Many Ways to Worship

“I’ve learned much from the land of many gods and many ways to worship. 
From Buddhism the power to begin to manage my mind, from Jainism the desire to make peace in all aspects of life, while Islam has taught me to desire goodness and to let go of that which cannot be controlled. 
I thank Judaism for teaching me the power of transcendence in rituals and the Sufis for affirming my ability to find answers within and reconnecting me with the power of music. 
Here’s to the Parsis for teaching me that nature must be touched lightly, and the Sikhs for the importance of spiritual strength….
And most of all, I thank Hinduism for showing me that there are millions of paths to the divine.” 
(From “Holy Cow” by Sarah Macdonald)

This is a close-up of a part of the Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath located at 13 km away from Varanasi (Benaras).
The Dhamek Stupa is said to mark the spot of a deer park (Rishipattana) where the Buddha gave the first sermon to his five disciples after attaining enlightenment, “revealing his Eightfold Path leading to nirvana”.
In its current shape, the stupa is an impressive cylinder of bricks and stone reaching a height of 43.6 meters and having a diameter of 28 meters (128 feet high and 93 feet in diameter).
The basement seems to have survived from Ashoka’s structure: the stone facing is chiseled and displays delicate floral carvings of Gupta origin. 
The wall is covered with exquisitely carved figures of humans and birds, as well as inscriptions in the Brāhmī script.
This picture was shot at the time of a visit of his Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

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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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Like Drops of Water

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“If you are filled with desire
Your sorrows swellLike the grass after the rain.
But if you subdue desire
Your sorrows shall fall from you
Like drops of water from a lotus flower.”
(Hindu Prince Siddhārtha Gautama – the Buddha, 563-483 B.C.)

Those marigolds were offering at the entrance of the Mahabodhi Temple which is the place of Gautama Buddha’s attainment of nirvana (Enlightenment), located in Bodh Gaya (बोधगया), in the Indian state of Bihar.

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Whatever Words

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“Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.”
(Buddha – Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C)

This is a close-up of a huge bell at the entrance of the Mahabodhi Temple, the place of Gautama Buddha’s attainment of nirvana (Enlightenment), in Bodh Gaya (बोधगया), in the Indian state of Bihar.

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Strings of Tension

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“The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck.”
(Ralph Waldo Emerson – American Poet and Essayist, 1803-1882)

This is a close-up of the foot of a Sanskrit university student, trained to become a Hindu priest, while he was performing a religious ritual ceremony in order to worship the elements at Dasaswamedh ghat along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).
At that time he was manipulating a heavy “Aarti lamp” making a tension on his foot while he had to twist his body in clockwise manner.
Marigold petals were spread all around the platform.

Free from Attachments

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“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…

The Patriarchs

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“‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord.
Or where will my resting place be?”
(The Bible – Acts 7:49)

I met those saddhus this morning as I was walking along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).
They always remind me The Patriarchs from the Bible and I wouldn’t be surprised to know that the oldest living city in the world managed to keep them frozen in time…

Echoing the Sun

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“The marigold, whose courtier’s face
Echoes the sun, and doth unlace
Her at his rise, at his full stop
Packs and shuts up her gaudy shop”.
(John Cleveland – English poet, 1613–1658)

In my daydreams the ghats take the appearance of staves ready for musical notation and this young man is a clef indicating the pitch of written notes on this poetic music paper.
Then the marigold becomes a dotted note on the line.
With a little of imagination anything is possible along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).

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.

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