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Culture in Color: Sari Shopping in Madurai
Saris come in many different colors, textures, and styles and can be tailored to suit a specific occasion or event.
Saris are a traditional type of dress worn in India, among many other places. They come in a variety of colors, patterns, designs, and are often tastefully embellished. During our South Indian meditation retreat we make sure to allow a little time to delve into the beauty of the culture with a little personal shopping. As my Guru use to always say “The way we dress is a direct reflection of the way we feel.”
However, instead of going to a large and crowded market, our experience is made wholly unique, as we go into the home of the local weaver to pick out the colors and styles we desire. Our South Indian adventure emphasizes supporting the local community, and thus we try to buy from small businesses whenever possible.
The weaver sizes each of our shoppers and also creates blouses that are tailored to size to go along with the sari. It is captivating to watch the weavers working at their looms; a true test of steadfastness and practiced patience.
The looms of the weavers are magnificent to behold. Even more inspiring is watching the weavers work their magic, one thread of fabric at a time.
Spiritual Adventurers choose from an array of colors and patterns. Many will don their saris on the final evening of the trip.
Many of the traditional weavers are giving up the hand-looms for automated weaving machines. It’s sad but also understandable that the time it takes for a machine to weave one sari is significantly less than it does for a person to do it by hand. Yet, there is a demand for hand-woven saris and some keep the tradition going. Here’s a video I put together of an automated sari weaving machine that I came across in Varanasi in Northern India.
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2013 Highlight: Best flight of the year
This year was full of flights around the world and I am very grateful for all the speaking opportunities, side trips, vacations and amazing people that I met along the way. There were a lot of flights to say the least and countless hours on planes. (Ps/ I plan to plant a lot of trees…
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2013 Highlights: Being at the World’s Largest Festival
When a festival happens once every 12 years you don’t want to miss it. The Maha Kumbh Mela festival is the world’s largest festival and took place this time in Allahabad, North India. The last time this festival took place I was a monk in a monastery in Hawaii and therefore could not ...
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The Goddess of Madurai and her temple
This spectacular temple is a sacred place of pilgrimage for Hindus the world over. The hallways and chambers are crowded from dawn to dusk, filled with pilgrims eager for darshan (sight) of the Goddess Meenakshi in the sanctum sanctorum. Pilgrims come to offer prayers, to have wishes fulfilled, t...
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Respecting your elders…including the cows
Chidambaram is an ancient pilgrimage place where for thousands of years pilgrims have come to discover their higher Self. Even the famed yogi, Patanjali, visited here and worshiped God in the form of Nataraja (Hindu god Siva in his aspect of dance). Chidambaram is one of my favorite places to vis...
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Spirituality in the Centennial State
Last weekend, December 6-8, we traveled to the great state of Colorado for five speaking engagements. Though it proved to be a particularly freezing weekend as far as the weather was concerned, the welcome from the Eagle, Avon and Boulder communities was warm and inviting. The first event was tit...
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Selfless love in Chidambaram
One of the most powerful parts of our South Indian Spiritual Adventure is our trip to the orphanage in Chidambaram. Located just a few minutes outside the center of town, the orphanage is a true place of nurturing, good will, and infectious love. The orphanage provides shelter, food, care, and e...
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