Drops of Divinity: The Sacred Is Here and Now

Late March, 2026

The beautiful charm of the small world, of small places, sleepy life in a pause in the countryside of Haryana.

There are unassuming small places, little drops of divinity; but they carry the essence of godliness, just like a drop of the sea has got the entire essence of the sea. Similarly, these places, not so famous on the Indian spiritual map, carry the essence, the significance of divinity in their little, little ways.

They are part of local folklore, local legends, local mythology, and these have been the guiding light for scores of people from the struggling, labouring, farming class, the people that you come across in villages. And they have been keeping the flame alive with their faith, with their belief, with their rituals, with their festival celebrations and annual fairs in commemoration of the spiritual significance of these small places.

These are small just in name, but they are as mammoth and huge in godly essence as any other famous place.

And as I wander around, taking little sips of divinity from these restful portals of energy, it gives me the same feeling as any big spiritual place like Mount Kailash would give.

One such place is at village Chitana in Sonipat. It's near my village, and the Devi of this village is worshipped and is famously known as Chitane Wali Mata.

The story goes like this: about 400 years back, a Brahmin kanya from Chitana village had a dream in which Mata gave her darshan and told her that in the village pond there was an idol of hers.

The villagers dug the pond and found Mother Divine's beautiful statue deep in the mud. The grand idol was extracted with faith, reverence, song, dance and celebration.

After rituals and much celebration, a temple was constructed by the pond and Mother's idol was consecrated there.

Presently, a grand fair is held on Saptami and Ashtami of Navratras. There is a tradition of digging earth seven times from the pond. The pond is named Kamal Talab.

The village temple committee has been very, very efficient. You can just look at the way they have set up the arrangement. It's very impressive, the entire compound, and there is discipline, there is seriousness, which bespeaks their faith and diligence in maintaining the sanctity of this place.

By the temple's back, there is a miraculous imli tree. It is very ancient, this imli tree. It is hollow from inside. It was dead earlier. After the eternal lamp was lit, the tree got new saplings. It sprouted to life.

There is a belief that if someone ties a thread on the tree, it fulfils one's wishes.

As of now, the tree seems to be dead, but it is alive in the hearts of the people who still keep on tying their threads while asking for fulfilment of their wishes.

So faith and myth are fresh, alive and green.

The tree is still worshipped as if it is fresh and green.

The temple is very impressive, well managed, everything in proper order. A regional Shakti shrine, folk sacred character, the sacred trinity: temple with Mata idol, sacred tamarind tree and pond.

The temple has evolved organically with additions and improvements over a period of time. It is a hybrid architecture of folk and Nagara style. Even with its modesty, it has a very tall spire and brick-and-plaster construction, incremental expansions over a period of time.

You can easily guess that people have been spending money on it with the rise in the economy.

The entrance courtyard is spacious, with semi-covered halls for kirtans and the inner core, the sacred chamber where you have Mata's beautiful idol glitters with religious decoration. There are sacred peripheral shrines of Devis and Devtas, and mass devotion during Navratra gatherings. It must be very crowded during the fairs because you can see the railings for managing queues of the devotees.

There is not much carving. Still it's modestly majestic with its painted and tiled surfaces instead of sculpted stones.

There is a classical Shastra-based yagyashala, and in front of it hangs a huge brass bell from the entrance archway.

Its vibrations send rhythms of divinity in the air.

It's very surprising to come across such a well-organized temple premises in the countryside. It means the committee and temple trust have been coordinating really well, and so are the donors of money, who have been quite liberal and kind and loving in donating big amounts of money for constructing and managing this beautiful temple, where thousands gather during Navratras when there is a fair held.

It fulfils multiple purposes of giving opportunities to the people to have darshan of Mata. Children come and enjoy the thoroughfare, buy toys, eat sweetmeats. So it is quite entertaining during the Navratras.

Now at this time, when this is off-season and there are not many pilgrims, save a family who have brought their newlywed son with his new bride for fulfilling rituals in front of Mata's idol and taking her blessings.

As I stand here, I just muse over the fact that this place is no less than Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, if you have that particular emotion, that bhav in your heart.

So, of course, even here Mata's blessings are as powerful, loving and compassionate as they are in the Vaishno Devi temple in the hills, provided you are open, you are on that frequency of surrender, full belief and faith.

You can harness the divine energy from any spiritual portal, big or small, it does not matter.

And there comes a stage when each and every part of Mother Nature becomes a living idol of grace, of love, of godliness. When you are on that frequency, you are no longer required to go on pilgrimages to get into that bhav of surrender and faith.

When you are perpetually, constantly on that platform, when you start seeing godliness in each living and non-living part of Mother Nature. When you see the same godliness in a stone as well as in a flower, in a beautiful woman or a handsome man, or a fearsome wild animal, or a reptile like a cobra. When this happens, you meet the essence cosmic unity. 

When you recognize the inherent unity of the same cosmic energy, which is the fundamental base of all living and non-living beings at the quantum level, the same energy manifesting in different forms in this interplay of beautiful Leela, this Maya, this grand illusion, this sweet shower, this ecstatic burst of energy on Mother Earth in myriads of forms.

When you recognize that cosmic inherent unity, then you start feeling godliness at each geographical point, at each spatial unit.

So space and time then acquire a sanctity and nothing moves. Even if everything moves around you and is churning, you are unmoved. You are out of the compulsive boundaries of karma bandhan. That's liberation. 

You are stable with your faith, with your feeling, with your surrender, with your acceptance, with your acknowledgement of divinity at each and every part on Mother Earth.

So as I stand at this beautiful place in the countryside of Haryana, the solitary chiming of the temple bell instantly draws my attention to the very fact that yes, it's here, it's here and now.

Divinity is here and now.

Dear sadhaks, wherever you are, the cosmic grace is available. You just have to recall and be aware of its presence and remember it.

The moment you remember it, it is there.

The only time this portal is shut is when we are not aware of it, when that veil, that separation of ignorance, removes us from this continuity, this everlasting, infinite oneness, the interconnectedness and interrelatedness of each and everything in the cosmos.

Only then do we feel separated, and the moment we feel that separation, there is restlessness, there is that pining, weird feeling, that pain that is driving most of us on Earth, and as a replacement we go for so many pursuits on the material plane, driven by our fears, insecurities and illusions.

But the moment we are aware that yes, it is here and now, divinity, the grace, and I occupy that position where it's present and is enveloping me, embracing me from all sides. That's liberation. That's samadhi. 

It is there where you are at this moment.

It manifests there the moment you are aware of it and feel it.

It just needs your awareness, your focus, your attention.

So the more we try to recall this fact, the more we are on that frequency. The frequency of liberation.