Once during his Baroda years, Sri Aurobindo visited a Kali temple on the bank of the Narmada river. Recounting that visit, he later said: “With my Europeanised mind I had no faith in image worship and I hardly believed in the presence of God. I went to Kemali where there are several temples. There is… Continue reading The Great World-Mother
Going through the pictures of some of my personal favourite paintings representing various Indian schools and traditions, including some by famous Indian artists, my mind started to wonder if these paintings have something to say about the past, present and future of India’s civilisational march. The result is this small tapestry that interweaves the pictures… Continue reading Of India’s Destiny and Indian Painting
The decluttering and reorganising continues on this space…. ***** Sometime back at the suggestion of a friend, I had expanded and revised an old blog post on Art Appreciation, for possible publication in a Sri Aurobindo related journal. The article was published in the August 2019 issue of New Race: A Journal of Integral Studies,… Continue reading Art Appreciation with Sri Aurobindo
In my ongoing ‘decluttering’ journey, I have decided to clean my blog as well. I have started a process of sorting through old blogs and will be keeping only those pieces which speak something significant to me. There is a lot of stuff in this space that I am no longer able to connect with… Continue reading Unearthing the Path: A Photo-Essay
On the occasion of Ram Navmi (re-sharing an old post) Ram – just the name calms one down. Soothes the nerves and brings tranquility. Imagine what love for Ram can bring to his bhaktas! There are many reasons to love Ram! Every Ram-bhakt has his or her own special connection with some special aspect… Continue reading Voice of the God…प्रभु अपने मुख से गायी…
Some posts must be re-blogged…this is one of them. On the occasion of International Women’s Day, I revisit and re-post this after adding a few more remarks and insights which I think make it more relevant. Maharshi Veda Vyāsa Once upon a time, long, long, long ago there lived a… Continue reading Revisiting a Book about 12 Women
Modern tendency is to depreciate the value of the beautiful and over-stress the value of the useful. Generations of Indians have been cut off from the ancient roots of their aesthetic cultural traditions, thanks to a mercenary and soul-less education. According to Sri Aurobindo, this situation can only be corrected if education can figure out… Continue reading Some Indian Views on Beauty and Art
Life, a field for progress. An actual, real, throbbing, vibrant, pulsating, living field for putting to real, outward test whatever little progress there might have been on the inside. Is that inner progress real? Life asks the question, we have to answer it. Mind generally has a tendency to enjoy processing various kinds of inputs… Continue reading Life and Mind
The intricately carved pillars lead you into the chamber of Beauty and Divinity. Beauty in Divinity; Divinity in Beauty. Your eyes want to linger on the details of the pillars, take in every piece of carving and beauty. At the same time the inner quietude pulls you in. Disciple: Is form inseparable from the experience of beauty? Sri… Continue reading Divinity in Details
Every time I find myself getting somewhat lost or scattered in the multiplicity of noises coming from here and there, I feel this deep need to go back to the basics, I mean the most basic fundamentals of the path I aspire to pursue. This is one of the ways I have discovered which helps me to re-gain my inner poise,… Continue reading Surrender to the Guru
First published in Next Future, an e-magazine of Sri Aurobindo Society (July 2016) “The first and lowest use of Art is the purely aesthetic, the second is the intellectual or educative, the third and highest the spiritual. By speaking of the aesthetic use as the lowest, we do not wish to imply that it is… Continue reading An Afternoon at Ajanta
Yes, nobody can take Him away. Nobody. “वो यहाँ से जाने वाले नहीं…हम उन्हें जाने ही नहीं देंगे…उन्हें यहाँ से कोई नहीं ले जा सकता है…” (He is not the one to go from here…we won’t let Him go. Nobody can take Him away.) This was declared softly and simply by Maniram,… Continue reading “Nobody can take Him away!”
