HAPPY DIWALI AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

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I WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY DIWALI AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR WITH LOVE, PEACE AND PROSPERITY…

“May you all attain full inner illumination!
May the supreme light of lights enlighten your understanding!
May you all attain the inexhaustible spiritual wealth of the Self!
May you all prosper gloriously on the material as well as spiritual planes!”
(from the writings of Swami Sivananda Saraswati – Hindu spiritual teacher, 1887–1963)

This is also the opportunity to thank you all for commenting my pictures the way you do and for this amazing support which always gives me the energy to carry on my work…
A new year is starting in India and I want to share with you more emotions with the colours of life which keep on coming in front of my lens…

(This picture was shot in Varanasi (Benaras) during Dev Diwali as Anand was taking all of us on his boat for a ride along the Ganges).

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Light Of Lights

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“The sun does not shine there, nor do the moon and the stars, nor do lightnings shine and much less fire.
All the lights of the world cannot be compared even to a ray of the inner light of the Self.
Merge yourself in this light of lights and enjoy the supreme Deepavali.”
(from the writings of Swami Sivananda Saraswati – Hindu spiritual teacher, 1887–1963)

I WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY DIWALI AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR WITH LOVE, PEACE AND PROSPERITY…

This is a picture of Jain ghat in Varanasi (Benaras) shot during Dev Diwali.

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The Bond of Brotherhood

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“The mystical bond of brotherhood makes all men brothers.”
(Thomas Carlyle – Scottish Historian and Essayist, 1795-1881)

Those young men standing on the top of a wall are Shia devotees waiting for the processions with replicas of Husayn’s mausoleum called tazia which were coming in this narrow street.
It was at the time of Muharram when Varanasi (Benaras) add a little more magic and becomes timeless.
The Eternal city has so many amazing sides, this festival allows to feel a warm bond of brotherhood among the inhabitants of this area.

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Sanctifying Ourselves

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“People should not worry as much about what they do but rather about what they are.
If they and their ways are good, then their deeds are radiant.
If you are righteous, then what you do will also be righteous.
We should not think that holiness is based on what we do but rather on what we are, for it is not our works which sanctify us but we who sanctify our works.”
(Meister Eckhart – German Writer and Theologian, 1260-1328)

This picture was shot along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras), at the junction of Manikarnika Ghat and Scindia Ghat, during the celebrations of Dev Diwali.
Everywhere candles are lit as a mark of welcome to God who is believed to descend on earth on that special day.
The meaning of this festival is to eradicate our inner demons while meeting the Lord.
After leaving king Bali, the Lord rejoined the devas on this day, the devas celebrated His arrival in jubilation and thus Dev Diwali came into being.
Though the devas celebrated the Lord’s return, we mortals celebrate Dev Diwali by eradicating our inner demons – the base instincts of ego, anger, greed, lust, … and the resulting manifestation of divinity within.

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Within Your Own Heart

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“For the sake of it, you journey to sacred shrines and holy rivers; but this priceless jewel is within your own heart.”
(Sri Guru Granth Sahib – or Adi Granth, the religious text of Sikhism)

This is the heart of Lolark Kund, one of the oldest sacred sites of Varanasi (Benaras).
This rectangular tank of 15m height below the ground level is a sacred pond for many Hindu devotees who come here during Lolark Shasthi to worship the Sun God.
The word Lolark means “trembling Sun” and there is an image of Surya, the Sun God, in the water of the tank.
This tank is attached to the most important of 12 temples of Aditya (Sun God) in the city.
The entrance to the kund can be reached from either of the three flight of steps which descend down towards it.
Aditya is believed to prevent and cure leprosy or sterile women and to favor blessings on couples particularly those wanting to bring forth male progeny for various reasons including carrying on family name, economic bonanza,…
This is the reason why many devotees and childless couples come to have a daily dip in the waters of this sacred pond.

This picture was shot during the night of Dev Diwali while two priest started to display lotus flowers and marigold garlands on the holy water of the Kund (tank).

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Hope

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“When you say a situation or a person is hopeless, you are slamming the door in the face of God.”
(Charles Livingstone Allen – American Pastor,1913–2005)

This is Lolark Kund, one of the oldest sacred sites of Varanasi (Benaras)which is not far from Tulsi ghat along the Ganges.
This tank is attached to the most important of 12 temples of Aditya (Sun God) in the city.
Aditya is believed to prevent and cure leprosy or sterile women and to favor blessings on couples particularly those wanting to bring forth male progeny for various reasons including carrying on family name, economic bonanza,…
This is the reason why many devotees and childless couples come to have a daily dip in the waters of this sacred pond.
This picture was shot during the night of Dev Diwali.
A lingam (symbol of Shiva) was floating in the tank among lotus flowers and garlands made of marigold.
Everywhere candles were lit as a mark of welcome to God who is believed to descend on earth on that special day…

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The Healing Sun

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“The art of healing comes from nature, not from the physician.
Therefore the physician must start from nature, with an open mind.”
(Paracelsus – Swiss Renaissance physician, 1493–1541)

From Tulsi Ghat there is a long and narrow staircase which leads to Lolark Kund, one of the oldest sacred sites of Varanasi (Benaras).
This rectangular tank of 15m height below the ground level is a sacred pond for many Hindu devotees who come here during Lolark Shasthi to worship the Sun God.
The word Lolark means “trembling Sun” and there is an image of Surya, the Sun God, in the water of the tank.
This tank is attached to the most important of 12 temples of Aditya (Sun God) in the city.
The entrance to the kund can be reached from either of the three flight of steps which descend down towards it.
Aditya is believed to prevent and cure leprosy or sterile women and to favor blessings on couples particularly those wanting to bring forth male progeny for various reasons including carrying on family name, economic bonanza,…
This is the reason why many devotees and childless couples come to have a daily dip in the waters of this sacred pond.
Also many come back to Lolark Kund after the fulfillment of their wishes in order to perform Mundan Sanskar (head-shaving sacrament).

This picture was shot during the night of Dev Diwali.

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Eradicating Demons

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“It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles.
Then the victory is yours.
It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.”
(Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta known as Buddha, 563-483 B.C.)

This is a picture of Bhonsale Ghat during the night of Dev Diwali when the Lord comes down to Varanasi (Benaras).
After the moon is sighted everyone lights up Diyas (lamps) all over the ghats along the holy waters of the Ganges.
The meaning of this festival is to eradicate our inner demons while meeting the Lord.
Happy festival to eveyrone…!!!

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Devas and Men

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“… it is hard to realise that we are both human AND devic in the most profound aspects of our humanity.
We are indeed human and deva and the two inseperatable parts are needed to make a whole person – one part totally unable to function without the other.”
(From “Devas and Men” by Southern Centre of Theosophy, 1977)

Dev Diwali, or Dev Deepavali, as the name indicates is the Diwali celebration of the Devas (Demi Gods).
It is believed that Lord Vishnu returned to Vaikunta, his abode on this day after the Vamana incarnation and visiting King Bali.
Another legend has it that Lord Shiva killed the three demons, who were killing the Devas and humans, and destroyed the three cities built by them on this day.
The day is also known as Kartik poonam or Karthik Purnima and Tripurari Poornima.
Dev Diwali is observed tonight on the full moon day in the month of Kartik in traditional Hindu calendar and this is the most important festival in Varanasi (Benaras).
It marks the end of the fortnight of Diwali celebrations and a major event on the day is the lighting of Diyas (lamps) during night after the moon is sighted.
The meaning of this festival is to eradicate our inner demons while meeting the Lord.
After leaving king Bali, the Lord rejoined the devas on this day, the devas celebrated His arrival in jubilation and thus Dev Diwali came into being.
Though the devas celebrated the Lord’s return, we mortals celebrate Dev Diwali by eradicating our inner demons – the base instincts of ego, anger, greed, lust, … and the resulting manifestation of divinity within.

This picture was shot at the begining of the celebrations when the moon was reflecting in the holy waters of the Ganges, showing this boat carrying a few pilgrims to the main ghats.

Happy festival to eveyrone…!!!

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The Gist Of All Worship

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“This is the gist of all worship: to be pure and to do good to others.
He who sees Shiva in the poor, in the weak, and in the diseased, really worships Shiva.
And if he sees Shiva only in the image, his worship is but preliminary.
He who has served and helped one poor man seeing Shiva in him, without thinking of his caste or creed or race or anything, with him Shiva is more pleased than with the man who sees Him only in temples.”
(Swami Vivekananda – Indian Spiritual leader of the Hindu religion (Vedanta), 1863–1902)

During Dev Diwali there is a dense crowd gathering at almost each ghat along the holy waters of the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).
This huge painting of Lord Shiva at Dasaswamedh Ghat reminds the legend saying that the City of Light was founded by the deity several thousand years ago making this place the oldest living city in the world…
I took this picture from Anand’s boat in the heart of traffic jam on the sacred river.

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