Zenlighted

Hyderabad and the emotional Biriyani

noreply@blogger.com (Shree Krsna) — Mon, 5 Jun 2017 16:51:00 -0700

Finding joy in the simplest things which life offers.

During my last vacation in India, in November 2015, I visited the most incredible city, ‘The City of Pearls’ which is better known as Hyderabad. I have visited this city several times, but never really had the opportunity to experience all its sights. The only place I had visited until then was the beautiful Salarjung museum, India’s 3^rd largest museum. It has one of the biggest collections of antiques from across the globe. This time however, I was determined to immerse myself in the cultural haven that Hyderabad is.

My first stop was the wonderful heritage site that is the iconic ‘Charminar’. ‘Charminar’ translates to “Four Towers” and was built in the year 1591 CE. A landmark in Hyderabad, it is a monument and mosque and was built by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shahi to celebrate the end of the deadly plague that was rampant at the time.

It was a bright and beautiful Sunday morning in early November. I woke up much earlier than I needed to and excitedly threw on my clothes and prepared myself mentally for my Hyderabad day out. I couldn’t wait to experience this wonderful landmark which I had read and heard so much about as a child. It’s odd how children in India spend all of their time in history class reading about these iconic locations within India but dream of going to foreign places instead. I used to be the same as well and it’s only in recent times that I have learnt to appreciate the treasures that are within my own Motherland. Sometimes we make the error of forgetting that some of the greatest treasures can be found in our own back yards.

Travel is an itch I’ve had right since my adolescent days. I remember watching ‘Home Alone 2: Lost in New York’ and thinking “This is how I want to travel”, with not a care, like a kid in the candy store! From what I’d heard about Charminar, I knew that it was going to be chaotic - filled with people, traffic, hawkers and dust. Still, something about the hustle-bustle made me feel even more excited about seeing the ‘Charminar’. When we arrived, I saw the junction abuzz with activity. The traditional Nahari stalls, the boutique hotels, and the famous meena bazaar demonstrated a fine blend of historic culture and tradition kept alive by the Hyderabadi men and women in their loose, modest, starch-white kaftans.

We queued up to buy our tickets with people from all walks of life. There were tourists, local families, people who’d come on a casual day out with friends, and even lovers, looking for a nice, quiet corner in the noise of Hyderabad to steal a kiss. A person standing in front of me started a conversation with me. He was telling about how he has come all the way from Northern India to see this landmark and went on to describe his journey and all the things he had seen until then. I marvel sometimes at the simplicity and purity of the Indian populace who were content with their simple lifestyle. We’re always running after money, fame, power, and glory but here was someone who was just living in the moment – happy to be where he is.

As I was speaking with the man, I realized he was speaking to me in a strange way, as if I was from somewhere else. It was then that something hit me very hard. I stood out amongst all the people who were there. They thought I was a foreigner! Though I spoke in the local language something was not allowing me to blend into my surroundings. I guess I had just spent so long in a foreign land that I had allowed myself to become a pariah in my own nation. Pariah or not, I walked all over Hyderabad, admiring and experiencing every little thing, just a like a child who is awed by the wonders of this most beautiful world around.

The Charminar is a two storied building with a small mosque adorning the top floor. This mosque is situated on the west side of Charminar so that it faces Mecca, the holy pilgrimage of the Muslims. This mosque is said to be the oldest surviving mosque in city of Hyderabad. I wanted to visit this mosque and went towards it. Just as I was about to enter I was stopped by a male security man who told me that I could not enter as I was wearing a western outfit. I was in a pair of denims and had a simple cotton top on. Although I was fully covered, from head to toe, the security man would not allow me inside and began to be quite rude towards me and started to say things about my “type of people”. As a Spiritualist, I do not have any bias towards any one religion or God. I believe that every God whether it is Krsna, Jesus, Buddha or Allah is One Alone. I wanted to enter the mosque so I could offer my obeisance, but when I experienced this contrast of views I couldn’t accept it at that moment. It’s only much later that I realized that this world is full of contrasting views. I just need to let it be and revel in the moment, experiencing everything the way it is and not how I want it to be.

My next adventure was with Iranian Chai. I had always wanted to experience this tea but had been warned against walking alone into an Irani Café. For a woman, such a place is considered taboo, bordering on dangerous even. India is a great nation but it truly does have a long way to go when it comes to the safety and security of women. However, that was not going to stop me and I decided to venture out to find the famous ‘Nimrah Café & Bakery’. Thrilled, I stood in the middle of the café and sipped my first Irani Chai. It was one of the best teas I have ever had in my life, almost orgasmic! Of course, I was the only woman there and most definitely stuck out like a sore thumb. This tea cost a mere INR 15 (25 cents)! It’s a wonder that some of the world’s best things are still available at such low prices. A novelty to me but a daily requirement for another, the affordability that I saw allows a common man, who lives on an average wage, to survive in this brutal world of the rich.

I could see how happy people were in living a simple life, within their means. It is essential to live ‘in the here and the now’ even though that is possibly the most difficult thing to do. We’re always on the run but here I saw simple people, enjoying their today. They were all full of smiles, happy in the chaos all around them. It was a part of their life. They did not feel something was missing in their world. Their mind was not disturbed by the paraphernalia around them. This is a state which I strive to learn and attain in Spirituality. To live in the moment and go with the flow of life. Everything is accepted and treasured. If one gets to eat that day, they are thankful for the meal. If not, it is still fine. This is a very beautiful attitude and state to attain and to be in. I cherish my journey today, just observing and going with the flow teaches me something new at every moment.

Walking down the Hyderabadi streets, pondering my existence, I noticed the streets were filled with carts selling balloons – I was amused to see that this still exists, the age old tradition of selling balloons. Capturing these wonderful moments in my heart (and a few pictures for my collection), I went through the various shops in the street. Some were selling crockery, others old junk. Some sold clothes, footware, accessories, and some the very famous traditional meanakari bangles (bangles studded with pearls and stones, with uncut diamonds. To know more, here is the link to what these bangles are - Meenakari. Some vendors quenched the thirst of the people by selling the most famous ‘Nimbu Pani and Ganne Ka Ras’ (Lime Water and Sugar cane juice). It was crowded more than usual though, as I’d chosen a time when people were all swarming to celebrate the festival of lights – Diwali.

As the sun began to set, I realized I was starving and the one cuisine, the Deccani Cuisine, which represents Hyderabad was the only thing that would truly complete my Hyderabad adventure. Of course, which Hyderabadi experience is complete without its ‘Dum Biryani’? ‘Dum Biriyani’ is a rice dish with an amalgamation of flavors from Mughlai, Turkish and Arabian cuisine, delicately combined with the native Telugu and Marathwada cuisines. We tried our best to locate some authentic, age-old restaurant but could not find any. I was unfortunately not satisfied with the Biriyani I ate but I guess that’s the best thing about life – you don’t always get what you want but at least you get that experience! So, I am awaiting the day I find this authentic Muslim Dum Biryani. If anyone knows a good place to find any, do share it with me!

Hyderabad taught me one of the greatest lessons that I’ll cherish all my life. The greatest flavor to the exquisite dish that is this human life can only be attained by living in every moment as it comes. As I made my way to the Airport, having found happiness in the simple things, I cannot do anything but express my heartfelt thankfulness to my revered Master for my tasteful half-day tour at ‘Charminar’.

Thanks for reading my article and I hope you join me as I pen the next roller coaster ride in my journey through this vast and wonderful Universe.

What is Freedom!?!

noreply@blogger.com (Shree Krsna) — Wed, 31 May 2017 01:32:00 -0700

In my life, I have always wanted to be a free bird. However, I did not understand what 'freedom' means until I met my Preceptor, KrsnaGuru.

So, what does freedom mean according to you? I am sure every woman in this world seeks freedom. Let me give you the story of every woman's life, to explain what is freedom all about and how to achieve it.

When I was 22 years old, I believed I was a free person, with all the dreams of meeting a 'Prince Charming,' who will sweep me off my feet, carrying me away to his kingdom. I grew up with this idea since my teenage years. This dream was only a dream in the material world.

Let us assume that I married at the age of 24, I would transition from being a free person to a bonded one. Then, at the age of 32, I decide to divorce and became free again. However, I once again meet (another) Prince Charming at the age of 36 and get married, which means I became bound again! So, the question here is, was I free even at the age of 20!?! The answer is ‘No’.

In another scenario, if I had decided early on in life that I didn't want to get married, then is that decision a freedom or bondage? I am sure you will agree that it is 'Freedom’. But, if there is a desire to get married even at the age of 20 or 22 then isn't it still a bondage!?! Not to get married is still a desire and therefore it is bondage.

Even though I don't have a desire to marry and still get married or not get married, I am still in bondage. So, coming back to the question - What is Freedom? 'Freedom' is when I can give and do everything Unconditionally without having any expectations or wants or desires from anyone in this world. Till the time, I have desires in my life, I can never be free. I will always be in bondage. This bondage is the root-cause of one's miseries in life.

Attainment of this 'Freedom' is most difficult. However, know that whether you are married, single or divorced, freedom will come only when you do or give things Unconditionally and in disinterested spirit, without having any expectations or desires.

The most important lesson to note here is that as a woman, we have too many expectations from our parents, friends, lover, husband, children, boss, etc. A woman's nature is to expect reciprocation for her actions, and hence she is in bondage all the time. She is lost in her mind's space thinking or dwelling on something or the other which someone has failed to do or give.

In short, to attain Freedom you just need to give up expectations even if it is your husband, children, girl/boyfriend, parents, teachers, etc. and just give all that you have and can Unconditionally. I learned this profound knowledge about Freedom and Bondage from my preceptor and decided to share this truth with all the beautiful women/men in this world.

Thanks for reading my article and I hope you join me as I pen the next pearls of wisdom through this journey of getting ‘Zenlighted’.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Mosquito Bites

noreply@blogger.com (Shree Krsna) — Fri, 2 Sep 2016 20:53:00 -0700

‘Mosquito Bites’ - what an odd title for an article must be your thought! These ‘Mosquito Bites’ defined me for a long time and today I am going to unravel the truth of how we women have been accepting many snide, body-shaming remarks made by the people in our society. I will share with you a story from my own life of how I became a victim of this cruel comment made by a so-called ‘well-wisher’.
As a child, I was quite thin and as I reached my adolescence, I continued to be skin and bones. A girl’s assets, once she attains puberty, naturally begin to develop but in my case, neither did my breasts fully develop, nor did my body fill out. Everyone in my family thought it was my metabolism due to which I had a thin body and that I’d eventually fill out when the time was right. Although I had these reassurances from all the Auntys and Uncles, somewhere deep in my subconscious mind, I started to feel inferior about my body. To top it all off, I started to develop chronic acne, causing me great agony and pain sometimes making it difficult for me to even go out in public. Everyone started to give me tips, advice and of course, the contact umbers to dermatologists. This was incredibly demotivating to me and it left a deep, negative impression on my mind.
I would, in my heart of hearts, keep questioning as to why I was not ‘normal’ like other women. I saw my friends growing into beautiful young women with ‘perfect assets’ - big breasts and a mighty posterior. Neither did I have any of these, nor did I have some ideal figure of 36-24-36. The only asset that I possessed, which God has bestowed upon me, is a gem of a heart. This belief in myself helped me to be a little less bothered by the snide remarks which people kept making. However, what I failed to realize is that deep inside my heart the bitterness and anger was beginning to grow.
Then when I was twenty, I joined a crash-course to learn meditation and yoga. In the final lap of this retreat, I lost weight drastically. I turned into more of a skeleton as the program required me to live on raw fruits and vegetables. Then one of my team members called me ‘flat chested’ and laughed at me endlessly. Although said in jest, this remark put me through an embarrassment I’ve never forgotten. Mentally affected by this, I let it be at that time and not until much later did I realize that it also had psychological impact on me.
Years passed by and soon I was a careered woman working for a big multinational. I had adopted my lifestyle to suit the ways of corporate culture. During this period, I met lots of people in my life and had many mentors who were top-notch executives from the IT Industry. I tried to be the best and did whatever it took me to look good and to be confident.
It was at this time I had the (dis)pleasure of working with a very senior gentleman and my (so-called) ‘mentor’ who decided that it was his sole duty to educate me in what kind of body I should have. He started to tell me how I have not focused on taking care of myself at a very early age, that I should have sought medical treatment to ensure that my ‘assets’ were well-developed. Though I was startled, I quietly listened to all this free advice he was throwing at me. Then he took it a step further. He looked at me straight in the eye and said, “Your breasts are like ‘Mosquito Bites’.”
“Oh no! I have ‘Mosquito Bites’!” By his purport, I needed to have big boobs and a big butt and no man would ever want to marry me because I don’t have these ‘assets’. He said that I stand no chance of getting a TDH* or a well-to-do man with good prospects. Although I look back now and laugh at myself for accepting his vile commentary, at the time, I went numb and was completely shattered from within. I began to feel terrible about my existence. Once again, I started hating my body and my own self. I wondered why God had created me like this and immediately began to blame my parents for not taking care of me and for not providing me with medical assistance at the right time. Soon my self-pity turned to bitterness and anger and this bubbled like lava in an active volcano, ready to erupt at the littlest thing.
Suddenly, from being a very confident woman, I started to move away from the goals of my life and became negative about everything and everyone around me. I went into a shell and became someone I could not recognize. I was filled with fear of being rejected and hated by people. I was heart-broken and believed that I had nothing redeeming in my life. I was left to a slow death within myself. Then just as I was at my worst, I met the Redeemer** of my life. Over the years, he has shown me how beautiful I am and has taught me this life changing lesson of how to love myself for who I am and not how this world perceives or wants me to be. He showed me how my body is perfect and whatever God has created and bestowed upon me is absolutely the right thing for me.
This Redeemer narrated this beautiful story about a Monk who goes to seek alms from a home and encounters a young teenage girl. This monk until then has never seen a woman or girl. He sees her breasts and asks the girl’s mother if the girl is suffering from some disease. The mother replies simply that God has already made arrangements for her baby to be fed in the future. The purpose of God creating women with breasts was not so she is able to satisfy man’s lusty desires, but to satisfy the greater need of feeding her baby when she gives birth. It is how you want to see the object, you can either see a woman in a lusty manner or revere her as a Mother.
Now you tell me, who has given the right for a man to criticize and body shame a woman?! Will a man marry a woman only because she has the perfect ‘assets’ in place? Or he would want to marry her because he truly loves her? Love is beyond all physical attributes but unfortunately this world is driven by lust and greed and a woman has become nothing but a sex-object, there to satisfy a man’s voracious, lusty desires.
Today, I no longer feel ashamed or embarrassed of my body or even worry that I have small breasts. God has given me the perfect body with beautiful assets, all in perfect proportion! Over the last seven years I have been transformed into a personality whom I have allowed myself to fall in love with and it is with all the love in my heart that I respect and have accepted this version of me.
So, standing tall (at a proud 5’5’’) today, I am empowered and I face the world and this society as I am, content in myself. Today, I have the courage to speak this hard truth of what I have been through in my life and how I have been able to overcome such criticisms. I might not be a Victoria Secret Model but I have that which empowers me to walk the ramps of the Paris or Milan.
To all the beautiful women out there in this world, do NOT allow anyone to body shame you. Be the best version of yourself. Rise and Shine as you are. You are beautiful, Just The Way You Are.
*TDH – As we called it in my younger days, ‘Tall, Dark, Handosme’
**My redeemer is none other than my Preceptor, my ‘KrsnaGuru (#KrsnaKnows).

Giving Back On Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Shree Krsna) — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 05:55:00 -0800

Giving Back On Thanksgiving

Jessie Ong, 69yrs

This morning as I was rushing to work I could not see a single available taxi on the street. I was getting incredibly late for an important meeting and just praying to get a taxi. I waved to a cab which I thought would not stop since it was on the lane furthest from me but with a stroke of luck, the taxi driver (albeit breaking all the laws of traffic) swerved from the extreme right lane to pick me up from the extreme left where I stood. It freaked me out a little but as I was running late I jumped into the cab and wondered to myself who had performed their kind deed of the day towards me. I saw a beautiful old lady in the driver’s seat with a million dollar smile and thought, “No wonder” and thanked her from within. Her face was so radiant that I could just feel her to be full of love and compassion.

Jessie Ong, 52yrs

As she drove me to my meeting we got talking and she cheerfully spoke about herself. Jessie is a 69 year old widow who has 3 children (two daughters and one son) and has 3 grandchildren. She lost her English husband and took to being the ‘Chief Householder’. Two of her kids are now married and settled with one daughter living with her. Like every ageing woman Jessie was saying that she also kept worrying about who will take care of her and what will happen to her in the future, etc. I could empathize with everything she said as my Mother, now in her 60s as well, is in this same boat. She said this worry used to eat her up and one fine day at the ripe age of 52 she decided to take up a full-time job as a taxi driver to rid herself of her worry. Her job kept her busy and she did not have time to think about all the other things that used to plague her mind. With everything she said, I could hear my Master’s teachings come back to me.

After 10 + years of driving, Jessie now does part-time driving. She no longer does this because she does not have money but so that she can keep herself active and feel like she’s doing something with her life. She drives 3 hours every morning and the rest of her time is spent volunteering at an old age home. When I told her about my Mother, she said that elderly people only need someone to talk to them and show them love. She then proudly declared that her daughter is married to an Indian and she even pronounced her Son in Law’s name perfectly and complimented me at being multi-cultured.

Jessie has a real spark and is so full of life that it is almost impossible to tell that she is almost in her seventies. Jessie is the first woman driver who I have met of her age. She shied away from letting me take her picture as she said she is not good looking. I find that some of the most beautiful people in the world have this to say about themselves so I told her she is most beautiful woman I have met as beauty is not what we see outside but what shines from within. Reluctantly she posed for me and exchanged her number with me.

Jessie Ong 69yrs

Jessie is not educated but yet is so knowledgeable. She asked me what my profession is and I explained that I work in Sales. She then asked me what I sell. “I sell technology”, I said. “Explain”, she said. I then put in the simplest way possible that I sell technology for people her age who unlike her cannot go to the hospitals or clinics. I explained how Industry and Technology companies like us are inventing easier ways to do their health monitoring and share the reports to the doctor without people physically having to go. If there is anything unusual going on in their bodies the symptoms will be picked up by the device and report to the hospitals before anything can happen.

She got so excited with what I had to say that she told me she was proud of what I did and that I should continue to do these kind of things. As I reached my destination we bid adieu and promised to connect back soon. Jessie left me speechless today and made me very Thankful for my life, for the things I have and for people like her in this world - a real Thanksgiving. Today I learnt of someone who has Risen Out and broken the glass ceiling in her own way - An Empowered Woman who is dedicating her life to the service of people.

Jesus used to say that we should give to those who cannot repay us back. Today let us remember this and give thanks for what we have received and share it with other generously.

I Turn 5 - The day I met my Krsna Guru!

noreply@blogger.com (Shree Krsna) — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:47:00 -0700

I Turn 5 - Expressing my heartfelt Thankfulness to my Krsna Guru !

I offer my humble obeisance at Thy Lotus feet and ask for Thy Grace - to be able to express from within that which makes my heart sing your praise and glory every single day since that fateful day, August 14th, 2009. A journey far beyond this material existence. That one which cannot be ascertained by proof but only with Faith is called Guru, God, Krsna or Supreme Divine Consciousness; my Everything of Everything!

So, where to begin with what these five years have been? A spectacular journey with you which is beyond my ken and understanding! In the beginning when I came to you, little did I know who you Truly are, despite you having given me the proof of the pudding. I never realized what it means to be 'Twice-born'. I was purely a material human being and used to be carried away by your human appearance. I always wondered, “How on earth would you know about anything that I am speaking of regarding my professional or my personal life? You are a Spiritual Being. How can you understand the material world?” This was when I began my whirlwind journey with you!

My quest began with the exposition of the Bhagvad Gita and our travels to Kolkata, Vrindavan, Tiruarangam, etc. Through this you started instilling faith in me and imparting to me the Knowledge of who You Truly Are. Sometimes, I would get the experience first and the lesson would follow later. Sometimes, the process would be vice-versa! I began to imbibe the teachings you imparted to me and live it in my life on a daily basis. Every day was an experience by itself. To this date, I have never had a day which could be compared to another. Each day more unique - all types of moments and events entwined together to create an existence that is blissfully indescribable. This is when I began to realize what an ignorant being I had been to make judgments about such a Great a Divine being - The Master of this universe!

For the first time in my life, I understood what the purpose is of my human existence. What Spirituality is; what the difference between material and spiritual world is. Who am I? What is bondage and attachment? What is liberation? What is true love? What is marriage? How to overcome anger, lust, greed, avarice and so on and so forth. The list is never ending! But in all this the foremost lesson which you imparted to me was that of Absolute Faith, Complete Surrender, Unconditional Love and Single pointed Devotion unto Thy Lotus feet my Krsna Guru. How to be lost in Oneness with You while performing all the duties in the material world and yet remaining unattached, having no sense of doer-ship and attachments to the results (fruits of the activities).

Yet, while I can so easily pen down all these beautiful words and also speak, it is likewise extremely difficult to imbibe these four words (Faith, Surrender, Love and Devotion) and to live them every single moment. As I grow in my spiritual journey, the climb becomes steeper with every passing minute and it is only with Your Grace and the surrender at your feet when I am faced with the blows of your Maya and unimaginable tests that you helped me go ahead along with you. What I have learnt is that Your hand is always stretched out and that I only must give up my Ego and give my hand in yours and you will pull me towards you. It has been always a make or a break moment. But you are always waiting for me to catch hold of your hand and go ahead.

This knowledge that I have gained over the past five years is repeated ever so often, and I find the lessons only get deeper by the minute. You are All-knowing and are the Supreme Knowledge itself. You are the Athanghasagar (Limitless Ocean), Love Incarnate – You are the Supreme Person. You are KRSNA. Yet, none of these words can ever describe You! You can never be fathomed by anyone in this universe; you are incomprehensible. You are beyond the modes of material nature; you are the Ocean of Compassion, Benevolence, forgiveness. Even when people ill-treat you like a servant, make you do stuff for them and do all the mundane jobs in this world, call you names, fight with you, accuse you of everything that goes wrong in their world and conveniently forget to attribute all the good that you do for them, You never ever show hatred, dislike, ill-feeling or even put them in their place. On the contrary, You continue to shower your love on them, which gushes from you like a river, all the time. You unceasingly forgive these ignorant beings and show your compassion towards all living beings. You know that everyone falls for your human appearance and believes that you are an Ordinary Human being and gets trapped into Maya (delusion).

At every juncture of my life, my Faith was tested. Faith cannot be just 99.99% it must be 100%. If even 0.01% is short, the fall is certain. The tests came dime a dozen when I least expected them - that is the time when I was getting tested whether or not the lessons I had learnt cushioned me from failure. I couldn’t ever imagine in which form these tests would appear. It was only with your Grace that I was able to cross them till a stage in life arrived when I now had to completely become bare in front of You! Up to that very moment in life, I had never ever understood what it is to do Samarpan unto Thy Lotus feet and Have unflinching Faith in You!

I will never forget those moments when You redeemed me. You washed away all of my sins which I had been carrying until then. I became Pure. You helped me understand your Way of Life which is something I could never fathom. You only showed me that Truth. I can never forget this, ever, in my life. I am Eternally indebted to you. Nothing that I do can ever repay what You have done for me. I can only Selflessly Serve You and Selflessly Love You Eternally. I am exceedingly humbled for everything that You have done and continue doing for me. You do not care about anybody knowing you or not, you do not covet wealth or want any kind of possessions. You have no bondage nor attachments to anyone or anything in this world. All you care about is the Spiritual Weal and well-being. You will do anything to establish Dharma in this world. Every word that comes from your mouth is so profound! People around you become deluded by the way you portray yourself. These are all the illusions that you create. However, the Truth is that every action of yours has a very deep meaning attached to it.

Just your smile can speak volumes - volumes which cannot be deciphered by the human mind. The enactment of your Leelas as a human being before everyone around you tests the Faith of your disciples and me. Faith is the firm foundation of the link between the Guru and the devotee – yet this foundation is the easiest to shake due to your Maya which tries to sway the mind of the disciples. Your appearance is dynamic and it is hard for the world not to see you as a human being. Faith and Service unto Thy Lotus Feet can help overcome your Maya which is the cause of this material existence and misery.

In these five years, You used me as your instrument to have your teachings published for rest of the world to benefit from and offer it to You on behalf of all your devotees. I Thank You very much for bestowing the grace upon me to write the Foreword about you. I cannot fully express how much it means to me that I have received this great privilege! I can never express my heartfelt Thankfulness for you having chosen me as an instrument to perform your Paduka Pooja and celebrate Guru Poornima with You. You were constantly testing my Faith by putting all kinds of challenges on the path till the D-Day. All I know is that I stand on Your Right in the 'Abhayadhan' and serve your purpose in this world for which I have taken this birth to be with You and established in perfect Oneness with you at all times.

Let me plunge deeper in the Ocean of Your Love and immerse myself completely in You having no identity of my individuality. I want to live in this Eternal Bliss with You Alone. I am Your Heart and You are my Heartbeat. I am merely your humble servant, only having taken this birth to Serve Thy Lotus Feet; Thy Feet which are the Knowledge base where the mind rests and the entire universe resides. You are Omnipresent, Omniscient and Omnipotent. You can don any form, anywhere in this Universe! You are present everywhere at all times. When I rest in absolute oneness in you, I hear the chant of your name in my heart. I live and breathe only Your Name. I burn in Love for You and feel so torn-apart in my craving for You! Your smile mesmerizes me and makes me lose myself in You! Your words cause horripilation to my entire being! I merge into you with just one touch of your Lotus Feet.

My heartfelt thanks for this wonderful, whirlwind escapade! May these incredible five years be only a prelude to an endless journey with You my Krsna Guru! Let me always be seated at Thy Lotus Feet and continue to learn from You Eternally!

Mythical Mystics - One of my Eureka Moment!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Shree Krsna) — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 09:58:00 -0700

Mythical Mystics

Krsna at Brindavan ISKCON temple

“I Know of no Reality other than You, my ‘Beloved’, your face splendid like a full moon, your lips are red as the berry, your eyes are as lustrous like the lotus petals, you are Lover of the Lovers, Paragon of Masculine beauty, Ocean of Supreme Bliss and Pure Love, I offer my humble obeisance at Thy Lotus feet – ‘Lord of this Universe’

Moon over Nidhivan on the night of Sharad Poornima

Let me Unravel to you the ‘Mythsitical’ and my most ‘Exotic Ecstatic' moments in the ‘Tulsi (Basil) Forest’ referred to ‘Vrindavan’ with my ‘Beloved’ – the ‘Supreme Person’ – ‘Lord Krsna’ means Black, Beautiful, Unknown, Secretive, whose nature is Impossible to be Known.

For the last 31years of this human life I had been searching for Him not realizing that the one whom I am after cannot be found in any ‘Human Beings’. And this search ended 4 years back on this most significant day called ‘Janmashtami. He came into my life in the same way as he did 5000years back, in the stormy night at 12am. And then began this spectacular journey with my Supreme Master in unraveling the Supreme Divine Consciousness/Krsna, experiencing miracles every moment in my life, having no idea about this “Magician’s Magics”

I was graced by Krsna for a beautiful heartfelt backward in time into His realm which left me Enchanted beyond. Let me now walk you through this land of ‘Tulsi’ (basil) forest’ which is blessed beyond by the ‘Birth of the Unborn’, whose one mere glance/touch gives redemption from the cycle of birth & death. This land and all its residents have been liberated as He Manifested here to perform his ‘divine play’.

People walking on the ghat where Radha met Krsna and then went to the other side to meet Durvasa muni.

As I began my ‘Parikarma’ (Circumbulation of sacred places) early in the morning at 5am. I did not know what’s so special this day 29^thOctober 2012! I Wondered why the entire town was filled with devotees swarming like bees from all over and chanting away to glory the divine name ‘Radhe Radhe’ creating the mad fervor of devotion to Lord Krsna.

I started to feel the pangs in my heart going up by the minute. My ears could only hear his divine chant…It was one of the heart rendering moments which I experienced as I walked in tandem with Him. Every animal or human being in this land were lost in the service of their Lord. They started their day with absolute zest & zeal having completely surrendered in devotion to the Lord of their hearts.

Goloka or Cow World!

What I experienced was that they all woke up to a beautiful morning knowing the fact that the Lord of Vraja has never left them even if his body has left this land 6500 yrs back. He still is very much residing there in everyone’s heart who are so full of devotion to him. What I learnt was, that which you see with this human eyes is all Unreal. And to unravel the Truth which is hidden right under your nose, you first let go off your mind & ego. And come with a pure heart to experience Him.

Yamuna River at Kesi Ghat

I came across a number of landmarks which I have heard to since child and grown up listening to these marvelous stories being repeated time and again by mom/grandma and finally from the Lord Himself which left me speechless and could believe that I was standing on the bank of Yamuna river, where I got intoxicated at the vision in my heart…One of my Eureka moments…

I met various friends such as the dogs, cows, pigs, snake, birds who radiated love and were completely lost in oneness with the divine. There was no richness in this land in the real material sense, but everyone here was filled with richness of devotion beyond to their Lord which is incomparable.

Children in Brindavan

I could sense complete contentment in everyone with whatever that was bestowed to them. They were happy within, absolutely beautiful like this little girl who was far away yet turned to give me her best smile and pose for the picture. There is no dirth for devotion and Love for their Lord.

Dogs asleep in parikrama path

After a 3hours of Parikrama and being teleported into a different realm I finally I felt this intense divine fervor radiating through my entire being surging beyond with only name chanting all along “RadheKrsna”…

And now comes the next interesting unwinding of my life….Still not aware of the occasion and the city completely swarmed with devotees, I decided to take a break and then head out to visit some of the most renowned RadhaKrsna temples. I hired a guide so that I could maneuver the crowd…He started with Radha Damodhar Mandir, Radha Mohan Mandir, Radha Syamsundara Mandir, etc…

Nidhivan center where Krsna and Radha did Raasa on Sharad Poornima.

He then got us to a garden which he called it “NidhiVan” – As I stood there with my Lord right in front of the beautiful full moon night and a light of lamp. And only then did it hit me, that it was the night of “Sharad Poornima” which is the night and the place where Krsna fulfilled his promise made to the Gopis and performed the ‘Raslila’

The Tulsi forest in Nidhivan

I was speechless, my heart overwhelmed with love, torn apart in pangs for Him while he fulfilled his Promise made to me. I stood right next to Krsna in Nidhivan experiencing the Union with Him. As I pen this I am going through the same experience all over again leaving my entire body in horripilation.

With this I would say that the One who is never born nor dies, having left the body 5000 years back has never left ‘Vrindavan”. You can experience him even today, Only if you have the following four criteria:
1. Absolute Faith
2. Complete Surrender
3. Unconditional Love
4. Exclusive Devotion

The One who cannot be ascertained by proof but Only with Faith is called God/Krsna/Supreme Divine Consciousness. You can experience this Divine only with your pure heart

I can never stop describing his glories and my experiences with him Eternally….. Even today I was given the most precious lesson which is, You cannot Possess or Own Him. You Only need to have Unconditional Love for Him which is a beautiful topic for description at length.

And with this I conclude here to continue the other half of my Vrindavan journey and talk about what is Unconditional Love…. ‘ I Wish You all a Very Happy Janmashtami’….

I Turn 4 - Twice Born

noreply@blogger.com (Shree Krsna) — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 09:14:00 -0700

I Turn 4 - The day I met my Master!

On August 14th 2009, which was also the Janmashtami, which is the day of the birth of the unborn, who manifests on this earth for his enchanting sport in his unfathomable play, I was born once again with him in the most magnificent way which was beyond my ken and understanding.. Well! What I mean here is I was twice born, The day I met my 'Supreme Master'... And then a beautiful journey began together and story goes something like this......And continues Eternally!

"My life was engulfed in darkness until you came with a ray of Hope, Giving me a meaning to my otherwise futile life, I was like a lost-ship, and I wonder how you brought me to shore, Like a beautiful dawn, Giving me a reason to live, A fleeting moment was generous enough, To bless me with your sight, which was like a guiding star, You pacified my estranged feelings, breaking the silence with a debate, We have a connection, a connection that is Eternal, I fail to understand MySelf, With your grace I will know MySelf, What else is there to say', I choose your embrace over heaven " I offer my humble prostrations and surrender at your feet"

"You Don't See Your Own Face, Your Own Beauty, Yet, No Face Is More Beautiful Than Yours. Choose now, my Master said ~ Either you live or you love. If you love him, Ask not for anything.Love gives. If you still want something, You are still there, And the room is too crowded. Love has no room for two. If he comes back, Allah was kind.If he goes away, Let His design rule..

"In your light I learn how to Love, In your beauty how to make poems. You dance in my Heart where no one sees you, except me and that wonderful sight becomes this art - losing MySelf in You.. In Your Eyes, I see the Heavens; In the Heavens I see Your Eyes, What You never uttered is always what I Heard - Love You...

Brahmaanandham Parama Sukhadam, Kevalam Jnaana Murthim, Dhvandhvaa Theetham Gagana Sadhrisham, Tathvam Asyaadi Lakshyam, Ekam Nithyam Vimalam Achalam, Sarvadhee Saakshi Bhutham, Bhavaatheetham Thriguna Rahitham, Sadhgurum Tham Namaami. I Offer my Humble Obeisance to my Supreme Master for being my diamond cutter who keep on cutting the diamond until the day it becomes The Only Priceless Diamond which no one can Price it ever!!! I have no words to describe my heartfelt Thankfulness for all your patience, compassion, benevolance, for holding me through the storms of this mundane existing and crossing me to the Ocean of Supreme Bliss and Pure Love. And for bestowing all your Blessings and LOVE beyond, which Only You can give who is my No.1.

Not from an education of mysticism ~ Nor from the scriptures of religion ~ What comes about from one glance from the Master ~ Comes not from any practice. "I go 'naked' to You without this little ego and no veils, like a baby... and that the only Home left is Your feet ....the only 'rest' is when I Surrender at Thy Feet" I Offer myself at Thy feet. Grant me this blessing!!!

Having found you on this day, I feel I've lost myself, Even if I could, I wouldn't know what to say, There are no words in any language, That I can use to describe you, This compliment in truth, would be nothing, ...Your mischievous style and grace, Spills out from your face, If I were to say this splendor, Cannot be found anywhere and never will be, It's your generosity That's led to this story, Having Found you, I have Found Myself, Where you are, I'll be, If I were to say, my soul-mate <3<3<3

Sex & Sidhhis

noreply@blogger.com (Shree Krsna) — Sat, 6 Jul 2013 00:38:00 -0700

Sex & Siddhis - A perspective!!!

Disclaimer: "I the author of the content can assure you that Opinions expressed are those of the mine and are a result of the way in which my highly disorganized mind interprets a particular situation or concept based on the knowledge acquired from my own real-time experiences in life"...... I would like to expressly convey to you (the reader) that were I to accidentally defame, purge, humiliate and or hurt someone's personal feelings as a result of them reading and or acting upon any or all of the information and or advice found here in my blog, it is entirely unintentional of me to do so....

I would like to discuss a very interesting subject which I have been amazed and amused too. For the first time when I saw from distance, a splashy colorful store with funny looking toys being displayed drawing my attention. I walked closer to get a glimpse, inquisitive to know what the store is all about! As I went near I started blushing and my face turned pink. The store entrance read - 'For 21 and above age only'. I then looked through the window displays. It had a vast display of various kinds of very interesting sex toys....

I was wonder stuck and beyond belief. This was my first exposure to something like this in open display. Having grown in a conservative family where subject like sex is never openly discussed and even till the age of 16 I was unaware of how babies were born... I reflected back on what I have been learning from my Preceptor about how this whole world is driven by the two most important factors in life which is 'Sex and Money' referred in Spirituality as 'Lust and Greed'

I still remember when I first met my Master he taught me that this whole world is driven/motivated by Lust and Greed. Sex is a greatest motivating factor but I, initially could not agree with him 100%. And as I was getting unraveled to the reality it still left me thinking how can this be true. But very soon I started realizing the truth which are very much evident from what I came across... And here are a few interesting real-life incidents which made it to the front-line headings...

Sex-for-grades case: A professor, 42, who is from NUS faculty of law, one of the top notch university in Singapore was sentenced Five months' jail who was found guilty on six counts of corruptly accepting sex and gifts from his student, 23, in return for giving better grades. The irony here is, a professor of law teaches his students "the black letter law as well exhorts them to uphold the spirit and the values of the law". But he as a senior educator has abused his power and position of authority. All this for the greatest motivating factor called Lust and Greed.

Incidents in the recent times which has made its way to headline news are dime a dozen and here is one which I would like to highlight - a Naval officer's wife was molested and the Wife swapping scandal which rocked in Navy a few months ago. The allegations made by an officer's wife recently when she claimed molestation by her husband's superiors as well as ``wife-swapping'' episodes at the Kochi naval base in India. We have come to a stage in life where the value system has gone rock bottoms. All for so called 'SEX'

And not just that, A friend of mine who openly mentioned to me of her being a Lesbian and shared her life story. Caught by my curiosity I stormed her with my questions for getting an insight into a Lesbian life. She mentioned to me that she played the women and her partner was the man. How they used to make love using very fancy 'Sex Toys'. She even explained some of the interesting tools available in the market.

I was astounded with her description and completely shocked when she mentioned about her having had affairs with atleast 50 women and having undergone 5 abusive relationships, where she finally broke up with her Partner before moving back to Singapore. All this for SEX/LUST. By now I was completely convinced how 'Lust/Greed are the two greatest motivators in an individual. Now I know why in spiritual the first and foremost lesson we are taught is to over come these two key inhibitors in path of any spiritual seeker.

Now I realized that we are definitely in the age of Kali or Iron age where the women power is growing beyond. We have entered an age where you will have no clue to the antecedents of your own birth. You need not get married to have a child, neither do you have opposite sex marriages also.

Today a women is independent, she does not need a man to live her life. Not even for procreation. There are sperm banks and egg banks and wombs on hire so even if you are a hi flying or jetsetter you can have a baby and you need not go through any pain yourself. And from where this whole discussion began, there are many such stores which offers 50% for all their products on every Wednesday as a 'Womens Special' day!!! What more can I say...'Hail The Women Power'

While what I am discussing here has been existing from time immemorial when all the great Gods/Kings ruled this land which is evident from the beautiful sculptures in Khajuraho and in Nepal where I found in one of the temple roof-tops where each pillar had a wooden sculpture depicting the art of love making, various positions and with multiple partners.

This describes even in ancient times there has been lot of significance given for Sex and Riches. It is very evident from this, that the kings had multiple wives performing great Orgies. Having lived in a cocooned life and in my own created la la land which did not have the level of exposures to ways of this world which is dynamic and evolving at speed of light/sound.

So stop running after the unreal 'Dildos' and run after the real things in life. You may fall in love and want to give your heart to someone 'Real - 'Dil Do'

Nepal - Land of Heaven: Taumadhi Square

noreply@blogger.com (Shree Krsna) — Sun, 23 Jun 2013 00:50:00 -0700

Taumadhi Square - The Nyataponla Temple

We reached by a narrow brick-paved lane Taumadhi Square - The Nyataponla Temple presides over the Taumadhi Square. Dating back to 1702 AD, the colossal five-storied edifice is the country’s tallest pagoda temple.

The struts, doors, windows and tympanums—each embellished with attractively carved divine figures—perfectly portray the creative tradition of Newar craftsmen.

The temple is dedicated to Goddess Siddhi Laxmi, the manifestation of female force and creativity.

Next to the Nyataponla Temple is the rectangular shaped Bhairavnath Temple. It houses a gilded bust of Bhairav, the ferocious manifestation of Lord Shiva.

The three-storied pagoda was razed to the grounds by the 1934-earthquake, and its latest renovation was undertaken by Bhaktapur Municipality in 1995 AD.

The enclosed complex facing the Nyataponla Temple is dedicated to Tilmadhav Narayan, a manifestation of Lord Vishnu, who is one of the Supreme Triumvirate of Hindu pantheon.

A few steps ahead it, to the southwest, lies the famous Pottery Square, where visitors can see the city’s well-known potters making variously shaped and sized earthenware.

The major monumental highlight of this square is a temple of Jeth Ganesh, which dates back to the 14th century.

Temples in Taumadi Square: Nyatapola Temple, Bhairav Temple, Teel Mahadev, Narayan Temple and many more.

Nyatapola Temple is the tallest temple in the country guarded by a series of mythical animals and deities overlooking the Bhairav temple dedicated to the tantric deity of bhairav.

Exalted by the divine presence through out made my way to the hotel after a very long day and was looking forward to my next most awaited and exciting destination which is Pashupathinath Temple... So Stay Tuned!!!

Nepal - Land of Heaven: Bhaktapur Durbar Square

noreply@blogger.com (Shree Krsna) — Sun, 2 Jun 2013 02:40:00 -0700

Bhaktapur Durbar Square

"Bhaktapur Durbar Square" the city is also known the city of museum for medieval art and architecture with many examples of sculpture, woodcarving and colossal pagoda temples consecrated to different gods and goddesses.

It is a conglomeration of pagoda and shikhara-style temples grouped around a fifty-five window palace of brick and wood.

The square is one of the most charming architectural showpieces of the Valley as it highlights the ancient arts of Nepal. This is evident from the golden effigies of kings perched on the top of stone monoliths.

The guardian deities looking out from their sanctuaries, the wood carvings in every place-struts, lintels, uprights, tympanums, gateways and windows-all seem to form a well orchestrated symphony. Pottery and weaving are its major traditional industries.

The most important thing to take notice here is that most of these such wondrous and beautiful temples are being converted into a school, Place for us to rest, sell stuff and use it for sleeping.

Dattatreya Money Changer, hotel and the rest rooms, Guest house and beauty parlour! And a famous cafe inside a temple.

You may sit on the two floors and sip beer or have Misthi doi! Is this where we are hurtling towards!?!

How can one not see the ‘Divinity’ which is still very much living here and watching everything just as a witness.

How can one not feel the presence of the God and Divine Bliss???? Was the question I was left with…

Coming up next is the Taumadi Square and Nyatanpola Temple. So stay tuned!!!

You can now read my article also on www.krsnaknows.com

Nepal - Land of Heaven: Birth Place of the 'Supreme Master'

noreply@blogger.com (Shree Krsna) — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:00:00 -0700

Bhaktapur - Birth Place of the 'Supreme Master' Dattatreya

Dattatreya Temple is a three story pagoda style temple built in 1428 by King Yaksha Malla. It is said that this temple was built from a single piece of wood from one tree. Add caption

As my flight lands I made way out to grab a quick lunch and get ready to head to offer my humble obeisance unto this great divinity for blessing me to visit his birthplace and being able to transcribe into finite language, in the confines of limited vocabulary, the infinite glory and effulgence of the “Guru Principle”, “Master of all Gurus” or Adi Guru (First Teacher) in this Universe my Master’s Master – “Lord Dattatreya” who was born in “Bhaktapur” refer to “The City of Devotees”, why would it not be so, where the unified manifestation of the Supreme Trinity – Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh collectively known as the Trimurti appeared. The name Dattatreya can be divided into two words - "Datta" (meaning given) and "Atreya" referring to the sage Atri, his father.

Let me now unveil the most humbling and profound story of his birth and his journey in this land which has been blessed forever. According to the ancient scripture it is mentioned that, Lord Dattatreya was born during the first yuga (first age) called ‘Sat Yuga’. In the timeless beginning, when the Lord created the five-faced Brahma and entrusted him with the task of creating this world. Brahma created the seven sages among whom Atri was one of those seven sons of Bramha. The name Atri means one who has transcended the Gunas (three modes of the material nature).

Sage Atri married Anusuya who herself was a embodiment of perfection, blemish less and had no malice against anyone. Where there exist Atri and Anusuya, Lord himself is sure to abide. She was embodiment of chastity who worshiped & believed her husband as God alone. He fame and glory spread in all the three worlds. Indra who is the king of Gods was afraid of losing his supremacy given Anusuya's powers and rising glory. And Narada who an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu alerts the three divine consorts (Sarawati, Lakshmi & Parvati) who were till then the foremost amongst the all Goddess in the three worlds.

Once the Gods (Bramha, Vishnu & Shiva) heard about Anusuya's praises from Narada they decided to put her purity & power to test. They transformed into medicants and approached the hermitage of Atri & Anusuya begging for alms. During this time the sage Atri was not at home and Anusuya offered them hospitality. The Gods in disguise made a very strange request that the food be served by Anusuya without wearing any garment. At this impossible condition and being embarrassing Anusuya who believes that the Atitis (guests) who are aspects of God cannot be turned away under any circumstances, praying in her mind to her husband it immediately flashes that if the guests can be turned into babies, she then their mother can feed them without donning the garment was her conclusion. Her thoughts which is of pure mind and heart instantly became a reality. The Gods in disguise immediately were turned into the babies. She then fed them with milk with motherly love and put them to sleep in the cradle.

When sage Atri, returned home he was amazed to see his wife Anusuya fondling the three babies and loving them. Sage Atri through his divine powers, realized who the children really are. He offered his prayers to the three trinities in the form of babies and started weeping at the divine play of the God's. The babies assumed their real forms made appearances before the couple and offered them the boon of asking anything the couple wishes for. Given that Atri and Anusuya were childless couple and they prostrated to the God's and made a request to bless them with the opportunity of fondling the God's as their own children. The God's blessed the couple and fulfilled their wish by Anusuya giving birth to 'Brahma as Chandra, Vishnu as Datta, and Shiva as Durvasa. The children grew up under the loving care of the parents Atri and Anusuya.

Dattatreya Temple Main Shrine

At the age of 8, after seeking permission from their parents to leave home, Chandra made way to his abode while Durvasa for his penance and pilgrimages. Both of them, Chandra and Durvasa merged their divine powers in their brother Datta which forms the great Trinity symbolized in his three faces and six hands because of which he was called as 'Dattatreya' (Datta Thraya) the name also means - 'The one who has gifted himself as son of sage Atri'. He is surrounded by 4 dogs represents the 4 vedas and a cow (Kamadhenu) which is a wish fulfilling cow.

Dattatreya from his very early years took to the task of redemption of the world as the Supreme Master and Protector. He is the Purna Jnanavatar (Full Knowledge Form), incarnated to dispel the darkness of ignorance in the world and to bestow spiritual knowledge and wisdom to all aspirants. He is a benevolent God than a teacher of highest essence.

I had been blessed beyond to have a “Sakshath darshan” (Reveled Himself) of my Gurudev (Dattatreya) walking with me and where he was surrounded by the 4 dogs which is the representation of our Vedas. And in that one dog which was limping, which means that in the Kali Yuga or Iron Age the knowledge of Vedas are no more existing and it will all soon become extinguished as we are hurtling fast towards the destruction. I was left speechless and truly reveled in his divine presence deep within beyond what any words can describe.

With this exalted state I let you also be teleported and await for my next walk through about the Bhaktapur Durbar Square.. So Stay Tuned!!!

Nepal - Land of Heaven: Birth Place of the 'Lord of Nothingness'

noreply@blogger.com (Shree Krsna) — Sun, 19 May 2013 01:58:00 -0700

Lumbini - Birth Place of the Lord of Nothingness 'Gautama Buddha'

According to the ancient history Lumbini in Sanskrit refers to 'lovely' , which is the pilgrimage site of Buddhist located at Kapilavastu in Nepal. This place is based on one of the four major events in Buddha's life and very interestingly it is believed each of these event have taken place under the trees. The three other places which is in India are: Bodh Gaya(Buddha attained Enlightenment), Sarnath (Budhha gave his first discourse), and Kushinagar (Buddha died).

As per the tradition of Buddhist the story goes like this, Yashodhara (Maya Devi) feels the onset of the labor pains and gives birth to Buddha on the journey to her parent's home in Devadaha in the year 642 BC in the month of May. During her labor pain she grabs hold of the branches of Sal tree where Siddhartha Gautama Buddha is born.

The marker stone in the picture where Buddha was after his mother stepped on it after holding the branch of the tree. It is also believed that as soon Buddha was born he declared that this was his last birth and walked seven steps and under each step a lotus flower was bloomed.

In the year 249 BC, King and Buddhist convert Emperor Ashoka took a visit to Lumbini who constructed a stone pillar and four stupas. It is found that Ashoka's Pillar bears inscription which translates as: "King Ashoka (Piyadasi) - beloved of devas himself has made a royal visit which being the birth place of Sakyamuni Buddha. As per the ancient history and beliefs even today there is a stone railing built with pillars erected in due respect to the God (Buddha) having taken birth here.

This pond where Buddha was given birth when emptied contained two perennial sources of water which were very deep. This one end where one of the sources spring from.

Buddha's birth garden had been lost for more than 1000 years and was rediscovered in 1895 while a archaeologist from German, came across the Pillar of King Ashoka which was then identified by it's inscriptions. Apart from this there was records which was made by one of the Chinese pilgrim Fa Xian which on identifying this acclaimed religious site. Lumbini is now a World Heritage Site as designated by UNESCO in 1997

Various other monks came to Lumbini for meditation and lived here and spend sometime. These are the remains found at the above locations dating back to various ages starting from 1st century onwards.

I have been having the most amazing experiences at every step of my spiritual expeditions... You can only understand them if you believe in them. Just the way I saw this amazing writing at one of the Buddhist Monastery - "The Buddhist way of life is a graduated path; it has to be followed during every moment of our waking life, to enable us to do this, there must be Sati or Awareness, constant mindfulness in all that we think or do or say. Religion is not for temple only for the Uposatha day (are times of renewed dedication to Dhamma practice, observed by lay followers and monastics throughout the world)... It is for always".

After experiencing a beautiful guided walk through of this divine land, we were taken to visit the Monasteries and temples which was being set-up by Buddhist community from different countries. It was scorching hot and after having experiencing the real divine presence, I was not interested to see the super-structures which is just an architectural splendor.

However on insistence from my guide that I should atleast visit the German Monastery which is supposed be the best amongst the rest. And yes it was truly beautiful as you see these intricate paintings in my picture…

And then was very happy to be dropped off in an exotic tri-cycle bumpy ride and retired for an early flight back to Kathmandu and for one of the most awaited destinations in my life which was unraveled not until before I listed this place as a part of my itinerary..

So stay tuned to unravel the Truth of Bhaktapur!!!

Nepal - Land of Heaven: Mountain Flight

noreply@blogger.com (Shree Krsna) — Sat, 18 May 2013 01:34:00 -0700

Mountain Flight to 'Abode of Gods'

The term "Himalaya" - a Sanskrit word meaning "the Abode of Snow" - was coined by the ancient Indian pilgrims who have travelled in these mountains since time immemorial. The Hindu pilgrim routes, the low valleys that abruptly rise up in high mountain ranges, the lovely trekking routes, densely forested areas lying just a mountain range away from barren cold deserts, and the lovely people of the mountains - these are some of the reasons why people have been so fascinated by the Indian Himalayas. To the Hindus this great grandfather-like figure has always been an abode of gods. So they referred to the Himalayas as devatma or God-souled.

Heaven of Spiritual Practices the western Himalayas teems with esteemed pilgrimages so much so that the entire Kumayun range can be called tapobhumi or land of spiritual practices. Where else apart from Kailash and Manas-sarovar in the Himalayas could an all-abnegating Shiva roam with his bull? Where else apart from Hemkunt Sahib in the Himalayas could Guru Govind Singh have come in his former sagely incarnate for spiritual penance?

Nepal Himalayas containing nine of the world's fourteen highest peaks, Nepal is a true Himalayan kingdom. The Himalayas cover three fourths of the land in Nepal. It is home to some of the highest, rugged, remote and most difficult terrain in the world. The world's highest mountain peak Mount Everest, other high peaks like Lhotse, Nuptse, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu and the presence of some very beautiful trekking routes attract hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world to this lovely Himalayan destination

I was all ready awaiting to board the mountain flight watching the beautiful Himalayan range uncover itself to the morning Sunrise which was absolute spectacle.. A sight beyond any words can describe here. It was like the joy of meeting your beloved and merging in Him.. I felt my heart beat going up by the min as we took off to get closer to the range . As I watched the Kathmandu Valley fall away beneath me, I was struck how green it was. That lasted just a few minutes, though, then we were into the cloud that had been holding us up for the past 45 minutes.

Soon after, we burst through the top and I looked out onto a scene that resembled white cotton balls, with teeth. This was the tops of the clouds, with the various peaks poking through. We headed towards the peaks, and gradually the clouds disappeared and there we were, less than ten minutes after take-off, gazing out onto the Himalayas. The stewardess, stopped to show each of us where we were on the map, then beckoned me forward to the cockpit. I crouched between the pilots to look through the windshield, onto a scene of pure rock and ice. The captain named one or two peaks near us then pointed ahead: "In front, that one, is Everest".

There is something magical about that moment you first see Mount Everest, or Sagarmatha to use its Nepalese name. It is awe inspiring, even though it doesn't appear much higher than the surrounding mountains. The history, the stories, the legends, they all sit on this one, glittering peak like an invisible aura, and I found myself gazing in a misty-eyed trance.

The pilot had obviously seen dozens like me and quickly asked me to send the next person up, so I retreated to my seat and sent the next passenger forward. Over the next half hour the stewardess circulated through the cabin, stopping with each person to point out which mountain we were passing, and which we were approaching, helping everyone to find it on their map and inviting everybody, one at a time, up to the cockpit to look ahead. This personal attention really made the flight so much more of an experience.

The flight from Kathmandu to Everest takes you past more than half of the ten highest mountains in the world. From Kathmandu we passed fourteen peaks before we got to Everest; of these the tallest are Dorje Lapka (22,854 ft), the solitary Gauri Shankar (23,405 ft) named after Lord Shiva and his Consort, the flat topped Melungtse (23,560 ft), Numbur (22,825 ft), Cho-Oyo (26,906 ft), Gyachungkang (26,089 ft), Nuptse (25,771 ft) then the mother of all mountains, Sagarmatha or Everest, at 29,028 ft. Just behind Everest, Lhotse stands at (27,940 ft) but them we were turning and heading back to Kathmandu.

As we approached Kathmandu, the steward brought out T-shirts for sale, which had an image of the Buddha Air plane against a backdrop of Everest, with the line "I did not climb Everest, but I touched it with my heart".

Suddenly the black and white vista gave way to green and soon after we landed, the morning cloud cleared and dispersed. As we disembarked, we were given a souvenir flight certificate signed by the Captain. Then the bust took us back to the terminal and I was ready for boarding my next flight to the Land of the God of Nothingness... Stay tuned to unravel with me the birth place of Lord Gautama Buddha!!!

Nepal - Land of Heaven: My first Impression, Swayambhunath Temple

noreply@blogger.com (Shree Krsna) — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:11:00 -0700

Journey began: My first impression as Nepal Welcomes & Visit to Swayambhunath Temple

I know not until a month before I was working on the itinerary for Nepal, as to why it was decided that I am traveling to Nepal!?! Then comes the revelation which hit me flat on my face, I was in tears and felt truly blessed having discovered the greatness of this place before I could visit. Let me unravel it to you as I proceed.

It was a very beautiful beginning of the winter morning seated in my flight restless and my heart beating fast as I took off to the “landlocked” country . As I exited the flight and made my way out to the immigration I was feeling very proud of holding an Indian Passport, when I got to learn that I need not stand in the long queue which was for Westerners and could go straight in a separate queue just as the locals…

And just before that as I walked into corridor of the Airport the first welcome board which reads: “Welcome to Nepal, everything in Nepal takes time, so stay cool and relax” they truly mean this and so have patience!!!

As I made my way out, saw my driver waiting with the placard to take us to the hotel and get started on the very crazy & packed itinerary drawn out for the next few days during the week. We landed in the back-packers hotel having no freaking idea that my room was booked at the 6^th floor and there are no lift in the hotel. With a great disappointment and expressing to the hotel management of not mentioning it on their website which is kinda deceiving. Nevertheless the hotel folks understanding my concerns then gave me a room in the 1^st floor. Feeling happy and relieved I was looking forward to the experience which was awaiting with its arms opened out to me

I got ready to leave with the guide who had been appointed to take me around for the next few days that I was in Nepal and give me an indepth understanding about the “Real Nepal” which is what I had been looking for!! He starts off with an expectation setting given the perception to him about my being a 'Tough' client to deal with;-p. For me I wanted to compact and compress the entire Nepal in those few days…

The sun had already started setting, and we started off to the first destination which is, A golden spire crowning a conical wooded hill, Swayambhunath Stupa is the most ancient and enigmatic of all the holy shrines in Kathmandu valley. Its lofty white dome and glittering golden spire are visible for many miles and from all sides of the valley. Historical records found on a stone inscription give evidence that the stupa was already an important Buddhist pilgrimage destination by the 5th century AD. Its origins however, date to a much earlier time, long before the arrival of Buddhism into the valley.

A collection of legends about the site, the 15th century Swayambhu Purana, tells of a miraculous lotus, planted by a past Buddha, which blossomed from the lake that once covered Kathmandu valley. The lotus mysteriously radiated a brilliant light, and the name of the place came to be Swayambhu, meaning 'Self-Created or Self-Existent'. Saints, sages and divinities traveled to the lake to venerate this miraculous light for its power in granting enlightenment.

Swayambhunath is also known as the Monkey Temple as there are holy monkeys living in the north-west parts of the temple. They are holy because Manjushree, the bodhisattva of wisdom and learning was raising the hill which the Swayambhunath Temple stands on. He was supposed to leave his hair short but he made it grow long and head lice grew. It is said that the head lice transformed into these monkeys.

During this time, the Bodhisatva Manjushri was meditating at the sacred mountain of Wu Tai Shan and had a vision of the dazzling Swayambhu light. Manjushri traveled there to worship the lotus. Deeply impressed by the power of the radiant light, Manjushri felt that if the water were drained out of the lake Swayambhu would become more easily accessible to human pilgrims. With a great sword Manjushri cut a gorge in the mountains surrounding the lake. The water, draining away, left the valley of present day Kathmandu. The lotus was then transformed into a hill and the light became the Swayabhunath Stupa.

On each of the four sides of the main stupa there are a pair of big eyes. These eyes are symbolic of God's all-seeing perspective. There is no nose between the eyes but rather a representation of the number one in the Nepali alphabet, signifying that the single way to enlightenment is through the Buddhist path. Above each pair of eyes is another eye, the third eye, signifying the wisdom of looking within which is reaching Enlightenment while two eyes denote Compassion and Wisdom. No ears are shown because it is said the Buddha is not interested in hearing prayers in praise of him. The painted eyes of the Buddha on the Stupa gaze upon all of Kathmandu Valley from atop the high hill, the view which is breath-taking. While each of the sites has a legendary history concerning its placement, visual prominence is very dramatic.

After my long day of travel, various surprises to deal, with respect to the hotel/travel organizers I felt completely rejuvenated after visiting the Stupa in the full moonlight. And ready for a very early aggressive next day schedule which was the Mountain Flight and off to the Land of the God of Nothingness! Yes, you got it right – Lumbini which is the birth place of LordGautama Buddha.. is Coming-up So Stay TUNED!!!!

Nepal - Land of Heaven: History

noreply@blogger.com (Shree Krsna) — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:31:00 -0700

Unveiling the The Land of Heaven which is blessed with birth of the great divinities of all times “Supreme Guru and the Lord of Nothingness” – A visual retreat of Nepal!!

History of Nepal

According to the Skanda Purna or the Legends mentions that a sage called 'or ‘Nemuni’ lived in penance on the confluence of the Bagmati and Bishnumati rivers. He was the sole advisor of the king. So, the word 'Nepal' was derived from the name of the sage 'Ne'. According to Hindu belief , the history of the development of Nepalese civilization and culture can be traced back to the Age of truth. King Manu, who is said to be the first King of the world ruled Nepal in the Age of Truth (Sat Yuga) and Nepal was known as the Land of Truth (Satyawati). It was called the land of solitary meditation and penance (Tapovan) in the Silver Age (Treta Yuga). Similarly, Nepal was known as the ladder of salvation (Muktisopan) in the Copper Age (Dwapar Yuga); and it is known as 'Nepal' in the Iron Age, i.e., the present age of science and technology (Kali Yuga). The kings of the Solar dynasty ruled Nepal in the Age of Truth. They contributed much to the development of the Nepalese civilization and culture. The fact that we still follow the Solar Calendar in celebrating festivals and ceremonies testifies to the rule of the Solar Dynasty kings in our country

The country, full of great forests, was the chosen place for sages like Kanwa, Viswamitra, Agastya, Valmiki, Yajnavalkya and others. King Dushyanta of India married Shakuntala, the adopted daughter of Kanwa Rishi of Nepal. Their son Bharat ruled over here. Then Nepal was called Mahabharat, and the surrounding territories under the sovereignty of King Bharat was called Bharat (now the other name of India).The Mahabharat range stands to corroborate this belief of King Bharat's supremacy. There are several references in the religious books of Hindus about Nepal. Janak, the king of Janakpur was known widely for the administration of justice. Some people believe that the Ramayan was composed at the bank of the Saptagandaki. Veda Vyasa was born here. The Vyas Cave at Damauli (Vyasangar) signifies this belief. Similarly, Biratnagar, the kingdom of King Birat is also mentioned in the Mahabharata.

However, in 1482 the realm was divided into three kingdoms: Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur. As a travel fanatic and in the quest of unveiling the Truth covered in this beautiful world, to know the real grandeur and glory of this Universe which is nothing but the creation of the Lord. I am on my journey of unraveling the Truth which is covered by the wonderful play of Lord and his Maya.

So now please stay tuned to learn more about the Truth of each of these significant places within Nepal and experience the divine bliss by getting teleported!!!