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Newasa - Encountering an unique form of Vishnu, and Sant Jnaneshwar

The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
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Faces in the Crowd - The man at ease, at Norbulingka

We were just entering the main complex at Norbulingka, when my eyes fell on this man....




He sat, absolutely relaxed, at peace, on a chair, his feet on the railing, keeping an eye on the visitors. We smiled and nodded at him, as we went past, and he smiled back, inclining his head slightly, just acknowledging our greeting. He was still there when we returned, and was just as still. 

It made me wonder if I could ever sit like this, so peaceful, and at ease, just watching the world go by. These days, as I rush around, with a thousand things to do, a huge event next week, this pic somehow manages to soothe me. Does it soothe you too, making you wish you could just sit still like him? Do you think you could ever be so peaceful? 

This post is part of my series on my #summertrip 2015, and I hope to take you along with me as I recount stories from my month long trip, which took me across the country. To get an idea of all the places I visited, and what you can hope to read about, click here.  
Related Posts:
  • The Himachal Series- 

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Location: Norbulingka institute, Sidhpur, Himachal Pradesh 176057, India

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