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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In God’s Hands

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“I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess”
(Martin Luther – German Priest and Scholar whose questioning led to the Protestant Reformation, 1483-1546)

Three ladies were performing a puja at Gay ghat at the feet of the big statue of Nandi which stands in front of several Shiva ligams.
We were alone and they smiled at me, the day was rising up among a heavy mist.
I didn’t want to disturb that moment but they insisted that I took some pictures, they seemed to be happy.

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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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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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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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“Je me souviens”

 

“Je me souviens” means I remember in French.

At this time of the year I always light a diya (candle) that I leave on the holy waters of the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras) in the memory of my parents.
Their death anniversary is a week of prayers, hope and a moment of introspection.
In the oldest living city in the world I bath in a religious environment among many cultural influences and it allowed me to become very peaceful with death.
This serenity might be one of the greatest gift I could ever find there.
The more I remember stronger I am and I carry on my way in peace and tranquillity…

Apart from the frame there is no edition to this picture.
It was shot at dusk during that period of partial darkness between day and night, and there is the reflection of other candles from the ghat nearby.