During a recent visit to the Kālī Mandir in Laguna Beach, I was treated to a pleasant surprise. I arrived quietly, just in time for the evening aarti (flame offering), with offerings of ripe mango and a fresh hibiscus flower.
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I try to visit this temple whenever I’m in the area. It’s a lovely little sister of the legendary Dakshineswar temple in Kolkata. Hidden in a quaint residential neighborhood, it looks like a ranch house from the outside but it’s filled with precious art, sacred artifacts, and relics inside.
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Over the years, most of the resident staff have come to recognize me and even become friends. It’s always a pleasure to catch up with Usha Harding, Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati, Swami Ambikananda Saraswati, and Naren K. Schreiner. But one of the staff that I haven’t met, Ananda Bhai, was new to me.
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It is traditional in this particular temple for the male officiants to remove their shirts when doing puja for the main altar, just as it is done in India. Ananda was assisting Swamiji, so his back was turned towards all of us attending the ceremony.
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It was then that I was startled to see that Ananda had been getting a massive tattoo of Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha, and Kartikeya …across his entire back. It certainly impressive enough all by itself. But what nearly bowled me over was that his tattoo is based on my work!
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The original illustration was made for Sally Kempton’s classic guide to Hindu goddesses, Awakening Shakti. Later, it appeared in my own Shakti Coloring Book.
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He was unaware of the origin of the design. The tattoo artist said only that he had found it in a coloring book. Ananda was delighted to find out that I was the original artist 🥰
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For me, this was a Darshana experience on several levels simultaneously. Tattoos of deities and mantras are blood magic, of course, and should be treated with caution. But in this case, I felt deeply honored, and it seems to be a perfect place for this divine couple to reside.
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