“Being Kind”

“Be kind to all creatures; this is the true religion.”
(Siddhārtha Gautama, known as the Buddha – c. 563 BCE/480 BCE – c. 483 BCE/400 BCE)

This is a close-up of one of the statues of the Buddha inside the Tibetan temple in Sarnath which is located at 13 km away from Varanasi (Benaras).

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A Product Of The Infinite

“We are finite, in that we are a product and source of the infinite.”
(Ilyas Kassam – writer and poet of Inclusional philosophy)

This is a picture of a RED HALO woolen scarf with Aari embroidery.
(Scarf style “Jaisalmer” – Col. Grey/White – 200×70 – 100% Wool – Collection RED HALO)

RED HALO is a collection of household linen based in Benaras (Varanasi – India) providing work to people who were living with difficulties and education to children.
“Like” the RED HALO page on Facebook and join this amazing human adventure in Varanasi,www.facebook.com/redhalo.in

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An Expression Of The Divine Wrapped in Purple

“I am a, just like a peach is, just like a fish is.
I have a right to be this way…
I can’t apologize for that, nor can I change it, nor do I want to…
We will never have to be other than who we are in order to be successful…
We realize that we are as ourselves unlimited and our experiences valid.
It is for the rest of the world to recognize this, if they choose.”
(From “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker)

This is a sacred sculpture from Kolkata’s Indian Museum which has a fascinating composition.
It is located in Chowringhee on Jawahar Lal Nehru Road, known as “Jadughar”, and is one of the earliest museums established in the world and considered the largest one in the country.
Sometimes arise mysterious fluids taking different shades of colours, the purle glow leads to the path of dreams…

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Traversing Sensuality

“The body is an instrument which only gives off music when it is used as a body.
Always an orchestra, and just as music traverses walls, so sensuality traverses the body and reaches up to ecstasy.”
(From “The Diary Of Anais Nin, Volume Two (1934-1939)” by Anaïs Nin)

This apsara (celestial nymph) was sculpted during the 8th century AD by the Ganga Pratihara School and is coming from Etah in Uttar Pradesh before resting in the Bharat Kala Bhavan, the Art and Archaeological Museum of Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi (Benaras).

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The Energies of the Universe

“To the question “What am I? The scripture replies “Tat tvamasi” it means ” You are that”.
Throwing another question “You are that? ….what does the THAT signify?”, the scriptures replies “Aham Brahmasmi” it means “You are part of the Universe”.
Throwing in the last question “Which part of the Universe”, the scriptures replies ” Antaryami” it means ” the super soul within you aka the God which resides within you”.
The quintessential seeker bluntly wonders “The God within me? Is God a thing or a concept? Is God a “He” or a “She”? If God is within me, am I God? How can I be God? Is God working through me?”
( From an article by Saumya Suresh – ablogonpsychology.blogspot.fr/2012/07/anima-animus-indian… )

This is a contemporary Ardhanarishvara statue which stands in front of the main building of the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University in Varanasi (Benaras).
Ardhanarishvara is a composite androgynous form of the Hindu god Shiva and his consort Parvati (also known as Devi, Shakti and Uma).
Ardhanarishvara is depicted as half male and half female, split down the middle, it represents the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe and illustrates how Shakti, the female principle of God, is inseparable from (or the same as, according to some interpretations) Shiva, the male principle of God.
The union of these principles is exalted as the root of all creation.
Another view is that Ardhanarishvara as a symbol of Shiva’s all-pervasive nature.

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Dragron Study

“Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage.
Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.”
(From “Letters to a Young Poet” by Rainer Maria Rilke, 1875-1926)

This is a detail which is on the corner of a door of the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University in Varanasi (Benaras).
It is a quiet place nearby the house where I am living and I like to come there in order to daydream among this amazing Gothic style architecture which is quite unexepected in this city.
This building was established in 1791.

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A Door Will Open

“Learn the alchemy true human beings know.
The moment you accept what troubles you’ve been given, the door will open.
Welcome difficulty as a familiar comrade.
Joke with torment brought by the friend.
Sorrows are the rags of old clothes and jackets that serve to cover, then are taken off.
That undressing and the beautiful naked body underneath is the sweetness that comes after grief.
The hurt you embrace becomes joy.
Call it to you where it can change.
A silk worm eating leaves makes a cocoon.
Each of us weaves a chamber of leaves and sticks. Silk worms begin to truly exist as they disappear inside that room.
Without legs we fly.
When I stop speaking, this poem will close and open its silent wings.”
(Rumi (Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi) – Persian poet and Sufi mystic, 1207-1273)

This is the door of a house which is nearby the Ganges in the oldest part of timeless varanasi (Benaras).

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The Breath Inside The Breath

“Are you looking for me?
I am in the next seat.
My shoulder is against yours.
you will not find me in the stupas,
not in Indian shrine rooms,
nor in synagogues,
nor in cathedrals:
not in masses,
nor kirtans,
not in legs winding around your own neck,
nor in eating nothing but vegetables.
When you really look for me,
you will see me instantly —
you will find me in the tiniest house of time.
Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God?
He is the breath inside the breath.”
(Kabir – mystic poet and saint of India, 1440–1518)

This picture was shot inside the Bara-Gumbad Mosque located in the Lodi Gardens in Delhi with architectural works of the 15th century which is extremely rich in arabesque stucco decoration and paintings consisting of floral and geometrical designs and quranic inscriptions, partaking both the Tughlaq and Mughal features.

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With Love, Admiration And Respect

“It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it.
But I think it is only important to love the world, not to despise it, not for us to hate each other, but to be able to regard the world and ourselves and all beings with love, admiration and respect.”
(From “Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse)

This statue of Buddha is on the south side of the central tower which rises 55 metres (180 ft) of the Mahabodhi Temple (“Great Awakening Temple”) in Bodh Gaya in the Indian state of Bihar.
It is the location where Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, is said to have attained enlightenment.
The temple, a Buddhist stupa, the most sacred site in Buddhism is visited regularly by both Buddhist and Hindu pilgrims (many Hindus honor the Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu).
The holy Bodhi tree is near to the temple to the western side.
According UNESCO, “the present temple is one of the earliest and most imposing structures built entirely in brick from Gupta period”.

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Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice

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“O my Lord! Grant me a righteous (son)!” So We gave him the good news of a boy, possessing forbearance. And when (his son) was old enough to walk and work with him, (Abraham) said: O my dear son, I see in vision that I offer you in sacrifice: Now see what is your view!”
(The son) said: “O my father! Do what you are commanded; if Allah wills, you will find me one practising patience and steadfastness!”
So when they both submitted and he threw him down upon his forehead, We called out to him saying: O Ibrahim! You have indeed fulfilled the vision; surely thus do We reward those who do good. Most surely this was a manifest trial. And We ransomed him with a momentous sacrifice. And We perpetuated (praise) to him among the later generations. “Peace and salutation to Abraham!” Thus indeed do We reward those who do right. Surely he was one of Our believing servants. And We gave him the good news of Ishaq, a prophet from among the righteous.”
(Quran 37:100–111)

Eid al-Adha is a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to honour the willingness of the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his young first-born son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of submission to God’s command and his son’s acceptance to being sacrificed, before God intervened to provide Abraham with a ram to sacrifice instead.
In North India this festival is also called “Bakrid”, from the Urdu-Hindi word bakri (goat) because of the tradition of sacrificing a goat.
(This picture of a tazia was shot in Varanasi (Benaras) during Muharram).

May Allah’s love brighten up the home and heart of all you know on this auspicious day.
I wish everyone a blessed Eid and a Happy Eid Mubarak.

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