A Song, A Dream, A Whisper

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“You are the answer to every prayer I’ve offered.
You are a song, a dream, a whisper, and I don’t know how I could have lived without you for as long as I have.”
(From “The Notebook” by Nicholas Sparks)

Early in the morning this lady lit up a diya (candle) at Dasaswamedh ghat and let the holy waters of the Ganges carry away her prayer as if it was a song, a dream, a whisper…

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The Sanctuary’s Hidden Mysteries

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Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
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“Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.”
(The Holy Bible – Daniel 9:17)

This is the sanctuary inside the Nepalese Temple known as Kathwala Temple which is on the top of Nepali ghat along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).

The Lingam, symbolizing the infinite nature of Shiva, stands in the center of the shrine next to the Lord’s trishul (Trident, “three spear” in Sanskrit).
The Lingam symbolizes the male creative energy, of the power of fertility and strength and represents the phallus.
“Shiva as the undivided causal principle is worshiped in the linga.
His more manifest aspects are represented in anthropomorphic images.
All other deities are part of a multiplicity and are thus worshiped as images.”
(Karapatri, “Shri Shiva Tattva”, Siddhanta)

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Free from Attachments

© All rights reserved.

All photographs are copyrighted and all rights reserved.
Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.

 

“We should worship lord Shiva so that we are freed from our worldly attachments just like a fruit falls from a tree after ripening.
Once we are successful in doing this we are liberated from this vicious cycles of life and death.”
(Quotes from the Yajurveda, the third of the four canonical texts of Hinduism)

Since a few days this sadhu is sleeping on a board lifted from the ground by several ropes at Dashaswamedh (Main) Ghat in Varanasi (Benaras).
This morning it was a little colder than the rest of the week and he took a long time to wake up.
A priest came and gave him a cup of tea in order to warm him up.
I think that he made a vow not to leave this board in order to keep the attention of Lord Shiva and to be able to be free, liberated from the cycles of life and death…

 

A Tambourine for Hope

This was shot this afternoon at Guria, in Varanasi (Benaras).
Manju is using a tambourine in order to rhythm the words she is saying for meditation.
One by one, each of the many children who were playing and shouting in this room a few minutes earlier are now falling asleep.

They look like any child in the world however they are not exactly like any others.
Most of them don’t know who their fathers are because their mothers are prostitutes.
Varanasi is at a crossroad between Nepal, Bihar, Bengal, Mumbai (…), many trucks drive there, many visitors come, also many young women who sometimes meet the worst… 

Guria is a Human Rights organisation fighting against the sexual exploitation of women and children, particularly those forced into prostitution and trafficking.

Manju and her husband Ajeet Singh are running this non-profit organisation at great personal risk, providing shelter and hope to many children.
They need any kind of help (money, food, toys, clothes,…) in order to carry on their task.
They are facing many difficulties from all those who would like to use those children as a second generation prostitution.
A few days ago they were nominated for the 2010 Front Line Award, an international foundation for the protection of Human Rights defenders. 

Manju and Ajeet Singh are modern heroes, this is why I decided to upload a few pictures connected to their work.
In this file there are many happy faces belonging to amazing children who have hope for a better future.

There are many ways to help and give a kind of support to Guria, this is its website,www.guriaindia.org and you may contact Manju and Ajeet at guriaajeet@rediffmail.com

Fearful Symmetry

“Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”
(William Blake – English visionary Mystic, Poet, Painter and Engraver. 1757-1827)

Deep in the jungle of Bandhavgarh (बांधवगढ राष्ट्रीय उद्दान) in the Indian state Madhya Pradesh, I met wild tiger which against all odds started to pose during more than 45 minutes as if he was a “model” used to cameras.
About 55 tigers are living there on a total area of 694 scare kilometers.
Entering in this wild life sanctuary is at your own risk as there is no protection and weapons are of course not allowed.

Asia entered into the year of the Tiger.
Losar Tashi Delek, the Tibetan new year started last morning, its element is the male iron tiger.
Happy New Year – may we all share peace all over the world…!!!

Sharing Happiness

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. 
Happiness never decreases by being shared.”
( Buddha, born as Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta and founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.)

This young man was bathing in the holy waters of the Ganges at Ahilyabai ghat in Varanasi (Benaras).
He was glowing with happiness…

Shedding the Old Skin

“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. 
The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.”
(Joseph Campbell – American prolific Author, Editor, Philosopher and Teacher, 1904-1987)

I know an old man who comes almost everyday at Ahilyabai ghat along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).
He spends most of the time under an huge umbrella that he owns there on a little platform where many people come to visit and to spend some time with him.
Here I met among his visitors priests and palmists, an architect, a few students and a kind of magician.
It is always amazing to see him swimming in the holy waters and then doing yoga and exercise on the ghats as if he was a young man.
I took this picture while he was performing a strength training.
That daily activity maintains his physical fitness and overall his health besides he is a very nice solar person who has so much to give to others.
I made many of his portraits and so far I never dared this picture, in a few days I’ll upload more images in order to show how handsome this old man is.

Shiva’s Trishul

“We should worship lord Shiva so that we are freed from our worldly attachments just like a fruit falls from a tree after ripening. 
Once we are successful in doing this we are liberated from this vicious cycles of life and death.”
(Quotes from the Yajurveda, the third of the four canonical texts of Hinduism)

In Varanasi (Benaras) it is easy to see tridents (trishula in Sanskrit) almost everywhere as this symbol is wielded by the Hindu God Shiva who is also the God of the city.
Trishula means “three spear” in Sanskrit, the three points have various meanings and significance, it is commonly said to represent various trinities such as creation, maintenance and destruction, or past, present and future, or the three gunas… 
It also represents the place where the three main nadis, or energy channels (ida, pingala and shushmana) meet at the brow. 
Shushmana, the central one, continues upward to the 7th chakra, or energy center, while the other two end at the brow, there the 6th chakra is located. 
The trisula’s central point represents Shushmana, and that is why it is longer than the other two, representing ida and pingala.

The weapon of Shiva emanates power and energy it is also called a Trishul, it is interesting to mention that the same word means “cross” in Romany. 

This picture was shot at Darabhanga Ghat along the Ganges.