071 Twenty-one, None Alike
Hey Twenty-one Leaves, on Vinayaka Chavithi you all come together: grass, herbs, great trees, even the bitter ones. Each of you is called by name and welcomed.
Whom have we left out of our circle?
Whom have you left out of your circle?
On the morning of Vinayaka Chavithi, a family spreads leaves on a plate: grass, herbs, leaves of great trees, even bitter ones.
One by one, each leaf is offered with its own name.
What really happens
In the tradition of Ekavimsati Patra Puja, twenty-one kinds of leaves are offered on Vinayaka Chavithi.
They come from very different plants: humble grasses like durva, herbs like tulasi, trees like bilva and shami. Many are medicinal plants known in Indian tradition.
How we know: The list of twenty-one leaves varies slightly between regions and texts, so we name only a few that commonly appear.
The turn
We often welcome only people like us.
In this practice, the grass and the great tree, the sweet and the bitter, are each called by name and welcomed.
Three takeaways
- Every leaf has a name.
- A full circle includes the humble and the bitter.
- Difference makes the offering complete.
Twenty-one leaves, none alike, all welcome.
'This one is my own, that one a stranger': so count the narrow-minded. For the large-hearted, the whole earth is one family.