The Journey Home to Jaffna, Sri Lanka
May 15, 2011 • Photography & Travel
Jaffna has played home to my ancestors for as long as my family can remember and it is also home to my family’s guru lineage. I have never had the privilege to visit this land. Sadly, it has been ravaged by 28 years of civil war and it was not until 2009 that this war ended allowing people like myself to visit in a safe way.
I will share in the blog posts to come my experiences in tracing family and spiritual roots and the many surprising and wonderful things that I discovered along the way with regards to this, my encounters with people who have so much to give even after having lost everything in the war, smiling orphans, courageous elders with hope in their eyes and God in their hearts, and a land soaked with spirituality.
Jaffna, is truly home to me, if not on paper then in heart and soul.
Standing in front of the Shanti Lingam Temple in Kopay, Jaffna, Sri Lanka
The Shanti Lingam temple was built by Rishi Thondunathan and his parents and is part of Subramuniya Kottam in Kopay (located approximately 4 km from the town of Jaffna). My guru, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami gifted and personally installed the Siva Lingam in the sanctum of this temple. This small colorful temple has a strong peaceful vibration to it and is surrounded by trees in a village setting.
Joyous Children
Today I thought I’d share some images that I photographed of smiling and laughing children during my many travels to India. These pictures remind me of my favorite quote from my guru, Gurudeva Subramuniyaswami: “Life is meant to be lived joyously.” Whether you are going through a challenging time...
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The Colored Sand Makers of Tamil Nadu
It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of my photography posts. As many of you know I am passionate about photography. During a recent trip to South India in December last year I drove past a small village in Tamil Nadu, South India, where it looked like the main industry here was making…
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I recently posted about giving a keynote at the 2017 World Knowledge Forum in Seoul, South Korea. Once that event concluded, I spent a couple extra days exploring this wonderful city. I’m particularly drawn to historical sites and spent most of my time exploring a few of the main palaces wi...
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I hope to share with you, once or twice a month, one of my passions — photography. I believe it’s so important to make time in life for what you love and who you love. I love photography and always do my best to integrate it into my travels around the world. I’m currently in&hel...
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