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India Life Archive
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Navaratri Celebrations
Navaratri in India was really great and there are many stories to tell. 10 days of being surrounded with goddess mantras is certainly an interesting experience and one which has profound spiritual meaning. It is one of the great things about being in India, in person, for these yagyas. Just the sound of the mantras [...] -
The temple next door
This is a view from the old yagya house roof showing the unused gopuram (tower) entrance to the Varadaraja Temple that is just across the street. It is the second largest Vishnu temple in India. After what seems to be years of neglect, they have constructed bamboo and palm leaf scaffolding to cover both this [...] -
Monkeys!
When I was staying in the hotel in Kanchipuram, in the afternoons when the heat of the day has passed the monkeys come out and play around. It is endlessly entertaining because they act, well, like monkeys. Pulling tails, fighting, making a lot of noise, etc. I saved fruit for them and then tossed it [...] -
Kanchipuram Temples
There was one night when we were driving around going to temples and we stopped at this Vishnu temple that I had never seen before. Because it was dusk, the lights looked warm and inviting. It is amazing how many temples like this there are in Kanchipuram. Not major attractions, more like a neighborhood temple, [...] -
Durga
One of the pundits pointed out to me that one of the names of Durga is “Yagya Priya”, meaning she who is pleased by yagya. Another name is “Yagya Kartri”, meaning she who directs all the acts of yagyas. -
Steam Roller
This was taken in Tiruvanamalai, a smaller city at the base of Arunachala Mountain and home of Ramana Maharshi a famous Hindu saint. When I was a kid in the 50′s this is what a steam roller looked like. Seeing one for real, working on the streets brought back a ton a childhood memories. I [...] -
Increase your need…
The mouse-soul is nothing but a nibbler. To the mouse is given a mind proportionate to its need, for without need, the Almighty God doesn’t give anything to anyone. Need, then, is the net for all things that exist: man has tools in proportion to his need. So, quickly, increase your need, needy one, that [...] -
Shiva!
One of the things that I really like about the Vedic tradition is the freedom one has to envision the divine in whatever form you want; male (eg. Shiva), female (eg. Parvati), animal (eg. Hanuman), with attributes (eg. Saguna Brahman) or without (eg. Nirguna Brahman). On one hand, the Shiva lingam is a symbol of [...] -
Eclipse
This image shows the July 22 eclipse shadow over China/Japan towards the end of the event. For Puja.net, we had over 100 members participate in the yagyas and over 1,000 downloads of the Sun mantras. That’s pretty satisfying. Thanks to all who participated! -
Hanuman
If you are going to build a Hanuman to watch over things…he might as well be big! Taken on the road north of Chennai on the way to Vishaka Patnam.