Memorial for Maha

Much of the family gathered in Laguna and made the journey up north of LA on Saturday morning to attend the memorial service for Maha, put on by her friends from the Ojai Foundation. It was held on a beautiful spot, a steep and high hill in the middle of the Ojai Valley. We milled around the point overlooking the oak forests and orange groves. Roads to the west were blocked because of fires. Winds blew gently and some buzzards lifted and circled. There were bluebirds in the bushes. A hawk rose too and the buzzards coiled away over a hillside. It was very pretty there.

At the beginning, everyone gathered for a moment of silence in the hall, then walked down to the point and stood in a circle. Sage was burned in an abalone shell and spread around the circle, a cleansing. A song written for Maha was played. As we were to leave and place our offerings and wishes at her alter on the point, 2 hawks circled overhead, and another, screeching, flew straight west down valley.

The forest fires began to pick up with the winds, and ashes started gently falling down on us as we sat in the hall. Stories were told and food was served. The mood was positive, a baby laughed and played, songs were sung. It was a real affirmation for the Ojai clan who gathered together around the memory of their friend, Maha. A lot of energy was poured forth, and I felt for those sitting a long time in the front row, taking on all that energy, full force. Those of us in back often went outside, took some breaths, went back in. Some hours passed. The winds blew strong from the east, and fire was whipping up. We readied to leave.

We left and drove away from the fires, and from Ojai in the east, over our shoulders. It was an interesting memorial, a different thing for different people, as all occassions are, but this one possibly more so. Communal for some, familial for others, a reckoning, a cleansing, illuminating or confusing, a new beginning or a mark for closure. I wondered when I would see either Maha or Amrit again, but the thought of that laughing baby, the ease, always makes the future seem alright. We sat in traffic, talked, looked at the other people in their cars, and went home to gather again. -e