lover

i wonder, too, what she really understands of Christianity, of who Christ is
because her mother is a Christian, or at least
goes to church and gives to charity
and sent Mala to Christian schools in her childhood,
so i wonder what she learned about him,
what she saw in the people who claimed to follow him
she does clearly see the love and self-sacrificing devotion
of her Christian maidservant towards her, as well as all the Christian servants she knows
and i agreed and added my experience with Pushpa as part of our family
so when will she add it up?
when will she be free?
we split up for frankfurt-chennai,
but in the immigration line she tugged at my shirt and smiled wide
and waved goodbye

on the flight i sat next to a 26-year-old nurse named Priya, originally from India
later lived in Saudi for some time, and now in Ireland
after some initial inquiries and sharing of my mission background, she affirmed
"it's a wonderful thing to serve the Lord!"
and then we rested in peace,
knowing our kinship in the kingdom of God
thank God

touchdown, goosebumps, oh my goodness i'm goin home,
midnight in mother india
arrival, immigration, customs,
scurry down the sidewalk to the domestic terminal,
situate myself to wait until 5 a.m.
arms through my backpack and purse, feet resting on my duffel bags
giving thanks for my ability to sleep anywhere
and for the feeling of safety afforded by the friendly older man sitting a few seats over

a flawless check-in and security check
bustling, crushing crowds in the waiting area
so many with powder-marked foreheads
signifying a pilgrimage to temple, or simply luck for their journey

liftoff chennai-madurai after an hour delay
almost a painful hum drilled/drummed in my ears
and the heat hung heavy due to the still-malfunctioning AC
but eventually the cabin started cooling,
the din became not so deafening
and i could see the land spread out below,
so scattered with sprinkles of houses and haphazard plots of land
that variegate between green-brown, gray-green, beige, pale pinkish-gray, and brown
before they fade into the haze that gradually fuzzes into the horizon
i feel like
so many of my friendships are like that:
foggy smoggy borders, where we've lost touch
or where we fail to see each other's contours past a certain point,
or where we can't see our future
(of course we can't...)

oh then there were little hills with tufty deep green dotting and blanketing them
now my dear mountains, mountains
sacred high places topped with shrines
hindu worship sites defined by red and white stripes
where will we find peace?
shanti
शांति