(Almost) Mangala Arati

Krsangi and I were determined to wake up early and start off the working week with a 16 round morning. Responsibly, we went to bed fairly early for us (before 11pm) and set the iHome alarm clock. And to get us into the right mood we set it to wake us up to the wonderful Morning Program sung by Sacinandana Swami and the other devotees from Govinda Verlag.

If you don't already have this CD, called A Day at the Temple, I highly recommend it. Each track -- from Gurvastakam (samsara dava) all the way to Prasadam prayers (sarira avidya jal) -- is expertly done and rich with feeling. The result is that you actually feel as if you are right there in the temple room.

In fact, the effect was a little too magical this morning. As the music began, my eyes began to flutter open. But then Sacinandana Maharaj sang the familiar mangala arati songs so sweetly that (in my sleepy state) I managed to convince myself that I must already be at the morning program! Krsangi must have been similarly convinced, because she also clung devoutly to her pillow. I think we finally woke up sometime after Tulasi Puja.

Tomorrow morning, I think we will go back to NPR.