-
Recent Posts
Categories
Links
Archive for March, 2013
-
Dakshinamurti
Dakshinamurti is a form of Shvia who is the universal force of evolution towards enlightenment and liberation. He is said to teach only in silence…the internal revelation of higher truth and knowledge. He is always shown sitting beneath the tree of knowledge, relaxed with one leg across his knee. You can see the Ganga River […] -
Kamakshi Temple
The most famous temple in Kanchipuram is the Kamakshi Temple. Kamakshi is a form of the divine mother who gives pleasure (kama) at a glance from her eyes (akshi). In other words, all you have to do is see her to receive her blessings. The temple grounds are wonderful to walk around in the evening. […] -
The poor traffic police…
Generally traffic police seem to be active at rush hour to prevent complete grid lock – a monumental task at which they are largely successful. Other than that, everyone is left to make the best of it. -
A Walk around the Yagya Shala
On the morning of the last day in Varanasi I got up early and took a walk around the facility so that people could see how beautiful it is. The yagya pavilion is the largest and only fully vastu yagya facility in Varanasi. It was designed very carefully to meet the precise vedic standard. The […] -
On The Road To Town…
One of the things that I enjoy the most about India is the never ending parade of awesomeness (as my son would say) right outside the window of the car. The following photos were taken on the 20 minute drive into Varanasi from the yagya facility. We were going to the evening aarti which was […] -
Shivaratri – Inside the Ekambeshwara Temple
Generally temples don’t allow photos inside the buildings, although the advent of cell phone camera has made that ban more difficult to enforce. Just for fun, I brought my GoPro camera (about 2 inches square) into the Ekambeshawara Shiva temple on Shivaratri night just to see if I could sneak a few shots. It was […] -
Shivaratri Countryside Temple Abishekam
Shivaratri means the night of Shiva and the tradition is to stay up late and visit temples to enjoy the many different pujas. In our case, we have been supporting a countryside temple for many years. In the beginning 6-7 years ago there were just three people there for the night time abishekam. Now, the […] -
Varanasi Day 3 – Evening Ganga Aarti
The River Ganga is said to begin in heaven and flow through Shiva’s hair before arriving on earth. In Varanasi there is an evening puja (called aarti) that is performed every day. We arrived at the ghats and rented a boat to travel a couple miles down the river. Generally speaking the vessels are not […] -
Varanasi Day 3 – Ganga Yagya at Sunrise
On the last day, we rose early in the morning (4:45) to be able to travel into the main section of Varanasi on the Ganga River for a special sunrise yagya. When we got up, the lights on the yagya pavilion were on, but the sky was dark. The trip into town takes about an […] -
Varanasi Day 2 – Shakti Yagya
The day began early as usual and I snuck in some time to walk around the grounds and enjoy the greenery, the flowers, and the view of the Ganges in the distance. The Shiva Lingam was all ready for the day’s event. The emphasis would be on the feminine and as is tradition, the ingredients […]