Oh no, it’s the “s” word!

Hahaha, not the “s” word you thought! But another one that should be the source of just as much joy, if you ask me.

Can spirituality be fun? Does it have to be a serious subject? Read on for a tale of two religions and the joyful vs the sombre.

A tale of two religions

This is an absolutely true story, and I wish I had the pictures to prove it (but my DSLR camera is too big to carry around … which kinda defeats the purpose … but that’s a topic for another day).

I cycled to yoga class one Sunday this summer and came across a Hindu procession celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi (his birthday). A circle of women in saris were dancing lightly to music played by a band of men. Other women were handing out prasad, sweets, and a crowd followed, dancing, chanting, smiling, chatting and having fun. At the centre was a chariot, with a figure of elephant-headed Ganesh seated upon it, covered in garlands of flowers.

The effect was joyful chaos and I joined in. Several women smiled at me and one explained the mythology of Ganesh and the reason for the procession. I felt welcomed. When I had to leave a few minutes later to get to my class on time, the woman handing out the prasad was nowhere to be seen. Noticing that I was leaving without one of the large, sweet ladoos, an elderly women rushed forward in a gesture of complete and sincere generosity and insisted on giving me hers. I was moved by her open-hearted warmth. I cycled on feeling a rush of joy, recharged and in contact with the inspiring feeling I have when I’m in India.

Exactly one week later, I was cycling to yoga class again when I came across a Portuguese Christian procession. A long and sombre line of people were arrayed the length of a residential street, dressed in thick satin on a hot day to look like figures from the new testament. There were numerous angels, Jesus and Mary’s and other robed and serious characters,. No one was moving, no one was smiling, and no one wanted to let me through on my bike. I actually heard one man mutter as I went by, “they shouldn’t be riding,” in a hostile and unfriendly tone. I was really sweating as I tried to wend my way along the side of the parade.

Spontaneously, I remembered the feeling of being in church and going to confession when I was a child; how small and inconsequential I felt; how the sword of judgment hanging over me made me tighten and constrict. Not fun.

Yoga, my temple!

I couldn’t wait to get to my church, yoga class, where I would breathe deeply into my body, release the tension of trying to get past the sombre Christians on parade, celebrate the joyful feeling of being alive and commune with the divine within me. Amen.

It’s no wonder I love India. Yoga and Hinduism are like an antidote to my experience of growing up Catholic in the 60s. I don’t mean to offend anyone, but I prefer my spirituality with a healthy dose of joy — and without the feeling that I am somehow base or shameful because I have a body!

So what do you think – does spirituality have to be serious?