Silence within…
Lead the mind…
By the mind…
bring it to silence…
In the quiet…
state of mind…
when all the sound..
ripples cease…
The job is done…
( location: Eravikulam National Park , Kerala, South India )
(Words : Adapted from an article by Bramachari Chaitanya )
Senses…
I smell with my ears
I taste with my eyes
I see with my hands
I touch with my tongue
I hear with my nose
I know
I am in my senses now.
( Poem : Kabir das < location : Kodaikanal, a small hill town near Madurai, Tamil nadu, South India )
Happiness…
On a cloudy day, the clouds hide the sun,
but the sun is always there in
the sky…
Like the sun, happiness is often hidden by
the clouds of thoughts & worries…
You have to scatter &dissolve the clouds to
experience it…
All you have to do is calm down your mind &
feelings, because when there is a quiet mind
& inner peace, happiness emerges
from within you…
You don’t have to create happiness, because though
you may not believe it, it is a part of your
essence , but is just hidden…
…happiness is there within you.
just calm your mind & stay relaxed...
…what you need to do is strive not to allow
your feelings get upset by
your memories...
Inner peace & happiness are inter connected.
you want more happiness ?
Learn to calm your mind make
it less restless…
It is an inseparable part of your consciousness,
of your essence, & comes out
where your mind
is free from disturbing &
constant thinking…
...when the mind gets quiet you experience the
happiness in you…
...the treasure is there , whether you see it
or not. so is happiness.
…it is always here , only hidden by
constant thinking
& worries…
Do not let worries
hide
your
Happiness…
Location : Samanar Hills ( Jain hills) keelakuilkudi, Near Madurai, Tamil Nadu. India (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samanar_Hills)
Words: adapted from an article by Remez Sasson
Soul…
Souls recognize each
other
by vibes…
not by
appearances…
Where ever you
stand
be the soul
of the place.
~ ` ~ Rumi
Friendship is composed
of a single soul.
Inhabiting
two bodies.
~ ` ~ Plautus
The soul
cannot
live without love.
You are a spirit , you
have a soul and you
live in a body.
~ ` ~ Pedro Okoro
( Picture : Indian Gaur )
Too Busy…
You should sit in meditation for
twenty minutes every
day – unless you’re too busy;
then you should sit for an hour.
~ ` ~ Zen
To be Found
You sometimes think
you want to
disappear, but all
you really want
is to be
found
~ ` ~ Yakkida
The Moment…
The moment in between what you once were,
and who you are becoming
is where the
dance of life
really begins.
~ ` ~ Barbara Deangelis
Alive…
It is beautiful to be
sensitive…
And if you are more
sensitive…
You will be more
Alive…
If you are more Alive,
then more life will
Enter your inner being.
You will be more
Open…
You can eat things with out
tasting; it is not difficult…
But…it is beautiful to taste….
become the taste of the food…
We are feeling vacant, empty and
we keep saying life is….empty
We are not filling it…
Be more alive, and you will be more Divine.
Be totally alive,
and there is no death for you…
( Words : OSHO )
A Tree…
A tree says: My strength is trust.
I know nothing about my fathers,
I know nothing about the thousand children that
every year spring out of me. I live out the secret of my seed
t o the very end, and I care for nothing else. I trust that God is in me.
I trust that my labor is holy. Out of this trust I live.
~~ Hermann Hesse
I never saw a discontented tree.
They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though
fast rooted they travel about as far as we do.
They go wandering forth in all directions with every wind,
going and coming like ourselves, traveling with us around the sun two million miles a day
and through space heaven knows how fast and far!
~ ~ John Muir
Consider the trees which allow the birds to perch and fly
away without either inviting them to stay
or desiring them never to depart.
If your heart can be like this,
you will be near to the way..
~~ Zen saying
“Love the trees until their leaves fall off,
then encourage them to try again next year.”
~~ Chad Sugg
( A Ficus mollis tree )
Wildness…
I don’t like formal gardens.
I like wild nature.
It’s just the wildness instinct in me,
I Guess.
~~ Walt Disney
Mind seeing…
I shut my eyes in order to see…
The poet, the painter, or the photographer who is locked into only the visual phenomena
may miss the heart of what was actually being experienced…
Internationalization closes
many doors…
Do not go where the path may lead,
go instead where there is no path and leave a trail
~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Enjoy the mystery .
All the good stuff is hidden in the dark corners.
It’s what gives life a sense of vitality…
The brush paints by itself,
the dance dances itself,
the poem writes itself.
There is no longer a gap between artist, subject,
audience, and life…
Just see, just hear, just taste,
just touch, just smell,
just see a thought without the need to give it a name or identity.
This way of perceiving will then begin to translate
into the way you express yourself through your art…
Only that day dawns to which we are awake
~`Henry David Thoreau
Develop the ability to experience things directly, without evaluation.
You will be able to see, hear fell taste, smell…
As your attentiveness and awareness increase with practice….
you will begin to notice little things that you have been seeing everyday
but barely noticed in passing…
Only that day dawns
to which we are awake
~`Henry David Thoreau
Each one of us is n artist
Whether we realize it or not…
When you learn to trust yourself implicitly,
you no longer need to prove something
through your art…
If the energy is really flowing freely,
the brush paints by itself. the camera pictographs,…
.the sculpture forms…the words write…
To be nothing…to want nothing…
to do nothing…
it has to be experienced…
( Words: zen arts, Minor white, Ryoken, Zen creativity…)
Wishing you all a blessed and peaceful new year…:-)
Ocean…
“How inappropriate to call this planet earth
When it is quite clearly Ocean “
~` Arthur .c. Clarke
Life is always beautiful,
just find where you stand &
enjoy it…
Every wave has a
story to tell….
“ In a drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans….
in one aspect of you
are found all the aspects of existence “
~~ khalil Gibran
Walking by the ocean…
following birth and death…
Dreaming big….
unlearning…
“The wonder of nature
with it’s infinite form & colors ,
the sages call : Illusion “
~~ Upanishads
( location : The Andaman, Havelock, Neil islands…India )
Light…
Think about it . Light , where would we be without it ?
Light we can capture it.
It is light that reveals,
Light that obscures,
Light that communicates.
It is light I “listen ” to.
~~ Louis Daguerre
(On world photography day August 19th )
Living rocks -Jain hill – Aritapati
Silence and Self-control is non-violence.
~~~ Lord Mahavira
Half a mile to the north west of the village of Arittapatti is a hillock called Kalinjamalai
( Arittapatti village is Near Madurai, Tamil Nadu, In India )
Arittapatti was to be a flourishing Jaina centre until the
Ninth century…
This is confirmed by the period rock carving of a seated Tirthankara, canopied by a triple umbrella over his head;
Non-injury to all living beings is the only religion.” (first truth of Jainism) “In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self, and should therefore refrain from inflicting upon others such injury as would appear undesirable to us if inflicted upon ourselves.”
“This is the quintessence of wisdom; not to kill anything. All breathing, existing, living sentient creatures should not be slain, nor treated with violence, nor abused, nor tormented, nor driven away. This is the pure unchangeable Law. Therefore, cease to injure living things.”
“All living things love their life, desire pleasure and do not like pain; they dislike any injury to themselves; everybody is desirous of life and to every being, his life is very dear.”
Yogashastra (Jain Scripture) (c. 500 BC)”
On the eastern face of the hill is a cavern with a drip-ledge cut into the outer face of the rock.
On the brow of the cave is found a Bramhi inscription which has been dated to between the second and first century B.C.
The inscription, engraved as a single line with 33 letters and running for 3.10 metres, reads as follows: ilanjiy vel mapparavan makan emayavan nalmuzhaukai kotupithavan.
It means, “Emayavan, son of Mapparavan, chief of Ilanji, has caused the carving of this auspicious cave.”
“Mahavira proclaimed in India that religion is a reality and not a mere social convention.
It is really true that salvation can not be had by merely observing external ceremonies.
Religion cannot make any difference between man and man.”
~~~Rabindranath Tagore
Jain Thirthankara sculpture is carved out with engravings below.
“We learn from scriptures (Sashtras) and commentaries that Jainism is existing from beginningless time.
This fact is indisputable and free from difference of opinion.
There is much historical evidence on this point.”
‑‑ Lokamanya Bala Gangadhar Tilak
The beautiful rock formations was what which drew me to this place…
do take a look at my post Balance... here
These rocks hide some deep meaning ..
only our eyes need to see them…
These rocks give you a Religious sense of Awe…
The silence is very real….
You can feel it..
Seemingly close enough to reach out
and touch…
They don’t talk..
and that’s what I like about them…
But..
each rock has a story to tell…
( Source: Jain heritage site; The Hindu )
Balance…
” What I dream of is
an art of balance…”
~~ Henri Matisse
Life is Balance….
Everything that you see as life…
Everything that you see as yourself is
beautiful…
only when it is in
Balance..
Your body,
Your thoughts….
Your emotions…
Everything is beautiful…
only if it is Balance…
Balance IS
Beautiful….
~~ Miyoko ohno
(words : jaggi Vasudev )
Living rocks -Jain hill – Keelakuyilkudi
Climbing over the zenith of the Rocky Mountains,
I caught my first glimpse of this bass relief,
which is arguably the most beautiful of its kind, in southern India.
And right then, right there, I was hooked…..Actually I had fallen in love with the rock formations around Madurai
you can see some of the photos here..
https://sriramjanak.wordpress.com/2012/06/02/speaking-rocks/
I live in madurai , a city ,in the state of Tamil nadu , in the south of India.
It is famously known as the temple city or the Athens of the east.
Madurai is surrounded by several mountains. Madurai city has 3 hills as its city boundary.
Yanaimalai, Nagamalai, Pasumalai named after Elephant, Snake and Cow respectively.
Many stone statues and other artifacts are present in these hill
I have been exploring these hills alone and with friends for the past year or so.
I will share photos of these beautiful statues , inscriptions and the rock formations on these hills in the series
“ Living rocks“…
I will start this series with…
Jain hill at Keelakuyilkudi
An 8 feet high Theerthangarar figure with an inscription at its foot is seen
at the cave known as in the southern part of the hillock.
(Jain scriptures define the term tirthankara as follows: the contrivance which help to cross the great ocean of worldly life is called Tirtha and the person who makes that tirtha is known as tirthankara )
The most beautiful bas-relief of the Tirthankara in Madurai ( if not in Tamil nadu )
A Jain temple prospered here from 1st century to 10th century with large number of students.
It remained as a worship place for Jains during 8th century.
Tamil-Brahmi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil-Brahmi ) script on a boulder on the hill’s terrace.
The script is engraved on the boulder in which a drip-ledge has been cut and
beds excavated on the rock floor for the Jain monks to rest .
Also Theerthangarar figures are seen near the spring at
the cave at the top of hillock.
Ancient inscriptions are seen below these figures.
Central Archaeological department preserves this hill.
Archaeologists consider that once a Theerthangarar temple should have been present at the top of this hillock.
Kings, landlords and village heads had supported this Jain temple.
Speaking rocks….
you just need to touch them…
in the southern part of the hillock. Inside the cave there
are 3 Theerthangarar and 2 Iyyakki Bas -relief figures
The smoke…
I know , I know we’ll never forget
Smoke on the water & fire in the sky.
smoke on the water…..
~~ Deep purple
MOSI– OA — TUNYA
Also known as the
S M O K E T H A T T H U N D E R S
” The most wonderful sight
I had witnessed in Africa “
~~ Dr David Livingstone
He heard the roar
still miles away……
the spray from the falls rises to a
height of over 400 m–sometimes even twice as high &
is visible up to 50 km away !
The spray shoots upward
like inverted rain….
Its nearly 2 k m wide…
Life is too short …..
not to be in the most exciting places in the
world…..
Nature has it’s own way of scripting
her story….
I shut my eyes…
wishing it would never end…
Every thing in this world
is beautiful…
E V E R Y T H I N G…
( Victoria falls– Aerial shots from a chopper )
soul…
If they breath they live….
If they live they feel….
If they feel they love….
If they love they are aware…
If they are aware ..
They have a SOUL….
( words : Anthony Douglas Williams )
Memories…
Learn to be in the present,
withdraw your energy from
the past . Don’t waste your
time in Memories , what is
gone is gone__say goodbye
to it & close the chapter.
~~~ Osho
Do no dwell in the past,
do not dream of the future,
concentrate the mind on
the present moment..
~~~~ Buddha
Don’t let yesterday use up too much
of today.
~~~ Cherokee Indian Proverb
In the carriages of the past
you can’t go anywhere..
~~~ Maxim Gorky
The living moment
is everything
~~ D. H . Lawrence
Its not what if…
It’s what now
~~~ unknown
what you are is what you have been.
What you’ll be is what you do now.
~~~ Buddha
Hands…
Moving away from Nature …
I am presenting something different..
There is no special teaching:
The most ordinary things in our daily
Life hide some deep meaning that is yet
Most plain and explicit; only our eyes
Need to see where there is a meaning…
There is nothing to achieve, nor to go
just let life flow.
“The silence has its language:
knows to be understood.”
-Buddha
Don’t look for anything
Life is now
Time passes.
Without rejecting,
or obtain
only in deep contemplation.
Here and now!
Not knowing
It is the most
intimate.
Zen is live everyday life
enjoy this moment without attachment.
This time is the only thing that exists
Silence is something that comes from your heart,
not from the outside. Does not mean not to mention,
means that nothing disturbs you inside you,
there is no internal conversation…
The practice consists of finding silence in everything you do…
“The hatred with non-violence, beat”
defeat the evil with goodness,
conquer the miser with a gift
“and a liar with truth” Buddha
All we need is love &heart
There is no hurry
Every place is here
all times
It is now.
Not he meditates to get something
He meditates to get rid of everything.
I support you;
you I lean.
I am in this world to offer you peace;
you are in this world to bring me joy.
“being happy is simple how difficult is to be simple”….
Darkness…
From silence emerges
Everything,
and everything returns
To silence…..
Just like …
everything emerges ..
and goes …
Back to darkness….
Walk away…
Don’t turn round
‘Cause you’re gonna see my heart
Breaking
Don’t turn around I don’t want you see me cry
Just walk away….
It’s tearing me apart you are
Leaving……
(words : Ace Of Base )
Inner peace…
” Do not let the behavior of others
destroy your inner peace. ”
~~ Dalai lama
My wishes for a beautiful & peaceful New year…
Shadow…
You think the shadow is the substance:
so to you the substance has become a cheap toy.
Wait until the day when that substance
freely unfolds its wings.
Then you will see the mountains become as soft as wool,
and this earth of heat and ice b
you will see neither the sky nor the stars,
Path…
To follow the path
Look to the master
Follow the master
Walk with the master
See through the master
Become the master
~~ zen
Whisper a wish…
As the Indian Legend goes;
Whisper a wish to a butterfly,
since a butterfly can make no sound,
the butterfly cannot reveal….
The wish to anyone but the great spirit.
In gratitude for giving the beautiful butterfly its freedom,
The great spirit always grants the wish…
So , according to legend, by making a wish & giving
The butterfly its freedom…
The wish will be taken to the heavens
and
Be Granted…..
Inner sun…
As I walked on my way, I realized that it is not only the sun
which can make a day much brighter.
How is it that we deny ourselves an inner sun, shinning through the silent words of
Nature?
Even your inner colors change as the patterns of
your inner self dance to a new rhythm in life.
This must now be part of your daily movement: to recognize, greet, and
listen to all forms of nature, from the lowly moss to the greatest tree.
All share in he one life , all dance to tha same rhythm , all blend
their notes in the song of the universe.
We rejoice, our brother, for soon that song will blend into your pattern of color ,
and the doors of a new and deeper sharing will be thrown wide open…
You listen to the silent song of my
Voice….
( words : Michael J . Roads )
Mystery…
” Every art has its mystery
its Spiritual rhythm”
~~ D.T Suzuki
“Mystery
is usually associated with the darker side of life….
In religion & art , mystery is light itself …its the life blood that pumps through true religion & artistic practice…….”
“…Mystery is the itch that you can’t Scratch ,
the driving force of spiritual & creative
journeys…”
” Mystery is the seed of
discovery…..
Mystery…
” having a spiritual meaning that is neither apparent to
the senses nor obvious to the intellect .
It is direct subjective communication with ultimate reality…”
( words : John Daido Loori )
No ripples…
The pond stood still
No ripples
To grow lilies
We must leave it dirty
The water invites the frogs
Croaking singing now every night
To grow lilies in the still pond
We must create an entire world
Create a
universe…
is this how it all began ?
to grow lilies
( words : Divyam Surabhi )
Two Hearts…
Two Hearts, in their own
world, Beating for each other,
with great reverence. !
~~ Aakruti
The birds around me……
Their thoughts I cannot measure……
But the least motion which they made
It seemed a thrill of pleasure…..
~~( william Wordsworth )
Not the flower but the Fragrance…
You ask me ,
” can you tell us what is the purpose of creation ? ”
The world has never been created.
It has always been here ,
it is eternal.
There is no creator of the world :
God is not the creator of the world …
god is the
very creative energy of existence —
creativity rather than a creator.
He is not the poet but
the poetry…
Not the dancer
but the dance….
not the flower but
the fragrance…
~~~~~The Dhammapada
( the way of Buddha )
Letting go…
” Nothing that grieves us can be called little : by eternel laws of propotions
a child’s loss of a doll and a king’s loss of a crown
are events of the same size…”
~~ Mark Twain
Pain is inevitable..suffering optional
it points out to us …….
what we are holding on to the most …..
Every thing changes , yet what is most
true & real always remain…
Rather than thinking of liberation at a some future time…
Let go.… of little things , one at a time…
Living with a damaged skull 