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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Receiving From Life

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“The world is a mirror.
We receive from life not what we want but who we are.
There are reasons to our lives and painful times never last.
Trust that the winter of your sorrow will yield to the summer of your joy, just as the brilliant rays of the morning always follow the darkest part of the night”.
(from “Daily Inspiration” by Robin Sharma)

This morning at sunrise a priest was performing Ganga Aarti at Dasaswarmeth ghat along the holy waters of the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).

The Beginning

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“Getting up early is a gift you give to yourself.
Few discipline have the power to transform your life as does the habit of early rising.
There is something very special about the first few hours of the morning.
Time seems to slow down and a deep sense of peace fills the air.
Joining the Five o’Clock Club will allow you to start controlling your day rather than letting your day control you.
Winning the “Battle of the Bed” and putting “mind over mattress” by rising early will provide you with at least one quiet hour for yourself during the most crucial part of your day: the beginning.
If spent wisely, the rest of your day will unfold in a wonderful way”.
(From “Daily Inspiration” by Robin Sharma)

At Dasaswarneth ghat a priest is performing Ganga Aarti every morning along the holy waters of the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).
Since many years I was trying to take those pictures but always failed to come in time at this ghat, this season I managed to join the Five o’Clock Club…;)

Freedom

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“The moment I have realized God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him – that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free”.
(Swami Vivekanada – Indian spiritual leader, 1863-1902)

This is one more picture shot at dawn at Dasaswarneth ghat where a priest is performing Ganga Aarti every day along the holy waters of the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).

To the Divine

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“There is a desire deep within the soul which drives man from the seen to the unseen, to philosophy and to the divine.”
(Kahlil Gibran – Lebanese born American philosophical Essayist, Novelist and Poet. 1883-1931)

This is the ceremony celbrated for Dev Diwali and held at Prayag ghat along the holy waters of the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).
It is known as the “Festival of Light” where the lights or lamps signify the uplighting of darkness and victory of good over the evil within.
Hindus, Jains and Sikhs alike regard it as a celebration of life and use the occasion to strengthen family and social relationships.
For Hindus it is one of the most important festivals, and beginning of the year, especially in North India.

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A Fantastic World

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“We have learnt that nothing is simple and rational except what we ourselves have invented; that God thinks in terms neither of Euclid nor of Riemann; that science has “explained” nothing; that the more we know the more fantastic the world becomes and the profounder the surrounding darkness.”
(Aldous Huxley – English Novelist, 1894-1963)

This picture was shot at Prayag Ghat along the holy waters of the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras) during the celebrations of Dev Diwali on the occasion of Kartik Poornima.
The “Festival of Light” is the victory of good over the evil within and those young priests are performing Ganga Aarti with vedic hymns in order to please and welcome the Gods who descend on earth on that special day.

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Rich and Sorrowful Knowledge

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“Love, then sought out, is an ailment, between the flesh and the bone, and only when youth has passed, does the pain bring rich and Sorrowful knowledge”.
(Khalil Gibran – Lebanese American artist, poet, and writer, 1883–1931)

One morning as I was walking along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras) I saw this couple following a puja (religious ritual) celebrated by a priest.
Three other men were sitting next to them.
All of them were wearing a Janeu (जनेऊ), the sacred thread showing their condition of Brahmins.
I found this couple quite moving, since the lady couldn’t sit or walk properly she was on a chair, holding her husband’s shoulder in order to make a link transmitting the prayers.
Appart of the religious boundery this gesture is to my eyes the ultimate symbol of love.
Mostly when time went by leaving a rich and sorrowful knowledge…

The Golden Lectures

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“Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.” 
(George Washington Carver – American scientist, botanist, educator, and inventor, 1864–1943)

Sometimes I can enjoy the golden lectures spread along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras), the oldest living city in the world.
There is something timeless, something that seems to come from far away in time, a teaching that goes through generations, through frontiers and culture…
In this image the elder man was reading holy scriptures to this young boy, I didn’t speak to them and I don’t know who they are, neither what is the relationship between them as I didn’t want to disturb.
The man is wearing the thread which shows he is Brahman, he is also wearing Rudraksh beads and several attributes showing that he is deeply involved into religion.

He was performing a puja called asthi visarjan for the departed souls journey to heaven .

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