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Wrestling with God

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Indian Classical Dancer Savitri Hari: The Sacred in the Cow Dung

Indian Classical Dancer Savitri Hari: The Sacred in the Cow Dung

Last updated on: January 23, 2016 at 12:01 am by Barbara Falconer Newhall

Indian Classical Dancer Savitri Hari: The Sacred in the Cow Dung 2016-01-22T18:33:57-08:00 Barbara Falconer Newhall

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The Hindu Community and Cultural Center. Shiva-Vishnu Temple, Livermore, California. Savitri Hari danced in this temple. Photo by Barbara Newhall

My favorite place to look for God is in people, especially people like Savitri Hari, whose story appears in my book, “Wrestling With God: Stories of Doubt and Faith.”

I learned something from everyone I interviewed for “Wrestling with God.” In the case of Savitri, who seems so alive and full of gratitude for everything around her, I learned to notice that the sacred inhabits even the smallest, most humble of things.

At the time of our interviews, Savitri was living in Walnut Creek, California, teaching classical Indian dance in her home and working as a psychotherapist in nearby Oakland. The following is a passage from the story she tells:

I grew up in a Hindu family in South India. In my village, Koru-Tadiparru, we children used to gather cow dung for a special holiday in January.

We rolled the cow dung – it was heavy, like mud – into a ball and drew mandala designs on it with rice flour. Then we decorated it with flowers. We invoked the sacred energy into this menial thing and called it God Krishna.

That’s how I grew up. For me, the sacred was nothing special. It was not up there somewhere, it was everywhere. It was in the cow dung as well as the beautiful sky, it was in everything. There was no distinction between God and regular day-to-day life.

Many people have a hard time seeing the God in the menial, in the downtrodden. But that’s how I see the divine, in the lowly things.

When you’re looking for God, where do you look?

If you enjoyed this post, you might like “Huston Smith — A Religion Scholar Sums It Up: Be Happy.” On the light side, you’ll find “The Cataract Chronicles — I’ll Be Seeing Me” on my website, Barbara Falconer Newhall.com.

Barbara’s book, “Wrestling with God: Stories of Doubt and Faith,” is available from Patheos Press.

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