“Agni I laud, the high priest, god, minister of sacrifice, the invoker, lavishest of wealth.” Rigveda
Agni: Hindu God of Fire
Agni, Hindu God of Fire, is one of the most renowned Hindu deities within the Rigveda. Fire is a central component of all Vedic rituals. According to Vedic myth he is second in importance to only his twin brother Indra, Lord of the Heavens, and is distinguished as the supreme director of religious ceremonies serving as a middleman delivering Gods word to man. Agni is said to be a divine model for all priests, mediating between the Gods and humans. Priests should aspire to mirror his image in practice and devotion as he projects a patient and dignified reflection. No Vedic sacrificial ritual is complete without his presence. Angi is often depicted as having either two or seven hands, two heads, three legs, and seven fiery tongues as he rides atop a ram or fiery chariot.
As oldest son of Brahma, Agni joins with Indra and Surya, the Lord of the Skies, in the first Hindu holy trinity. He is said to embody ten forms, the first five of which are physical forms, and the last five ritual forms: ordinary fire, lightening, the sun, digestive fire, destructive fire, fire lit by sticks for ceremony, fire for home worship, fire given to initiate students, funeral fire, and fire of the ancestors. Although mostly seen as religious teacher, Agni is also sometimes feared for his destructive capacities. He is priest of Hindu Gods and God of priests. Among certain Vedic hymns, Agni can even be portrayed as that as a Supreme God:
‘Commingling, restless, he ascends the sky, unveiling nights and all that stands or moves, as he the sole God is preeminent in greatness among all these other Gods.’
Agni is one of the only Vedic deities to be so highly regarded still into present day. All life’s journeys are presided over by Agni and end with Agni as funeral fire marks our eventual end.
Shiva as Nataraja holds the Hindu God Agni in his left hand
Agni is rarely depicted in sculpture as a stand alone figure. However, he is included in one of the most recognizable poses in all of Hinduism; Shiva as the Lord of Dance Nataraja. Shiva holds the a burning flame in the palm of his left hand. The flame represents the Hindu god Agni.
“Shiva returned and fitted the elephant head on the child’s body and breathed new life into the boy.”
Bronze Parvati statue with her sons Ganesh and Murugan 36″
In Hindu mythology, traditional stories have been passed down for generations regarding the birth of Ganesh and the reason behind his elephant head. Ganesh is the son of Lord Shiva, the Destroyer and Restorer, and his wife Parvati, an incarnation of the Great Mother Goddess, Devi. They lived high in the Himalaya Mountains, where Lord Shiva was away for many years at a time, creating, destroying, and preserving life. While Shiva was absent, Parvati became very bored and lonely, and her motherly instincts made her yearn for a son.
Legend says that Parvati decided to create a baby by scrubbing her skin with sandal paste and mixed it with clay to mold a figure of a boy. She used her powers to breathe life into the clay mold and instantly fell in love with the boy. One day, while Shiva was still away, Parvati asked her son to guard the entrance to her room and let no one enter, while she took a bath. Unannounced, Lord Shiva returned home and was refused entry by this boy who was a complete stranger. Irritated by the child’s insolence, a battle ensued and Shiva cut off the head of his young son with his trident.
When Parvati discovered her headless son, she was stricken with such grief that she threatened to destroy the heavens and earth. With the balance of the entire Universe at stake, Shiva wanted to console his wife and bring his son back to life. Lord Shiva and his troops set out into the forest to find anyone sleeping with their head facing north (the auspicious direction associated with wisdom). The first living being they came upon was a baby elephant and took its head. Shiva returned and fitted the elephant head on the child’s body and breathed new life into the boy. His wife’s reaction was one of enchantment and she declared this boy was even better than her first creation. They named their son Ganesh. Lord Shiva praised his son for his courage by being made Lord of New Beginnings and guardian of entrances. Ganesh is worshiped at the beginning of any new undertaking to reach success and a safe journey.
Ganesh Chaturthi is the celebration to honor the birthday of the Lord of Beginnings. It falls on the fourth day after the new moon in the month of Bhadrapada (August – September).
The significance of Lord Krishna is that he used his life to explain the great teachings in Upanishads. He taught us to remain neutral, live in the moment and celebrate every day of life.
Keeping in mind that Lord Krishna taught us to rise above rituals and take action; the best offering is to perform one’s duty by realizing the Braham within. Janmashtami is a day to reflect, calm the mind and feel a connection with Shri Krishna. Above all, the greatest puja is to read the Bhagavad Gita, sit in silence and contemplate.
Have a lamp and prepare a plate with flowers, fruits and sweets
Meditate and pray to Lord Ganesha
Light the lamp
Meditate and pray to Lord Krishna
Offer flowers, specifically tulsi leaves and light incense
Chant the mantra – “Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya”
Offer the fruits and sprinkle water on the Lord Krishna sculpture and Lord Ganesha sculpture
When completed, remove the fruits and offer as Prasad with others
The significance of Lord Krishna is that he used his life to explain the great teachings in Upanishads. He taught us to remain neutral, live in the moment and celebrate every day of life. However you chose to worship, Lord Krishna is happy with any offerings to him in true devotion. View a video of Lord Krishna puja.
Bronze Shiva as Dhakshinamurti, the south facing lord
“Salutations to Lord Dakshinamurti, the abode of all wisdom, teacher of the whole world, healing those who suffer from the disease of samsara. Salutations to Lord Dakshinamurti, who is the meaning of “Om“, whose form is pure knowledge, who is taintless and utterly silent.”
“I extol Dakshinamurthy, the handsome youth who has transmitted the truth of Parabrahm by silent speech; who is surrounded by a host of venerable sages as disciples, all absorbed and established in meditation upon Brahman; who is the Supreme Teacher; who displays the sacred sign of fusion of the soul with the Absolute — the joining of forefinger and thumb — the paragon of bliss; who has a resplendent face replete with the rapture of the Self-Existent.”
“May this obeisance be directed to the Blessed Dakshinamurti to Him who takes the guise of the auspicious Guru, to Him whose eight-fold Form is this entire motionless and mobile cosmos, manifesting as earth, water, fire, air, ether, the sun, the moon and the soul; beyond whom, all-pervading and supreme, there exists nothing else for those who truly search!”
“Let us Praise Dakshinamurthy, the Supreme Father, who is ‘having the Opening to Delight’, who Delights in the Self alone, who is the Embodiment of Delight, who is with a Hand (with fingers closed in the fashion of) Sealing in Brahman (as it were), who is the pre-eminent among Spiritual Masters abiding surrounded, by the foremost among spiritual disciples, who are Rishis resting in Brahman, who is a small boy, who is of the Form of the Supreme Brahman, and who denoted (the Supreme Brahman) by the Expounding that is Silence.”
“A young guru, imparting knowledge of Brahman through silence, surrounded by rishis who are firmly established in wisdom. Teacher of teachers, whose gesture signifies wisdom, whose nature is fullness, smiling, reveling in himself, I worship that Lord Dakshinamurti. Seated on the ground under the banyan tree, bestowing knowledge to all the rishis who have assembled near him… teacher of the three worlds, destroyer of the miseries of birth and death, I bow to that Lord.”
Bali….I was amazed that I got through India without getting sick. In my 10 years of 15 trips to India, I have managed to get a wide range of illnesses ranging from ordinary bugs to full-on, 105-degree temperatures. I dodged the bullet on this trip! I was amazed! I jumped on the plane to Bali and patted myself on the back. Well done Kyle!
“My favorite days in Bali are spent on my motor scooter visiting the markets and being invited into homes in village workshops”
After arriving in Bali I sat down to a nice dinner at a respectable restaurant then quietly went to sleep that night. I awoke at 5 am with an acrobat in my stomach. Yup, sick off the first meal I ate in Bali! That is what I get for counting my blessings to early! I spent the next day going through the lava stone workshops of my friend Christian, looking for quality Buddha statues that his family has been producing in Bali for the past 20 years. He consistently has the best quality Buddha carvings as well as the best coloring for the statues. His artists can produce any color or texture in the stone. Each year I have seen a consistent improvement in the statues.
On previous trips, I have always shied away from Bali style Ganesha statues. I was so used to the refined lifelike appearance of Ganesh in my travels through India, that the more crude Ganeshas of Bali did not seem attractive to me. However, this year I opened my eyes and really saw the Bali style Ganesh for the first time and I liked what I saw. There is a quote that I love about Ganesh; “If you take home a stone and worship it in full faith, over a course of time you are bound to see the image of Ganesh.” I truly saw Ganesh in the stone! His fat almost tribal qualities are a perfect variation to the Indian style Ganesh. As usual, I bought too many of them! I can never say no to a good statue! In roaming thru his workshop I was consistently fighting back the desire to sit down and go to sleep or just fall over. But I made it through the day…then on to Ubud, the cultural center of Bali to visit my Buddha woodcarvers!
Wayan with unfinished 6 foot wood Buddha statue
My favorite days in Bali are spent on my rented motor scooter cruising through the markets, stores, and back village workshops in Ubud. I must go to 30-40 shops a day. It is not easy to find quality wood Buddhas in Bali. There are hundreds of shops selling wood Buddhas however, over the years I have only found a small handful of artists who actually carve with a true feeling for the work they are doing. Two artists that consistently make beautiful Buddhas are Mr. Sayub and Mr. Wayan. Wayan and his son carve my large standing Buddha statues on a blooming lotus base. This year he has carved two of them for me. One 8 feet tall and the other 6 feet tall. The detail and time taken on the flowing robes of the Buddha set his Buddha apart from other standing Buddhas!
Sayub with his son displaying his unique Buddha statues
My other artist who I always look forward to seeing is Sayub. He makes small Buddha statues each usually with a very unique hand position. The thin fingers of each statue and minute detailing in the robes in my opinion crown him the current king of Balinese woodwork…at least for Buddha statues! I also managed to pick up some very large wood statues including a 7 foot Kwan yin, 8 foot meditating Buddha, and two other 7 foot standing Buddhas. After a couple of days of searching for Buddhas and cruising through rice fields on my scooter, it was time to return to the coast.
I noticed in the shops in Ubud that there was some new metal work in Bali and I was determined to find out where they were being made. The statues were of Hindu gods and goddesses in various forms.
The style was more similar in style to Cambodian Hindu and Buddhist statues with many arms and small weapons. I thus headed into Denpasar, the capital to check the markets. I knew I would not find the source here but I did find many shops that were selling the statues I was looking for.
After many questions to many dealers, I finally nailed down the source of the metal Hindu statues which I went to the following day. My search was rewarded and I choose some beautiful images. My favorite being a dancing Vishnu statue like no other I have seen before. The statue reminded me more of a Nataraja figure. I find it so fulfilling to start on a search for new sculpture mediums and designs and then achieve my goal. There is nothing like finding new artists!!!
By this time on my trip, I really needed a reward. I spent the past 23 days working, flying, scooting, exploring every day, and deserved a day off. I went to the quiet surf beach of Padang Padang and got a bungalow on the ocean and spent the next day surfing and enjoying the ocean and stillness. My body and mind appreciated the day of mental tranquility and relaxation! Here is a video I shot from my bungalow. Yes, it was paradise!
Then I was off to Bangkok, Thailand, and the last leg of my trip!
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