Reflections

On the Independence day eve last year, me & my sister decided to visit this beautiful & unexplored place called Hampi. This place is actually like an open museum ground, where one can spend days & weeks exploring the rich temple architecture of India. Also known as Vijayanagar in olden days, in India. This was supposedly the most richest & affluent village during India's golden age. This small village had two huge Ganesha statues greeting us, just as we entered. However these are not ordinary Ganesha Statues, they are hand carved out of huge monolithic boulders measuring about 8ft. Known as Sasivekalu Ganesha and Kadalekalu Ganesha. Here Lord Ganesha appears like a huge Black Sesame seeds. The story goes that once a merchant from far away land had came to Hampi to sell his Sesame Seeds and was granted permission by the kind hearted king to set up his stall in one of the markets. There, he sold all his goods & became so rich that he wanted to give something ba...

Travelling through Tamil Nadu in search of weavers to source sarees for a boutique called Madhurya at The Art of Living International Centre. I got the opportunity to visit some of the interior most villages and homes of the weavers.  Surrounded by peaceful and green paddy fields, the traditional weavers are also farmers, who have been practicing the art of weaving sarees for generations. Waiting for the crops to harvest, they would invest their time on the loom creating masterpieces.  The weavers house would have a small shed for cows ,   pet dogs and hens and other structures like stone grinders and water well in the verandah or open courtyard in front of the house.  Every weaver's house that we visited had a small room where he would show his collection that he and his family had woven. It was enlightening to see their skills and mastery over the loom. Such intricate patterns and motifs are no easy task yet they designed so effortlessly without any cert...

A state of circumstantial surrender is when whatever is happening your life doesn't make much sense and you feel like you have no choice but to accept it as a will of God. This may sound very despondent & sad to some & very fatalistic too. Surrender doesn't mean you do not take any action. You have to work to reach your goal. You learn to sincerely pray when things go unexpectedly bad- that is the magic of surrender. In real surrender , you let go of your feverishness and act out of gratitude. In the West, surrendering to somebody is seen as a sign of weakness whereas in the Eastern part of the world, surrendering to the Guru or the master is seen as sign of great strength and courage. As a child I visited many religious and holy places like Vrindavan, Mathura, Ajmer Sharif Dargah, Lotus Temple, Jama Masjid and local Church in my area. My parents taught to respect all religions equally. I understood quite early that all religions wish for peace and harm...