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 )
I Exist…
I exist as I am, that is enough,
if no other in the world be aware,
I sit content,
and if each and all be aware,
I sit content.
~ ` ~ Walt Whitman
Unbecoming everything…
May be
The journey isn’t so much about becoming anything.
Maybe it’s unbecoming everything
that isn’t you
….so that you can
be who you were meant
to be
in the first place…
~ ` ~ Unknown
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
Forest…
How impossible it is to walk though the forest
without telegraphing
your presence…
~ ` ~ Zen
The Bud…
And the day came when the risk
to remain tight in a bud was more
painful than the risk
it took to blossom.
~ ` ~ Anais Nin
Merge…
Memories of our childhood
are like images painted on
a wet canvas, they merge
until they lose all shape,
often remaining only as
feelings.
~ ` ~ Brian Mynott
Eventually , all things
merge into one,
and a river runs through it
~ ` ~ Norman Maclean
In greatness,
life and death
merge.
~ ` ~ Dejan Stojanovic
Surrender is the
ultimate technique
to merge with
existence
~ ` ~ Paramahamsa Nithyananda
Thought that can merge
wholly into feeling,
feeling that can merge
wholly into thought-
these are the artist’s highest joy
~ ` ~ Thomas Mann
I merged so completely with
love
and was so fused
that I became
love
and love became
me
– ~ ` ~ Rumi
Cling to…
How we need another S O U L
to cling to.
~ ` ~ Sylvia Plath
You can only L O V E
What you cling to.
~ ` ~ Buddha
what did my arms
do before they held
Y O U .
~ ` ~ Sylvia Plath
Stillness Speaks…
Be still
stillness reveals
the secret of
eternity…
` ~ ` Lao Tzu
That the mind
is in
abysmal stillness…
` ~ ` Lao Tzu
Nothing in all
creation is
so like god
as
Stillness.
` ~ ` Meister Eckhart
Learning how to
be still,
to really be still
and let life happen–
that stillness becomes a
radiance…
` ~ ` Morgan Freeman
Even when in the midst
of disturbance,
stillness of the mind can
offer
sanctuary..
` ~ ` Stephen Richards
In the stillness of headstones ,
Darkness in my blanket.
And forever in my song..
In the arms if stare angles,
I ‘m not afraid.
Because finally and
completely,
I belong
` ~ ` Jordan Dane
Please also take a look at my other post..https://sriramjanak.wordpress.com/2012/06/02/speaking-rocks/
( location : Aritappati village…near Madurai. Tamil Nadu,
INDIA )
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 )
Black & white…
“Color is everything,
black and white is more.
~`~ Dorninie Rouse
“To see in color is a delight for the eye
but to see in black and white is a
delight for the soul.”
~`~ Andri Cauldwell
“I’ve been forty years discovering that
the queen of all colors is black.”
~`~ Henri Mattise
“One very important difference between color and monochromatic photography is this:
in black and white you suggest;
in color you state .
Much can be implied by suggestion, but statement demands certainty…
absolute certainty.”
~`~ Paul Outerbridge
“Black and white are the colors of photography.
To me they symbolize the alternatives of hope and despair to
which mankind is forever subjected.”
~`~ Robert Frank
The world is in color
you have to work at B& W
~`~ Andrew Maclean
Black and white are the colors of photography.
To me they symbolize the alternatives of hope and despair
to which mankind is forever subjected.
~`~ Unknown
Black & white (photography) frees up the photographer to see the
World & recreate it in a fresh way, shifting the image from
“How it looked to” how it felt.”
~`~ Gregory Heisler
Life is like a good B&W photograph,
there ‘s black , there’s white &
lots of shades in between
~`~ Karl Heiner
Shadow & Soul…
“I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.”
~`~ Pablo Neruda
A Hug…
Hugging is the ideal gift.
Great for any occasion, fun to give and receive,
shows you care, comes with its own wrapping and,
of course, is fully returnable. Hugging is practically perfect.
No batteries to wear out, inflation-proof, nonfattening,
no monthly payments, theft-proof and nontaxable.”
~~ Unknown
“Hugs are a means of transferring energy to
another person who is dear to you.
This will replenish depleted energy
at any time particularly when a dear person is sick.”
~~ Unknown
“Hugs are to pull two
people closer together
but why is it that you can never see the other
person’s expression when it happens?”
~~ Unknown
My favorite place to
be is inside of your
hugs where it’s warm and loving.”
~~ unknown
“As long as you hold me,
I am safe from all harm.”
~~ Unknown
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…:-)
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 )
Baby & I…
Dear Friends…
It’s exactly one year since I started my blog
Living with a damaged skull
I started with my first post.”unconditional love” .(.https://sriramjanak.wordpress.com/2012/05/24/babys-day-out/)..about elephants babies…
And I thought It would be appropriate to celebrate this I st anniversary with another post about them …
My thanks to all my blogger friends who have supported me through out…..taken time to be here with me and also like /comment on my posts..
The past one year has been a great learning experience for me and I also did damage my skull ( literally ).. 🙂 .which I hope makes me better in the coming years… :-).
This post is for you my friends…
Take care
Sriram Janak
A wee bit of heaven
Drifted down from above—
A handful of happiness,A heart full of love…
The mystery of life,
So sacred and sweet—
The giver of joy,
So deep & complete.
Precious & priceless,
So lovable, too –
The world‘s sweetest miracle,
Baby, is YOU..
~~ Helen Steiner Rice
Mommy says
I am cute….
If you think
I am cute….
You should see my
Butt….
I may be small..
But I am the Boss…
Babies are the link
Between angels & man
~~ unknown
A baby is god’s opinion that
the world should go on…
~~ Carl Sandburg
Sometimes the smallest bundles bring
The greatest joy…
~~ Unknown
Every baby needs
A lap…
~~ Henry Robin
Sometimes the smallest things shine
brightest in our lives…
~~ unknown
Some times It’s the smallest things that
take up the most room in our
Heart…
~~ Winnie the pooh
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 )
Crossing…
Many rivers to Cross
And it’s only my will that keeps me alive
I ‘ve been licked, washed up for years
And I merely Survive because of my pride
Many rivers to Cross……
~~ Jimmy Cliff
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,
Angel…
E very blade of grass has its angel
that bends over it and whispers,
“grow , Grow “
~~ The Talmud
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…..
Understand them…
“ The beast which passeth all others
in wit & mind “
~~ Aristotle
to understand them…
Just intellect is not enough…
To Understand them…
you will have to go on the same path they traveled…..
To understand them …
it is essential to understand what they feel….
To understand them…
without including their emotions is not right…
Heaven’s gate…
-
- There is a place, or so I’m told,
- With Landscapes lovelier than gold,
- And all who enter will never grow old–
- Again
- There’s only one door to this land so fair,
- Enter with a true heart, a dream and a prayer,
- And only love can bring you there —
- For love is the only key.
( Poem : by Christine B. 1966 )
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 )
Sharing…
Sharing your blissfulness is the only charity.
Sharing your joy is the only gratitude.
Existence has given you too much, share it.
The more you share the more you will have it
The less you share the less you will have it.
If you don’t share it you won’t have it at all.
~~Osho
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 )
Above the clouds…
I heard it
in my sleep
calling me softly
it was
my mother
speaking from her grave
my son !
there is no heaven
above the clouds.
WHAT !
yes, heaven is in your heart.
( words : Don Mettera )
Spreading itself
over mountain tops…..
Promting us to travel beyond limits….
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 )
Day will break…
Let me not grope in vain in the dark
but keep my mind still in the faith
that the day will break
and the truth will appear
in it’s simplicity.
~~Rabindranath Tagore
Tusker in rain…
” only that day dawns to
which we are awake “
~~Henry David Thoreau
I always wanted to photograph a Tusker in rain……
early morning ride….
we were just entering the forest through the bamboo thickets…..when
we heard the sound of bamboo cracking….& the bamboo near the road swayed….
It was raining…
and I was praying….
the camera was ready…and we saw this handsome fellow emerge …
In the forest …
they say everything happens suddenly &
all at once…
cutting off….
all speech…
cutting off…
all thoughts…
He emerged…..
“…….the painter is in love with colours,
The poet is in love with words…….”
~~~ Osho
and I was in love with this gentle gaint…
Standing still…
” …every creature on the face of the earth seems to know how to be quiet and
still…..
but we seem to have lost the ability just to be quiet, to simply be
present in the stillness that is the basis of our existence……”
~~john daido loori
Stillness is very natural
and uncomplicated..
.
it is incredibly
Profound…
“…still , calm ,even
in the midst of chaos……”
” To be still means…
to empty yourself from the incessant flow of thoughts
and create a state of consciousness that is open and
receptive….”
” The stilled mind is like a mirror.
It doesn’t process ; it just reflects.
at any moment it is free…”
Living with a damaged skull 
