Om Namah Shivaya

Om Namah Shivaya

I'll be grateful if you...

Aug 27, 2012

25th Edition of Shadow Dancing With Mind


Welcome to 25th Edition of “Shadow Dancing With Mind”
Well last week, my blog achieved another mile stone in terms of hits 1,50,000. This edition is in celebration of friends, who have helped me achieve this with their 1000’s of comments. This is also my Silver Jubilee Edition which, without a conscious effort on my part, has become more interesting, with posts about great artist like Paige, a great choreographer Pina. This also contains my labour of love, which after months of writing, collecting and compiling, I could finally post “A beginner’s guide to learning and understanding Haiku” which in my opinion has everything a beginner needs to know and understand Haiku...

Don’t forget to walk with me to Himalaya’s in my travels included in the end of this edition....
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Up, Close & Personal:

“Dance, Dance, Otherwise we are lost….” Pina Bausch
IMG Cursty Gaurdian
I love to dance, curtsy my Bulgarian friend, I came across this amazing German choreographer, dance teacher and ballet director of Modern Dance, Philippina "Pina" Bausch. I am celebrating her birthday is today (27th July) with a post which presents her works that totally changed the way I look at dance, as a medium of creative expression. I was very much inspired by Pina Bausch’s brilliance in ideation, communicating raw emotions as well as her powerful choreography.  Her representation of emotions through dance reaches deep inside and stirs the soul to new level of awareness of those feelings.

The beauty of the Lotus posture, the meditative outlook of the form and the light emanating from within this sculpture, created a Haiku like poetry about Spirituality which caught my eye, when I came across it, earlier this month. I decided to seek out the artist Paige Bradley and try to find what inspired her to create this iconic sculpture known as “Expansion”…

FEATURE:
I have been reading and writing Haiku for almost 2 decades. Many times I have come across friends, asking "what is HAIKU?" In simple words, Haiku is iconic and most famous poetic form of Japan, (Its also quite popular across the world, nowadays) which conveys a vivid image or a poetic moment within 5-7-5 syllables. I have been explaining through examples, personal discussions as well as through some of my articles about it. But I think to really know what actually "Haiku" is, as well as write one, one has to have a holistic approach towards learning it. So here it is “A beginner’s Guide to Understanding Haiku in four parts...


WANDERLUST:
After two years, I was again at Lord Jageshwar Temple, near Almora in Himalaya. For almost a week, the days were filled with moments full of Mantra Chantings, Vedic rituals and meditation. For me, the day usually started at 4-5 AM, going to temple after a really cold bath, for meditations and the aarti. Then in the afternoon or evening, going to the forest or sitting next to the river and meditating on "Om Namah Shivaya"...

WHISPERS: Some of my latest Haiku and Poetry...
Cherry Blossoms Haiku & The Old Man At The Ghat...
Click here to read more...

STILL LIFE:
Some of my impressions from a recent trip to a powerful temple of Lord Shiva at Jageshwar. Come walk with me into Himalaya...
Click here to read more...
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Hope you will enjoy this edition... look forward to your comments and visit to the next Edition... please click on the “Join this Site” button on the right hand side top corner to follow my posts on this blog... I will be grateful.
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Shashi @ Aug 2012
नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
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24th Edition

Aug 24, 2012

STILL LIFE: Lord Shiva's Holy place in Himalaya - Jageshwar

Some of my impressions from a recent trip to a powerful temple of Lord Shiva at Jageshwar. Come walk with me into Himalaya...
From Delhi, Jageshwar is reachable by Train up to Kathgodam.
This is the Haldwani Station just before Kathgodam, from
where one has to take a bus or as in our case Taxi for 6 hours drive
On the way to Jageshwar, one crosses Almora and Nainitaal is nearby...
Jageshwar Info...
And the Jageshwar Temple...
And the various types of colorful devotees...
This is an co-joined ancient tree, supposed to be Shiva and
his consort Parvati
The next day, a visit to another group temple...
And the various temples within the Dandeshwar complex...
A place to meditate in front of Dandeshwar... in the back ground is
another temple of Shiva
Jageshwar offers many small treks to temples near by... This image is
of a beautiful stepped farming on the way to Jhaker Saim temple
high on the mountains... would love to stay in that house...
The international gang at Jhaker Saim temple...
which we finally reached. 
Well there are many use of beer bottle...
The trek to temple is quite exhausting... 
Back to base happiness .....
This time, our trip to Jageshwar was in the auspicious month of monsoon
which is also the time of fare and festivities....
The local entertrainers put up cultural show for the visitors every night...
Another popular local temple - Chitai Golu Maharaj, who takes offerings
of Bells and written petitions to grant boons....
The city of Almora was covered in monsoon clouds... 
Finally on the way back to Kathgodam... to catch a
train to Delhi..
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ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya

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Where Buddha Attained Enlightenment

Aug 5, 2012

WANDERLUST: Meditation, rituals and pilgrimage at Jageshwar Shiva Temple in Himalaya


After two years, I was going again to Lord Jageshwar Temple, near Almora in Himalaya. This was all due to my younger brother Ami and my sis-in-law, Shweta's plan of conducting ritual (Mundan Ceremony) for their daughter Saanvi as well as celebrating her birthday, at one of the most powerful temples of Lord Shiva. For almost a week, the days were filled with moments full of Mantra Chantings, Vedic rituals and meditation. For me, the day usually started at 4-5 AM, going to temple after a really cold bath, for meditations and the aarti. Then in the afternoon or evening, going to the forest or sitting next to the river and meditating on "Om Namah Shivaya". It was an amazing experience as usual. And on the last Monday of Shravan Mas (Monsoon Month), the most auspicious day of Lord Shiva, we were able to do Puja (Rudrabhishek) for Lord Shiva, making it all the more uplifting moment for all of us.

On the other hand the journey was also about having fun, Ami's daughter's birthday, Mundan ceremony, trekking and party in the night with all 20-30 of our family and friends joining in, which packed lots of fun on its own.  And then there was trekking of 4-5 KM's uphill to the local deities as well as to the ancient and very powerful Lord Shiva's old temple "Vriddha Jageshwar". Absolutely an enlightening experience of connecting to Lord Shiva in one of the most holy places .... where each one of us connected to the cosmic energy in one's own unique way.

So here is the journey for you in images and hope that you also connect with one of the most powerful jyotirlinga's of Shiva ... Come walk with me....

To know more about Jageshwar Temple, please click here...


Rudrabhishek on the day one with my younger brother
The Shiva Linga is made of earth with Vedic rituals

Reaching Kathgodam from where we have had to travel
towards Jageshwar by road....
I hated to see the black smoke reaching out to the clouds...

As usual, Himalaya's too is not untouched by traffic Jams...

But then, the road ahead in the mountains of Himalaya is pristine...

The place where we all stayed - all 30 of us.
This is a view from the opposite hill, where I usually
ended up in the morning, after my meditations and early morning walks...

The most powerful Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva according to some...
Jageshwar Temple.

The villagers around come in groups, singing and dancing to offer
prayers to Shiva at Jageshwar

Some come in most decorated vehicles with loud speakers
blaring out chanting of Om Namah Shivaya...
View of Jageshwar town from Jageshwar temple ...
Next day was the Mundan Ceremony of my younger brother's daughter
Saanvi. We went to have a bath in cold running stream near by...
Here offering holy water to Sun God...
And the ritual and Rudrabhishek for Lord Shiva
The tallest temple of Lord Shiva - Dandeshwar


A time for meditation at Dandeshwar temple. 
On the way to a beautiful 4KM trek on the
mountains to a temple of Local deity... 

Well we all needed to catch our breath I guess.. a lovely place to sit..

And the Jhakar Saim Temple... beautifully decorated 
Rudrabhishek of  Lord Shiva on the last Monday of Monsoon
Month (Shravan). The most auspicious day for praying to Lord Shiva
On the way back, there is another famous local deity, Chitai Golu Maharaj
where people offer bells, petitions properly written on paper
for their wishes to come true...

Back to the Kathgodam Station, from where we caught train to
reach Delhi. Well Saanvi and Anumeha caught the ride on our luggage..

Rudrabhishek of Lord Shiva - After we finished on the final day.

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नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya

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The night Shiva Married...


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