I am including this post now (this is an excerpt from a writing that has not been posted yet), so it will be timely. We have understood that a powerful typhoon has hit Puri. We loved our time in Puri and the people there;
Picture: Garuda, eagle who carries Vishunu. This statue sits prominently between the hotel and the sea at Puri.
We were just there just a week ago. Please pray for the residents to be safe, and that all should keep their mind on God. It is a holy city, May God protect it.
These past few days Puri has been in the news as it has taken the brunt of a typhoon (in the Atlantic it is called a hurricane). Just six days ago we were there in a hotel looking out over the beach and vast water. It must be quite a difficult thing to go through for all there; in fact they have evacuated many people from the area.
The hotel we stayed at had a lobby that had no walls on two sides. The restaurant was also open like that. Those winds and rains must be lashing through the hotel at incredible speeds and power. Those who are there are no strangers, but friends.
In fact how can we say that any in the world are strangers? Are not all our intimates? If there is suffering by anyone, is it not our very self that is also suffering? This universal empathy would not be possible without the Presence of God in the midst, for it would overwhelm the individual mind. However, the universal mind of God can easily accommodate this expansion.
Even as you might say, “Oh, I just stubbed my toe, ouch!” And then later you notice, “Oh, that food tastes so good!” And all through the day you are aware of so many different parts of your body relating experiences to your mind.
Now, your toe might be thinking, “I have nothing to do with those tastes in the mouth.” And the mouth may say, “I have nothing to do with that lowly toe!” However, the brain sees it all as part of the same body. Even so God sees all parts of creation as His very self, and there is no part that is separate or dispensable.
May those souls in Puri be safe, and may the damage from the storm result in even better buildings through their restoration. Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram.