Essays, Commentaries, Jottings, Photography, Videos – In the Light of Sri Aurobindo
April 24, 2020 marks the centenary of the final arrival of the Mother in Pondicherry. This marked a new phase of her work with Sri Aurobindo for the destiny of Earth and mankind. While on the outer level her return to Pondicherry marked a definitive change in the rhythm and scope of the life at... Continue Reading →
Continued from Part 8 Lotus Mahal, Queen's Bath, & Stables (Photos by Suhas Mehra, text by Suhas and Beloo Mehra) A little walk from behind the Hazara Rama temple brings you to the great Royal Quarters of the mighty Vijayanagara Emperors who ruled from Hampi. A visit to Hampi would not be complete without... Continue Reading →
Continued from Part 7 Hazara Rama temple (Photos by Suhas Mehra, text and quotes selection by Beloo Mehra) यावत्स्थास्यन्ति गिरयः सरितश्च महीतले | तावद्रामायणकथा लोकेषु प्रचरिष्यति || "As long as the mountains and even rivers flourish on the surface of the earth, so long the legend of Ramayana will flourish in this world... [Valmiki... Continue Reading →
Continued from Part 5 Raghunatha Temple and Malyavanta Hill One of the lesser-known but most beautiful places to visit in Hampi is the Raghunatha temple on top of the Malyavanta Hill. During our trip to Hampi in 2018, we spent some time on top of this hill. The 360-degree view from there is... Continue Reading →
Continued from Part 4 Sri Krishna Temple After a tour of the remarkable Vittala temple in previous part, we now move on to another masterpiece, the Krishna temple of Hampi. The Krishna temple at Hampi -- which is now in ruins, though some renovations were underway when we visited -- was built by King Krishnadevaraya... Continue Reading →
Continued from Part 3 Vijay Vittala Temple "Spirituality is indeed the master-key of the Indian mind; the sense of the infinite is native to it." (Sri Aurobindo, CWSA, 20: 6) In our last part we wrote about Virupaksha Temple, situated on the banks of Tungabhadra River. Vijaya Vittala temple is north east of... Continue Reading →
Continued from Part 2 Virupaksha Temple On the banks of Tungabhadra River is the Virupaksha temple, dedicated to God Shiva, known in this area as Virupaksha, the consort of the local goddess Pampadevi. This is the oldest and the principal temple in Hampi. It is believed to be functioning uninterruptedly ever since the 7th... Continue Reading →
Many years ago at a bookstore in a small university town in the US, I came across a beautiful picture book which I had to immediately buy. The book titled Living Faith: Windows into the Sacred Life of India is a collection of photographs taken by the noted Indian photographer, Dinesh Khanna. I had seen some... Continue Reading →
CONTINUED FROM PART 2 Cosmology of the Sacred Kolam Why do Tamil women draw Kolams daily at the threshold of their homes? Why not do something else? Such questions and an explanation from a western universal perspective may be found elsewhere. In this article, I present an alternative point of view from my Indian perspective. Menon's article also has... Continue Reading →
CONTINUED FROM PART 1 History of Kolam Creating paintings on a natural surface has a really ancient history in India, as evidenced by the Bhimbetka frescoes that are at least 15, 000 years old. This news article [2] talks about the use of Rangoli in the Mahabharata, while another forum mentions the design in the Ramayana. Other floor designs, such as the endearing floor... Continue Reading →
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