Yesterday the May Call Day celebration in the Vosges, France ended with a visit to Strasbourg. We met outside the European Parliament with prayers for peace and European union. It was the culmination of a beautiful festival which had started last Saturday. Friday already, the preparation group met at the home of Martine in Baerenthal in the Vosges for the final planning. The weather was gorgeous and it continued to be so the next days.
Saturday morning we came to the holiday resort in Bitche to set up the hall for the celebration. And in the afternoon the other participants arrived. In a joyous mood we assembled in the garden. Later, with the evening meditation, the festival started. And at nightfall, a water ritual spread its sublime vibrations.
Sunday after morning meditation some motion exercises in the morning sunlight made us “Fit for the Day”. We read extracts from discourses of Sri Kumar; group members spoke on “Astrology, the Big Picture” and “Are Medicinal Herbs only Positive?” giving insights into cosmic nature and secrets of the plant kingdom. Sunday and Monday afternoon Qi-Gong exercises attuned us to the flow of etheric energies. And Sunday evening I spoke on “Lord Dattatreya and His Incarnations”, accompanied by a slideshow.
Monday morning we assembled outside under a tree for meditation and a little fire ritual. It was a splendorous moment when the fire rose with the chanting of mantric invocations. Later, we celebrated the 30th May Call in the West with a cake and light ceremony. In the afternoon we exchanged about experiences which had shaped our path. In the evening, we saw the “Homage to the Mother of the World“, a video project by members of the World Teacher Trust, and sang some songs. At nightfall, the whole group made a walk around the beautiful forest lake Étang de Hasselfurth.
Like at earlier May Call celebrations in the Vosges, we ended our group living with a visit at the European Parliament. This year, however, we were not allowed to enter the inner court – new security procedures after the recent assassinations now require previous registration. For us, it was better – this way, we could sing and speak the prayers in a loud voice next to the building, visualising that we were standing in the center of the Parliament building.
At the end we realised that a sparrow was sitting on a branch directly over our heads, turning his had in all directions and gazing at us. I was fascinated looking directly into his eyes for a moment – a divine messenger. After some time, he flew away.
Afterwards we went to the old town of Strasbourg and walked along the Ill River to a restaurant next to the Strasbourg Cathedral.