Prahlada Padi

Prahlada Padi - School of Prahlada Maharaja. This is the cave in which Prahlada Maharaja, one of the mahajanas studied. It was indeed a very spiritual place. You can feel it when you go there. Inside the cave, is a Deity of 3-eyed Narasimha-dev. Two things interested me for shooting this photo. 1. The spiritual potency of this spot which mesmerized me. 2. The play of light and shadow on the stair case which made them look very beautiful.. This trip was the most memorable trip I had.

The Fortunate Stones

Atlast the photo of Sri Sri Radha Krishna-chandra's palace. I would say that these are the most fortunate stones in the world because they are serving Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Krishna-chandra. All the molecules shall be surely liberated. Touching these transcendental stones brings auspiciousness since they are always by the side of the Lord. Blessed stones. Shot in the yr 2007. 2007 was a break in my photography. By this time photography was still a hobby for me and I could not shoot many great photos during this yr; but only 4. And this remains the best among those 4.

Spirit from Stone

The Story of the Krishna-Balarama Deities of Vrndavana

About two A.M. I was awakened by a terrific uproar. All the peacocks in Vrndavana seemed to be trumpeting their piercing cries, producing waves of sound that swept across miles of holy land to the other side of town, echoing back and forth. I rose, dressed, and went outside to see what was going on. Lo and behold, the truck with Krishna and Balarama had pulled in! I was in Mayapur, in what is now West Bengal, when I received a letter from His Holiness Gurudasa Swami asking me to go to Jaipur to see how the carving of the twelve Deities for the Krishna-Balarama Temple was coming along. When I arrived in Jaipur, the sculptor let me stay at his home along with the twenty-five members of his household–three generations–all of whom helped with the carving. My first look at the Deities was inspiring. The two that were almost finished were good, and I suggested only a few small changes–a slight enlargement of the eyes and a change in the cheek structure. I was going by my personal experience. Indian sculptors have their own tradition, but much of it has been spoiled by years of catering to modern tastes. I was trying to stick to the old tradition, where the image is considered beautiful only when it reflects the meditative mood of the sculptor and evokes that same mood in the onlooker. There are also strict rules about proportion, but they are secondary. A small deviation in the rules can remain as long as the Deity has the proper mood. After instructing the sculptor on the few changes I wanted made, I saw two rough chunks of marble–one white and the other black–that were to become the Deities of Balarama and Krishna. I was spellbound. The two brothers were being carved in Their characteristic shapes, and just for fun the sculptors had put Them together the way They would appear on the altar, with Balarama’s elbow raised up to lean on Krishna’s shoulder and Krishna’s arms positioned to hold His flute. Enchanted, I felt I could see right through the white and black marble to the finished Deities inside. A few months later, after a short visit to our clay modeling workshop in Bengal, I returned to Jaipur. This time I watched the sculptors finish all the Deities except the one of Srila Prabhupada. The first attempt wasn’t turning out too well, so I asked them to start over again. Then I took a train up to Vrndavana to be there when Krishna, Balarama, and the other completed Deities arrived. They were being driven up on a Golden Jaipur Co. truck named “Krishna,” which I thought very auspicious. About two A.M. on the night the Deities were scheduled to arrive, I was awakened by a terrific uproar. All the peacocks in Vrndavana seemed to be trumpeting their piercing cries, producing waves of sound that started far off and then swept across miles of holy land to the other side of town, echoing back and forth. I rose, dressed, and went outside to see what was going on. Lo and behold, the truck with Krishna and Balarama had pulled in! The workmen who unloaded the truck the next morning were very nice. All day long, every day, they’d chant Hare Krishna as they worked, and when some extra service turned up, they’d do it for nothing. And although their supervisor was a Muslim, he was very concerned about the Deities. “Be careful, be careful! Don’t break Krishna!” he would shout, perspiring heavily. The crew of Muslims and Hindus labored side by side, loudly chanting as they carried Krishna, and whenever they put a box down, they would cry out in unison, “All glory to Krishna and Balarlima!” Next I spent about a month painting the Deities. The residents of Vrndavana soon learned about the new Krishna and Balaramma, and they would come to the window of the room I was working in to catch a glimpse of Them. But the Deities were always turned away from the window when I was painting, so the eager Vrndavanites would bang on the window grating with their sticks, saying, “I want to see Krishna and Balarama!” But they had to wait. When the painting was finished, I returned to Bengal for another short visit and then went back to Jaipur a third and final time to supervise the carving of the last Deity–Srila Prabhupada. The work should have taken four days, but it stretched out to a full month. Not only was the sculptor very temperamental, but on top of that he spoke only Hindi, which I can’t speak. Although communication was difficult, however, by Krishna’s mercy the work turned out nicely. Later on, in VrndAvana, I was painting the final touches on the Deity of,Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, when Srila Prabhupada walked into the room to inspect the work. “Thank you very much,” he said to me. “But one thing,” he added in his gentle yet uncompromising way, “the lips should be a little more pink.” I gladly changed the color. After so many months of giving orders to sculptors, it was refreshing to take orders from a pure devotee of the Lord.

A glorious mark for a beginning

The Law of Garbage Truck

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport.

We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!

The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.

So, I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.

Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so ... Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.

As It Is

I look at this photo, it just reminds me of only one thing - Srila Prabhupada is like this window which is between the spritual world and the material world. Just like the light which is falling on the floor, is the mercy of Krishna. It becomes more when it passes through the window of Srila Prabhupada. Isn't it amazing?

Shot at Srila Prabhupada's samadhi, Vrindavana during June 2006

My First Basic Interior

3D Maya Interior - This is my first interior art with basic lighting and texturing.

Change yourself rather than trying to change the world

Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a prosperous country. One day, he went for a trip to some distant areas of his country. When he came back to his palace, he complained that his feet were very painful, because it was the first time that he went for such a long trip, and the road that he went through was very rough and stony. He then ordered his people to cover every road of the entire country with leather carpet.

Definitely, this would need thousands of cows’ skin, and would cost a huge amount of money. Then one of his wise servants dared himself to tell the king, “Why do you have to spend that unnecessary amount of money? Why don’t you just cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet?”

The king was surprised, but he later agreed to his suggestion, to make a “shoe” for himself.

There is actually a valuable lesson of life in this story: to make this world a happy place to live, you better change yourself - your heart; and not the world.

Yam Shyamasundaram

The Deity of Sri Shyamsundar at Krishna Balarama Mandir, Vrindavana. Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Shyamsundar were installed by His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada had desired that Krishna Balarama Mandir and Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir should be a shelter for ISKCON devotees from world wide. This beautiful Deity of Sri Shyamsundar is one among the most attractive Deities on this planet. Their Lordships are worshipped with opulent flowers and on all festival days They adorn 3-4 new outfits. Very charming They are. This is the first photograph I shot of Sri Shyamsundar. After this whenever I have gone to Vrindavana, they don't allow me to shoot. :( I miss Them so much especially shooting Their photos. Hope in future They give me a chance to shoot photos of Their beautiful forms.

The Final Work

Sunset in the Spiritual World

This beautiful photo is shot in Vrindavana when I was walking and going to Vrindavana-chandra's temple in Chatikara from Krishna Balarama Mandir. This beautiful sunset only reminded me of one thing that deovtees in the spiritual world never mind for all these external changes. Their attention is just to serve Their darling - Krishna no matter whether it is a day or night. This sunset just initiates the mood of festivity in Vrindavana every evening... You can start hearing the ringing of bells, devotees moving around, shops dazzling, the echoes of mridangas and the beautiful soul stirring experience. It is just wonderful being Vrindavana and experience mystical evenings there. Shot during June 2006.