Meditation

"Meditation is the key for opening the doors of mysteries. In that state man abstracts himself: in that state man withdraws himself from all outside objects; in that subjective mood he is immersed in the ocean of spiritual life and can unfold the secrets of things-in-themselves. To illustrate this, think of man as endowed with two kinds of sight; when the power of insight is being used the outward power of vision does not see."
-Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks

God's Breath

In planning a yoga class for a weekend session at Bosch this weekend that will focus on The Seven Valleys and other mystical writings of Bahá'u'lláh, I came across the following quote:

O Son of the Wondrous Vision!

I have breathed within thee a breath of My own Spirit, that thou mayest be My lover. Why hast thou forsaken Me and sought a beloved other than Me?

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words

Strange Indeed

I'm currently reading Cannery Row, a novel by one of California's greatest writers, John Steinbeck. I'm finding it to be quite philosophical at times, chock full of interesting commentary on society. I was particularly struck by the following dialogue today.

"It has always seemed strange to me," said Doc. "The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest are the traits of success. And while mean admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second."

"Who wants to be good if he has to be hungry too?" said Richard Frost.

"Oh, it isn't a matter of hunger. It's something quite different. The sale of souls to gain the whole world is completely voluntary and almost unanimous--but not quite."

I must agree with Steinbeck that it is sadly true that we seem to say we value certain kinds of virtues in men and then define "success" in society by opposing traits. I wonder if it's always been this way. Should we change our definition of success, society must needs not always be this way. Though this passage paints a rather pessimistic picture, there's also a ray of optimism at the end.

Sculpi

If I had sculpi tonight, I would create a dolphin. (sculpi, for those of you who don't know, is very vibrantly colored sculpt-able dough that you can bake to harden into the form of your creation)
Interesting how that's the vision I got after clearing my mind in yoga class this evening.

Daily Miracles

"People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize; a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle."
- Thich Nath Hahn

Thanks to J for emailing me this quote, which I just read this evening catching up on email. Earlier today in the early evening I was walking along the beach to unwind after several long days of work. I walked along awhile, clearing my thoughts. I was starting to feel cold from the wind and thinking of turning back soon. Then I looked over my shoulder to fix my gaze and attention on the Monterrey Bay and at just exactly that moment I saw a dolphin jump out of the water incredibly close to the shore. My heart leaped up and praised God at the beautiful timing of this moment and my good fortune. This was certainly my miracle today. I had hoped to see a dolphin, but this was the closest and most clearly I've ever seen one from the shore.

Photos of the Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

For my reflections on the Taj Mahal, see my previous post.

Photos of Delhi

I'm gradually making my way through my hundreds of photos of India. Here are photos from our two days of sight-seeing in Delhi, the city where Nikhil grew up. To read my reflections on Delhi, see my previous post dated 6 Sept. '09.

Delhi

On Asceticism

This quote came to mind this evening as I was chatting with C and thinking about how attachment to ritual can hamper us from living joyfully, and that asceticism should not be confused with spiritual truth.

It must be remembered, however, that the maintenance of such a high standard of moral conduct is not to be associated or confused with any form of asceticism, or of excessive and bigoted puritanism. The standard inculcated by Bahá’u’lláh seeks, under no circumstances, to deny anyone the legitimate right and privilege to derive the fullest advantage and benefit from the manifold joys, beauties, and pleasures with which the world has been so plentifully enriched by an All-Loving Creator. “Should a man,” Bahá’u’lláh Himself reassures us, “wish to adorn himself with the ornaments of the earth, to wear its apparels, or partake of the benefits it can bestow, no harm can befall him, if he alloweth nothing whatever to intervene between him and God, for God hath ordained every good thing, whether created in the heavens or in the earth, for such of His servants as truly believe in Him. Eat ye, O people, of the good things which God hath allowed you, and deprive not yourselves from His wondrous bounties. Render thanks and praise unto Him, and be of them that are truly thankful.”
-Shoghi Effendi

Chennai and Marina Beach Photos

Around Chennai and Marina Beach

Mehendi

Here is another one of Nikhil's albums that documents the mehendi (henna) that Nithya (Nikhil's sister) and I had done on our hands on a Sunday afternoon at the beauty parlor. This is traditionally done in the north prior to a wedding, so you can imagine that as I was traveling around India I got a few comments, mostly from nice ladies at airports wondering if I was just married.

The guy who applied the mehendi did so using a paper cone like you'd use to frost a cake. He was seated, as was I, and bent over my arm and carefully created his own design in "Arabic" style on both my hands and in traditional Indian style on Nithya's. It took at least 30 - 60 min per arm.

Delhi

We recently spent two days in Delhi (and two in Agra). I liked Delhi. It also felt more familiar, more similar to my expectations for India's large cities based on my own experiences in Mexico City and Santiago, Chile.

It was horribly hot and humid while we were in Delhi, having just rained a great deal the day before we arrived. We were surprised to find that it was even more humid than Chennai, which is not generally the case. Delhi feels better organized and planned to me than Chennai (which doesn't feel at all planned in the city planning sense). It also feels more cosmopolitan. Delhi has lots of trees, lots of apartment blocks (there seem to be more than in Chennai and there are planned neighborhoods of huge apartment blocks with all the necessary staples located at close distance). The city has some stately boulevards, particularly around the embassies, India Gate, and the presidential palace and parliament building, that definitely give it the feeling of being a capital city. Shopping malls seem to be creeping up everywhere around and on the outskirts of the city. e.g., on the way to Agra we must have seen at least 5-6 new malls on the same road within a few short kilometers of each other, just outside Delhi.

Delhi has plenty of sites of historical interest. My favorite spots were the Qutub Minar, a tall brick and sandstone tower from the days of Mogul rule, and the "Lotus Temple". This is the local name for the Baha'i House of Worship -- here called the "Lotus Temple" for its architecture that resembles a lotus flower. An interesting fact is that the Baha'i temple gets even more visits a year than the infamous Taj Mahal. Located in a very busy neighborhood of the city, it is situated on a large and peaceful campus. Volunteers help ensure quiet inside the sanctuary itself. Let me tell you after spending two weeks in India -- quiet is a precious commodity here (in fact, this is the only place I found in India so far that is truly quiet). Like each of the Baha'i houses of worship, it is designed with nine sides. There are 9 pools that surround the temple that act as natural air conditioners, and lots of layers of nine radiating down from the lotus petaled roof.

We visited with some old family friends from the days when Nikhil's family lived in Delhi, saw where they used to live (for Nikhil from 6th grade through college), went to Nikhil's school and university, saw India Gate, Rashtrapathi Bhavan (the presidential palace), Connaught Place (a neighborhood with lots of shops and restaurants), Dilli Haat (a fabulous open air handicraft market that makes me think of Mexico City's Ciudadela), met up with our dear friend Neha, dined in Kahn Market...

But, as with each place on this planet, there are positives and negatives. Delhi has terrible traffic, certainly worse than Chennai. I also saw more stray dogs, more cows on the roads (heart breakingly often eating from huge piles of trash), more haze and pollution. Spending more time in touristy areas, we were confronted by more beggars and poverty... In particular, the image of a baby that was lying butt naked on the sidewalk as her father/some other man exploited her for the sake of panhandling in busy Connaught Place has been sharply burned into my memory. Countries like this one surely have good laws to protect children, but lack the infrastructure at present to enforce such laws.

All in all, it felt like a truly whirlwind trip so I didn't really get firmly grounded in this city, but I can easily imagine future visits to Delhi.

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is, as implied by its status as one of the wonders of the world, quite wonderful. No photo can do it justice. The first thing that struck me is that it is quite a bit larger than I would have imagined. It also has an ethereal quality-- standing there looking at it for the first time, I found it hard to accept that that this place was actually real. When you get up close, the detail work of all the embossing and engraving, the calligraphy, is quite amazing.

I was fascinated by the number of optical illusions: e.g., the calligraphy of the Koran around the main entrance, the size of the lettering increases as it goes higher up from the ground so that the size appears from the ground to be the same. Other lines making 90 angles play tricks on the eye as they creep up the side of the building, giving the appearance of a column tapering outward...

The perfect symmetry of the architecture is also incredible, particularly when you think that the Taj was built in the middle of the 17th century with old fashioned hand tools and all the drafts by hand. Everything aligns - the center line of all the buildings, not to mention each of the engravings and reliefs on each side of the door (all are mirror opposites of one another). At the time it was built obviously there was nothing like cranes so they used big piles of mud to move things around. Imagine seeing a big pile of mud for years as it was being built only to have it cleaned away when it was done and to behold this edifice for the first time!

In terms of history, the Taj was built by Shah Jahan, emperor during the Mughul empire's period of greatest prosperity, as a mausoleum for his most beloved of three wives, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth of their fourteenth child. According to our tour guide, before she died she asked three things of him: 1) that he raise their children with loving affection and not scold them, 2) that he not remarry again (he already had the two other wives), and 3) that he build an unparalleled monument on her grave as a testament to the world of their love. Quite the lasting testament.

The Taj used to be filled with gems embedded in the walls that have been pillaged over the years. Incredible as it is now, I can only imagine how breathtaking it must have been in its full glory.

If you ever get to India, I highly recommend visiting the Taj. There are lots of other historical monuments of interest (I also particularly liked the Agra Fort), though the city itself is not well maintained. Nonetheless, the Taj makes a trip to Agra more than worth your while.

Vocab Lesson

Here are just a few Indian English expressions that have caught my attention during this visit. I'll put the Indian expression first, followed by the American translation.

1. fly over = overpass
2. flying kiss = this is when you blow a kiss
3. speed breakers = speed bumps
4. anticlockwise = counterclockwise
5. bunking school = ditching school/class