Sacred Space, Sacred Time
On my walk yesterday, I caught up with a Gurukula student on the road, a young man who knows enough Sanskrit to hold a conversation. He was pushing his bicycle to the repair shop and we started talking about his dvi-cakrikA . Anyway, at some point we were talking about what the proper Sanskrit words were for "second," and "minute," and it reminded me of this verse, which is a great favorite of mine: यदा यातो दैवान् मधुरिपुरसौ लोचनपथं तदास्माकं चेतो मदनहतकेनाहृतम् अभूत् पुनर्यस्मिन्नेष क्षणमपि दृशोरेति पदवीं विधास्यामस्तस्मिन्नखिलघटिका रत्नखचिताः The time that Krishna crossed by chance our path of sight, that vile and miserable god of love came and stole our soul. If ever such a moment should again come to our eyes, its every instant we will drape with jewels and gold.(2.2.36) I explained as best I could in Sanskrit the concept of "sacred space" and "sacred time." The gopis had discovered a moment of sacred time and they naturally wanted to worshi...