STILL LIFE: From Budha's Enlightenment to His Nirvana - A journey

WALK WITH ME...

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After 7 years of making of the Shiva's Temple, based on the South Indian Temple Architecture - by the sthapati's (The builders of Temples based on Vedic Rituals and style) of Famous Madurai Minakshi Temple  at one of my friend Karuna's village, it was a pleasure to be there once again.... And this time it was to be socially responsible, as Karuna says... and we arranged Sangat Pangat event on the lines of the Famous Acharya Kishore Kunal, where we planned to have food with villagers without thinking about Caste and creed... and I loved it.

The Temple ready to be inaugurated by the (Then) Hon Minister
Sh. Shatrughan Sinha... 2007

Well I keep visiting that temple as being one of the person involved in its making, I feel great as I see the temple has kept up with the faith of the locals here who feel it to be a quite powerful in terms of granting boons. The native villagers, including the politicians who did win an election, after praying here say, that it gives what you ask for... 

As Usual, I take this image Buddha as it inspires me.. and the Guard there
asks me not too..  At Bodh Gaya.

So here I am, tracing my footsteps back in time and took 8 days out of my professional life to be here to visit the temple, Participate in Sangat Pangat Concept of Kishore Kunal to feed 5K people, at one place without the question of caste and creed, then move on to Bodh Gaya to meditate, where Buddha got enlightenment and then visit the place to think about life and death at Kushinagar, where Buddha attained Pari Nirvana ( Buddha died at this place, by such a simple way that suits such a great soul).... 

As we started... me along with Pratham and Karuna (Extreme Right) ... 

I also needed to do a ritual for my Isht Devi Durga at our ancestral place in my village where Durga Ji and Kali Ma have been around for centuries guiding all of us... So here is the story in images for my friends and family... Hope you will enjoy this journey and if you do see the images that touches your heart and encourage you to PRAY, then my job is done... I am sure that the moment any one of the images touches your soul here.. then you are blessed and lucky to have the blessings...

The Sangat Pangat.. (Community Lunch of all caste and creed) that
went beyond 5000 ppl that we planned to 10K. The temple is in the
back ground..

Karuna along with Achraya Kishore Kunal and other dignitaries..
Having food along with 10K people without the question of
caste and creed...

After all the hard work, it was a real pleasure to meet my old friend,
singing folk songs (Kirtan) ...

... and an amazing day ended.. on a high note of being together with
Karuna, Anjani and Pratham. and moved on to Anjani's village for
overnight stay ...

After finishing the work at the temple, the next day visited Bodh Gaya..

The Bodhi Tree.. where Buddha got Enlightenment...

The devotees from across the world.. 

Of course there's no other way to beat the perennial menace
of Mosquito's...  

Under the Bodhi Tree.. 

Picked up Aswani Bhai from Bodh Gaya, who landed there from
Thailand. I was surprised to know that there are 4 daily flights
from South East Asia at Bodh Gaya..

And the next day, finally moved on to my next leg of the trip...
This is how Emperor Ashoka spread Buddhism in India...
Stupa at Kesaria on my way to Village...

And my Durga Ji.. No one knows how old this Durga Ji is...
The structure is new covering her...

And my long standing wish to do this ritual prayers.. 

And Kali ma at our fields.. where the Ashram is going to come up..

And the Ashram Gang... at Kali Temple...

Kushinagar.. Maha Parinirvana Temple... 

The beauty of Lord Buddha is the serenity .....

And the fare well to my village finally... 

On the way, you see the most majestic sights of Himalaya..
Mt. Everest.. Mt. Kailash.. A perfect ending to a perfect trip....

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Shashi

ॐ नमः शिवाय

Om Namah Shivaya

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  Chennai Light House

WHISPERS: Buddha Song...

This is a collection inspired by my recent visit to Bodh Gaya in India – This is the place where Buddha attained enlightenment, while meditating under a Boddhi Tree, almost 2600 years ago. (If you would like to walk with me in those footsteps of Buddha, please click here...)

Sitting under that Boddhi Tree, I had some thoughts about love, life and living. The Haiku below are some of those expressions. The longer verse ‘Buddha Song’ is entwined echoes of two different feelings that played within me... at the time

Some flowers, flower

Too late

Buddha passes by, in living

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Buddha: in love, there is suffering

Suffering: in Buddha, there is love

Love: in Suffering, there is Buddha

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In ocean of life, waves upon waves

Form & unform, Birth and death

Water remains, still like Buddha smile

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BUDDHA SONG

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Silence precipitated in winter mist

All around the Boddhi tree

The dark haze of emptiness

Softened the foot falls of

Falling leaves

To know the reality of being

Buddha emptied himself

Of all knowing

As my longing rose up to merge

With darkening horizon of her passions

A red sun, sets

The roots creep up to the lonely figure,

Sitting within echoes of his past, and bit by little bit

Sucked out the memories of love and suffering

The lotus flowered from the stillness of pond

Boddhi tree unfurled fresh leaves of

Living, fluttering aimlessly

Among the cold stars

Milky Way is not a path

Her soft pearls of laughter lay scattered

In the withering night, bouncing off from

My earthly desires

Universe unfolded itself

Descending from the heavens to earth

Frail branches wove into the cosmic fibre

And the lightning struck as Buddha smiled

Somewhere, in the stillness of the pond

Lotus flower wonders

What life is, if not nothing?

An emptiness of living without flowering

Soul flowers

When lips whisper

Love

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Shashi @ 2011

This is submitted to dVerse Poets Open Link Night WK 21, if you would like to read really some great talented poets as well as add your own, please click here....

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ॐ नमः शिवाय

Om Namah Shivaya

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Sighs

STILL LIFE : Where Buddha attained Enlightenment - BODH GAYA

Come walk with me to Bodh Gaya, where Buddha attained enlightenment

Recently, I have traveled to Patna for one of my Interior Projects. Bodh Gaya is the most revered holy sites associated with Buddha, the place where Prince Siddhartha attained enlightenment. Since I have special affinity for the thoughts of Buddha from childhood, (I was born in Kushinagar Distt in Uttar Pradesh INDIA – where Lord Buddha attained Nirvana - click here to journey with me to that place as well...) I enjoyed the powerful spiritual energy that permeates in each and everything in and around the temple.  Specially, sitting under the Boddhi Tree in meditation, was a serene and spiritually uplifting experience. 

I have been fortunate enough to travel to most of the places associated with Buddha in India as well as some of the powerful temples in South East Asia but Bodh Gaya makes me feel more at peace with myself, whenever I have had visited. After reading one beautiful book by Thich Nhat Hanh (Old Path, White Clouds), I have had developed a sense of deep devotion and understanding about this place. This time, I thought of capturing those moments of bliss and share with a hope that the spiritual energy reach my friends. So here I am with my impressions from the journey... Hope you will enjoy them.

But before that here is a brief History about Bodh Gaya...

Brief History about Bodh Gaya 

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According to Buddhist traditions, circa 500 BC Prince Gautama Siddhartha, wandering as an ascetic, reached the sylvan banks of Falgu River, near the city of Gaya. There he sat in meditation under a bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa). After three days and three nights of meditation, Siddharta claimed to have attained enlightenment and insight, and the answers that he had sought. He then spent seven weeks at seven different spots in the vicinity meditating and considering his experience. After seven weeks, he travelled to Sarnath, where he began teaching Buddhism.

It is believed that 250 years after the Enlightenment of the Buddha, Emperor Asoka visited Bodh Gaya. He is considered to be the founder of the original Mahabodhi temple. It consisted of an elongated spire crowned by a miniature stupa and a chhatravali on a platform. A double flight of steps led up to the platform and the upper sanctum. The mouldings on the spire contained Buddha images in niches. Some historians believe that the temple was constructed or renovated in the 1st century during the Kushan period. With the decline of Buddhism in India, the temple was abandoned and forgotten, buried under layers of soil and sand.

The temple was later restored by Sir Alexander Cunningham in the late 19th century. In 1883, Cunningham along with J. D. Beglar and Dr Rajendralal Miitra painstakingly excavated the site. Extensive renovation work was carried out to restore Bodh Gaya to its former glory.

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Text from Wikipedia – Click here to read

The journey started with a morning bath at Holy Ganges at Patna

The journey along with winding road in the country side,  was as
refreshing as the early morning bath at Holy Ganges

The morning winter sun rays were inviting to soak in the warmth...

After 3 hours of journey, I finally reached the Falguni river, along
side Gaya and Bodh Gaya

The path to the entrance of Maha Bodhi Temple was lined
up with Shops selling souvenirs 

Maha Bodhi Temple greets you with one of the most beautiful
Buddha statues, I have ever seen. Notice the crystal cup in the lap...

This is the direct descendant of the Bodhi Tree, under which
Prince Siddhartha attained enlightenment around 2600 years
ago. The environment here pulsates with spiritual energy...

This is the exact place - The diamond throne, where Buddha
sat down in deep meditation and attained Buddhahood...

After hours of meditation, I had to reluctantly leave the place
in order to get back to Patna... to catch early morning flight to Delhi

It was a beautiful moment, when this group of Thai Women sat
around the place where I was sitting in meditation, chanting mantras

Around the Maha Bodhi temple, there are place, where Buddha sat
in meditation for weeks together, after his enlightenment. A perfect place
for the monks and people to perform rituals and meditate.... 

Every one has their own way of worship and rituals, here some are
reading and Chanting Mantra...

Some are performing specific rituals - Kind of Surya Namaskar...

.... and some are away from this physical world, in realms of
their own spiritual bliss 

An afternoon relaxation and food; some take their time out to connect
to the world they have left behind... 

All over the place, there is deep spiritual connection ... trying to find that
enlightening spark, that changes the way we look at living...

Finally sun sets down at Maha Bodhi Temple... for
the day, time for me to leave too, with a promise to
be back soon....

To celebrate this journey and this beautiful sunset at
Bodh Gaya, here is one of my Haiku...
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Buddha waits within,
In ignorance, we run around
Looking for him
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@Shashi

To know more about thoughts and philosophy of Buddhism, read "Old Path White Clouds" which I have featured here at my blog, Click here....
Its one of the most comprehensive books on Buddha, I have read, written by a great spiritual Buddhist Monk, Thich Nhat Hanh.

Hope you have enjoyed this journey with me.... 
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ॐ नमः शिवाय 

Om Namah Shivaya

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Searching for spirituality - Varanasi