Reflections

Lord Dhanvantari is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. We get his first reference in Srimad Bhagwatam, where he emerges out of the churning of ocean milk by the devas and the asuras, holding a pot of ambrosia or nectar in his hands. He is one of the 14 jewels that emerged from the churning of the ocean. He is depicted as a handsome figure with four hands holding a pot of nectar, shankha, chakra and a leech. The story goes that both Devtas/Demigods and Asuras/Demons wanted to become immortal, but for that they needed to churn the ocean of milk. So they decided to come together and with the help of Lord Vishnu who incarnated as a tortoise, Mandara mountain which acted as the pole and Snake Vasuki as the rope, they start the churning process (sagara manthan). The churning of the ocean of milk can be compared to the spiritual endeavour of a person to attain self realisation. The churning of the ocean of milk first produced a deadly poison. (halahala) Nobody knew what to do with it and ult...

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...

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...

Sharing some Nature Photography in-between Ethnic wear, Temple Jewelry and Blue Pottery product photo shoot today.. Being with nature is such a stress buster. Hasn't it become rare these days that people stop to listen to the birds, feel the breeze, soak the sun and just be... ? Ah! yes the ducks & swans also know how to enjoy on a bright sunny winter afternoon :) " Steeped in mundane we miss the beauty of the Subtle. Time & again lift your eyes to the Ethereal. The world of Gods is just inches away. The challenges we face have a purpose. Events have a message. Confusion turns into Cosmic Infusion. Suddenly everything is meaningful."  - Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Copyright @ Kannu Priya