The Muse…
One must give himself completely
To his art and not hold back.
Throw caution to the
Wind.
Embrace the muse.
•~• Harley King
Apply Within…
You once told me
You wanted to find
Yourself in the world –
And I told you to
First apply within,
To discover the world
within you.
You once told me
You wanted to save
The world from all its wars –
And I told you to
First save yourself
From the world,
And all the wars
Through.
( words : APPLY WITHIN by Suzy Kassem” )
Journey…
Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s
about un-becoming everything that isn’t
really you, so you can be who you were
meant to be in the
first place.
~ ` ~ Paulo Coelho
Let’s Pause…
Too often in life we pass by
Important things.
Let’s pause, change perspective &
See things more clearly.
~`~ Sergio de silva
( Corbett national park,India)
In Rhythm…
Find yourself always…
In rhythm…
Even if you go out
Of step…
Come back again
…remember to fall in line again…
Remain with nature…
Move on…
(Words:Osho )
Fishing…
Every day is a new day.
It is better to be lucky…
but I would rather be exact.
Then when luck comes
you are ready…
To hell with
luck…
I ‘ll bring the luck
with me…
My big fish must be
somewhere…
As wave is driven by
each wave…
The world breaks everyone..
and afterward…
some are strong at
the broken place…
But man is not made
of defeat …
a man can be destroyed..
but not
defeated…
Men go fishing all their
lives..
without realizing,
its not the fish
they are after
(~ ` ~ Henry David )
Fishing is much more than
fish…
It is the great occasion when we may
return to the fine simplicity
of our forefathers…
( ~ ` ~ Herbert Hoover )
( Words: Ernest Hemingway )
Older wisdom…
Since we are the youngest children of creation,
our accumulated wisdom is young, too, and so I
search outside of the tiny and fragile box of
humankind’s insight and understanding for the
older wisdom, the more ancient and enduring
healing.
…I have documented the rich insights and mercies
brought to my life by my animal kin…I write about
the empowerment of meaningful and healing
relationships.
Many of mine are with animals and nature.
~ ` ~ Susan Chernak Mcelroy
Breathe in…
Breathe in with the deep awareness that you are a
human being.
Then breathe out and touch the earth,
a non-man element, as your mother.
Visualize the streams of water beneath the Earth’s
surface.
See the minerals .See our Mother Earth, the Mother of
us all.
Then bring your arms up and breathe in again, touching the
trees, flowers, fruits, birds, squirrels, air and sky– the
non-elements.
When your head is touching the air, the sun, the moon,
the galaxies, the cosmos–non-man elements that have
come together in order to make man possible–you see
that all of the elements are coming into you to make your
being possible.
Breathing in again, stretch your arms and be aware that you also penetrate other
elements.
Man helps make the other elements possible.
( Words : Thich Nhat Hanh )
Who Am I …?
I am That I am..
I am that which I have created myself to be.
~ ` ~ The Gita
I am the answer you were not
expecting…
I exist
As I am.
That is enough.
~ ` ~ Walt Whitman
Knowing yourself is the beginning of
all
wisdom.
~ ` ~ Aristotle
Many have an Image of me.
Few get the
picture…
I regret opening up to
some people.
They didn’t deserve to
know me like that.
~ ` ~ Gold-Kushkloudz
Wondering on
myself,
by myself,
for myself…
I am a thinker
Not a talker…
I have travelled
through madness
to
find me…
Don’t ask
anyone
but me,
about me…
I am shy at first but…
I do the stupidest random
things when I
get comfortable
with someone…
I
hate being
Shy…
Never have I dealt with
anything more
difficult than my
own soul…
You don’t know me…
I put back my pieces,
differently.
( words: Internet )
To heal…
Connect with nature..”silence the mind”
&the soul will know what to do
to heal itself…
The soul always knows what to do
to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind.
~ ` ~ Caroline myss
Healing doesn’t mean the damage never
existed.
It means the damage no longer controls
our lives.
~ ` ~ Akshay Dubey
Healing yourself is connected
with healing
others.
~ ` ~ Yoko Ono
Anything covered up
won’t get
healed…
It has been said “time heals “all wounds.
I do not agree.The wounds remain.
In time , the mind , protecting the sanity , covers
them with scar tissue & the pain lessens.
but it is never gone.
~ ` ~ Rose Kennedy
As soon as healing takes place.
go out & heal somebody else.
~ ` ~ Maya Angelou
Mourning is love with
no place to go…
We do not heal the past by dwelling
there; we heal the past by living fully
in the present.
~ ` ~ Marianne Williamson
some days the memories still
knock the wind out of
me…
Not all scars show
not all wounds heal
sometimes you can’t
always see the pain’
someone else feels…
Your own healing is a powerful
contribution to the healing of
everyone…
When you can tell your story &
it doesn’t make you cry, you
know you have healed…
They say time heals all wounds , but
that presumes the source of the
grief is finite.
~ ` ~ Cassandra Clare
Sometimes your heart needs
more time to accept what
your mind already knows…
Soul menders…
The way of these gentle giants..
&
how they heal us are
mysterious…
They are some of the most
accomplished
&
accessible
healers we may
ever
meet…
there is power that resides
in the heart of
a
species…
that..is
exponentially
higher than ..the power of any
individual…
The desire to know your
soul
will end all
other desires.
~ ` ~ Rumi
My soul is my
guide.
~ ` ~ Rumi
( words adapted from; “Animals as healers “.. pictures taken at Kaziranga national park,India )
A Soul’s journey…
Art is the journey of
a
free soul.
~ ` ~ Alev Oguz
take your journey
change your body
find your
soul
U don’t have a soul
you are a soul
You have a body
~ ` ~ C.S Lewis
Quiet the mind
&
the soul will
speak
~ ` ~ Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati
In a world where
everyone wears a
mask,
It’s a privilege to see
a soul.
~ ` ~ Anon
You have a
soul…
Art…
Art is both love and friendship and
understanding:
the desire to give.
It is not charity, which is the giving
of things.
It is more than kindness, which is
the giving of self.
It is both taking and giving of beauty, the turning
out to the light of the inner folds of the awareness
of the spirit.
It is the recreation on another plane of
the realities of the world;
The tragic and wonderful realities of earth
and men…
and all the interrelations
of these.
(words: Ansel Adams)
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 )
Time…
Being with you & not
being with you
is the only way I
have to measure
time.
~ ` ~ Jorge Luis Borges
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 )
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
A Seeker…
I was a terrible believer in things, but I was also a terrible non- believer.
in things.
I was as searching as I was sceptical.
I didn’t know where to put my faith, or if there was such a place,
or even precisely what the faith meant ,
in all its complexity.
Everything seemed to be possibly potent and possibly fake.
” YOU ARE A SEEKER ” …..My mother said…
~ ` ~ Cheryl Strayed
To be Found
You sometimes think
you want to
disappear, but all
you really want
is to be
found
~ ` ~ Yakkida
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
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
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 )
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
Mountain…
It isn’t the mountain ahead to climb
that wear you out;
It’s the pebble in
your shoes.”
~ ~ Mohammed Ali
(Place : “yanna Malai” A.K.A The elephant hill. In my home town Madurai . India )
Love…
“There are four Qs that are of value in life,
What is sacred?
Of what is the spirit made?
What is worth living for?
What is worth dying for?
The answer to each is the same…
L O V E…
~~ Johnny Depp
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…:-)
walk…
Travelers ,
There are no paths…
Paths are made by
Walking….
~~ Antonio Machado
( location : walking after crossing( swimming ) the Ramganga river @ Corbett national park, India )
Muddy…
check your mind
Be on your guard
Pull yourself out
as an Elephant from mud…
~~ Buddha
If the mud ain’t flying
You ain’t trying…
Go through the mud
They said
It isn’t deep
they said…
Dontcha
wish your daddy
could mud
like mine ??
The world is
Mud luscious
&
puddle wonderful…
If you pray
for rain
be prepared for
some mud…
make mud
not war…
(words: internet posters…)
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 )
Black or White…
Now I believe in Miracles
And a miracle ..
Has happened..
It don’t matter if you’re
Black or White…. ( Micheal Jackson )
The T I G E R …is the symbol of power,
Unbridled, elemental.
And he lives alone,
unblemished, unmarred..
The more you know about him,
the more he gets into your imagination….
( words : Billy Arjan Singh )
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 )
Living with a damaged skull 
