Saturdays

Saturday, this is how regular people feel all the time, yuk. I do get asked a fair amount what I do on Saturdays that and what time do I go to bed. So to clear up all that. Yes normally I get up at 1am. Though now it’s 4am, which is what I do on Sundays and when I’m on holiday. One of the first things I do is scrape my tongue. I drink water and occasionally green tea. On Saturdays and Moon days I do Paschimattanasana, some  breathing and a little chanting. I love my Saturday practice, it’s simplicity works for me. I always do Nauli every morning.  When I go to bed I sit and breathe for 5 minutes before I drop off.

Who knows the future? As much as we’d like to and spend much time wondering and talking about how things might be, no one knows. Years ago when I was India I had my astrological chart done I remember asking the astrologer if I’d get married. He said yes and she’d do lots on a computer, which 25 years ago seemed strange, what could you do on a computer? 16 year ago I was in Meteora in Greece. It’s a bunch of monasteries on vertiginous  500m rock pillars. An old blind monk asked me if I had children, ‘no’ I replied. He gave me a blessing and then a year later Talia was born.

Of course this could all be bullshit and I have got everything wrong, that’s ok too.

Ok the Mahabharata has a lot of people in it and to be honest you are getting a highly edited version. It’s rare that I meet someone who has read the Mahabharata and that we can chat and chat about it. But a list of the names we have met so far will help, and a little about them. I’ve been asked for a family tree (not mine, that’s boring). I think you have google for that. But it is complicated as some people have a father and a biological father who just happens to be a God. So I will start with the main characters.

Vyasa: Author of the Mahabharata and the son of Satyavati and the father of blind Dhritarashtra, Pandu, who dies trying to have sex and Vidura, wise but powerless.

Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva: The five Pandavas, sons of Pandu. The first three are archetypes.

Kunti and Madri: Pandu’s wives and the mothers of the five Pandavas. But Kunti had a secret love child. And Madri dies with Pandu.

Karna: Love child of Kunti and Surya (sun God). Born with magical armour and earrings.

Bhishma: Looked at as the Grandfather, his mother was Ganga. He remained celibate. Seen as very wise. But everyone has their faults.

Drona and Kripa: Teachers of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Drona was a poor brahmin who became a warrior.

Duryodhana and his 99 brothers. These are the sons of Dhritarashtra and his wife Gandhari. Though they do many evil things, no one is all bad.

There are many minor characters who make the Mahabharata fun, and we have more characters to meet. But one major character we have yet meet and he brings us a lot of fun.  None other than the dark lord Krishna…