Tag Archives: hinduism This was my first sojourn into Southern India – and I was finding everything as different as it could be! I was travelling as part of a small-group tour. We had just spent a few days in Puducherry (see: Weekly Wanders Pondicherry) and had set out early one morning in our bus for the city […]  In the ancient Hindu holy city of Haridwar, on the banks of the sacred river Ganga, there is a ghat (set of steps down to the river) that is said to to have been built in the first century BC by the legendary King Vikramaditya. Called Har Ki Pauri, which means the feet of Lord […]  It was like fever dream! Anyone who thinks Buddhism is all sweetness, light, and Zen, hasn’t spent sufficient time in Asia. There, you will find many paintings and sculptures telling violent stories of historic battles between good and evil, and depicting truly frightening scenes from Buddhist Hell (eg: Two Artists; Contrasting Visions). One of the […]  India is a bundle of contradictions: chaos and calm permeate everything in equal measure. The sacred and the mundane rub shoulders. Think of the mingling scents of incense, cow dung, and refuse, and you might get a sense of it. India is never dull! Every time I wander Indian streets, I return to my lodgings […]  The Ganges River, known more commonly as the Ganga Mata (Mother Ganges), is revered in Hindu worship and culture. More than just a river, she is the embodiment of a goddess whose purity cleanses one’s sins: bathing in her waters releases the faithful from samsara, the endless cycle of death and rebirth. All along the banks […] |
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