Bchind Closcd Doors
Saturclay F ebruary 15, 2004
I have to insist of course that this is only one person's viewpoint: thele are so many people in Mdydpur who perflorm different services, have different exchanges with the deities and the clevotees here, and who move around different parts of the dhama. M.ine is only one person's view. So toclay I received a phone call flrorn Ramaclevi, who is one o[ the seamstresses in MAydpur; she is sewing all the sets for Sri Panca-tattva. She does night sets, which she makes lrom labrics and saris that she purchases in Calcutta. She usually has lirnited help, but now Flarigana DIsa, the head Ttniarl in New Mexico (ancl a real whiz behincl a machine) has lancled in MAyapur ancl is helping Ramddevi. Apparently he turns quite a hand to turbans ancl muhuts, so we're looking forward ro seeing his artistic skills at work in Sri Sri Radhe Madhava's service. Harigana is a favorite 'guest pridrt' of Rukmini-Dvdrakadhtsa in Los Angeles. So, back to the phone call. lt was a tnessage from Bhakta Gana: "Get over here, fast!" t (naturally) asked rvhat the rush was. "lf you want to paint Advaita Acaryas toenails, you'll hurry...." I was off the phone and over to the temple in a flash. I entered a very different altar than I had the other day, when the sthapatis and Bharata Maharaja Dasa were working on the cleities-now it's quiet, calm; the cleities are wrapped up complete- ly, only Their feet showing, exposecl uncler the thick blue plastic that covers Them. They have been polished and are ready for the installation-only the painting of Their hancls, [eet, ancl faces remains. The bodily sheen is amazing, so clifferent in comparison to what They lookecl like when They were initially unwrapped and revealed on the day of Their arrival. There was one devotee on the altar rigging a cornplicated bamboo system of poles so he could climb up and fix some spotlights in the deity room, to enable the painting to be done in good lighting. It's a bit of a worksite in here again, but I managed, even though Advaita Acaryas toenails were under a thick bamboo pole,
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