Monday, March 30, 2020

WAT TRAIMIT, largest (5500 kg) Golden Buddha Temple in the World.



VIDEO OF TEMPLE PHOTOS AND ASSORTED TEMPLE VIDEOS:




















The Golden Buddha, officially titled Phra Phuttha Maha Suwana Patimakon is a gold Maravijaya Attitude seated Buddharupa statue, with a weight of 5.5 tonnes (5,500 kilograms). It is located in the temple of Wat Traimit, Bangkok, Thailand. At one point in its history, the statue was covered with a layer of stucco and coloured glass to conceal its true value, and it remained in this condition for almost 200 years, ending up as what was then a pagoda of minor significance. During relocation of the statue in 1955, the plaster was chipped off and the gold revealed.
The origins of this statue are uncertain. It is made in the Sukhothai Dynasty style of the 13th-14th centuries, though it could have been made after that time. The head of the statue is egg-shaped, which indicates its origin in the Sukothai period. Given that Sukothai art had Indian influences and metal figures of the Buddha made in India used to be taken to various countries for installation, this suggests the Golden Buddha statue may have been cast in parts in India.
Some scholars believe the statue is mentioned in the somewhat controversial Ram Khamhaeng stele. In lines 23-27 of the first stone slab of the stele, "a gold Buddha image" is mentioned as being located "in the middle of Sukhothai City," interpreted as being a reference to the Wat Traimit Golden Buddha.
At some point, the statue was completely plastered over to prevent it from being stolen. The statue was covered with a thick layer of stucco, which was painted and inlaid with bits of coloured glass. It is believed that this plastering-over took place before the destruction of Ayutthaya kingdom by Burmese invaders in 1767. The statue remained among the ruins of Ayutthaya without attracting much attention.
In 1801, Thai King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I), after establishing Bangkok as a new capital city of the Kingdom, and after commissioning the construction of many temples in Bangkok, ordered that various old Buddha images should be brought to Bangkok from the ruined temples around the country.
At the time of King Rama III (1824-1851), the statue, still covered with stucco, was installed as the principal Buddha image in the main temple building of Wat Chotanaram in Bangkok.
When Wat Chotanaram, located near Chinatown, fell into disrepair and was closed, the statue was moved to its present location at the nearby Wat Traimit in 1935. At the time, Wat Traimit was a pagoda of minor significance (like hundreds of other Buddhist temples that exist in Bangkok). Since the temple didn't have a building big enough to house the statue, it was kept for 20 years under a simple tin roof. The true identity of this statue had been forgotten for almost 200 years.
In 1954, a new Viharn building was built at the temple to house the statue. It was moved to its new location on 25 May 1955; there are a variety of accounts of what exactly happened next, but it is clear that during the final attempt to lift the statue from its pedestal, the ropes broke and the statue fell hard on the ground. At that moment, some of the plaster coatings chipped off, allowing the gold surface underneath to be seen. Work was immediately stopped so that an evaluation could be made.
All the plaster was carefully removed and during the process, photos were taken and are now displayed in the Temple for visitors. Pieces of the actual plaster are also on public display. When all the plaster was removed, it was found that the gold statue consisted of nine parts that fit smoothly together. A key was also found encased in plaster at its base, which can be used to disassemble the statue, allowing for easier transportation.
The golden statue was discovered very close to the commemoration of the twenty-fifth Buddhist Era (2500 years since Gautama Buddha's passing) so the Thai news media was full of reports and many Buddhists regarded the occurrence as miraculous.
On 14 February 2010, a large new building was inaugurated at the Wat Traimit Temple to house the Gold Buddha. The building also contains the Bangkok Chinatown Heritage Centre and an exhibition on the origin of the Gold Buddha.
The statue is 3 metres (9.8 ft) tall and weighs 5.5 tonnes (5.4 long tons; 6.1 short tons). (According to another account, the statue measures 3.91 meters from base to top and 3.10 meters across the lap from knee to knee.) It can be disassembled into nine pieces. The statue was housed in a Wat in Ayutthaya until the mid-19th century, and its provenance from Ayutthaya excludes the possibility of it having been made after about 1750.
At US$1,400 per troy ounce, the gold in the statue (18 karat) is estimated to be worth 250 million dollars. The body of the statue is 40% pure, the volume from the chin to the forehead is 80% pure, and the hair and the topknot, weighing 45 kg, are 99% pure gold.
The Buddha is represented in the traditional pose of Bhumisparsha Mudra (touching the earth with the right hand to witness Shakyamuni Buddha's enlightenment at Bodh Gaya). The original statues of Sukhothai sit on a common pedestal form. The flame that crowns the ushnisha is an innovation of Sukhothai that symbolises the splendour of spiritual energy. The line of the hairdressing forms a "V" shape in the root of the hairs, underlined by the elegant curve of the eyebrows that join above the aquiline nose, all according to the prescribed rules. The three wrinkles in the neck and the much-elongated ear lobes, signs of his former status of a Prince, also form part of the code, as do the wide shoulders and the chest inflated. 













Friday, March 27, 2020

For everyone missing Travel - Aircraft Spotting and Inflight Announcements:



Due to COVID-19, as Air travel has come to a halt and Aircraft Spotting has become impossible in India and almost impossible worldwide, I bring you this VIDEO made by me showing a variety of aeroplanes, Taxiing, Taking Off, Flying and Landing. And of course with all the inflight announcements to give you a feeling of travelling!...
VIDEO:

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Most essential instructions to be followed during your stay at Kashi.



This is in connection with our recent visit to Kashi/Varanasi.

While at Kashi, we were instructed to practice five essential rules during our entire stay, which are mentioned in Telugu, in the above picture. These are the basic instructions to be followed during the entire duration of the stay and then there are many more religious practices, rituals and duties to be performed at the Temples and River Ganga and of course lots of sightseeing. This article is not about all the religious rituals and sightseeing but only about these essential rules. We sincerely followed these instructions for the entire 4D 3N duration of our stay, but for the last instruction, that is sleeping on the floor.

Here are the five instructions in Telugu and English:

1. నగ్న పాద పయనం – Walk barefoot

2. గంగా నదీ స్నానం – Bath in River Ganga by taking three dips.

3. విశ్వేశ్వర స్వామి దర్శనంస్మరణం – Darshan of Kashi Vishwanath and chanting OM Namah Shivaya

4. ఏక భుక్తం – Regular meal for lunch and fruits or light tiffin for dinner.

5. ధరిత్రి శయనం – Sleep on the floor.

We are extremely happy that we had a satisfactory darshan of Kashi Vishwanath four times and have bathed in River Ganga and visited all the important temples and places of interest in Varanasi and Sarnath.

And we have absolutely no regrets for additionally not having non-veg food during this pilgrimage and this is for the first time we skipped non-veg food during our outstation trips!

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Telugu New Year Greetings! - Happy Ugadi!



Today, 25th March is Telugu New Year’s First Day. On this auspicious and happy occasion, I Wish You All A Very Happy, Healthy, Peaceful and Prosperous New Year.
Hope the on-going phase of infectious Coronavirus disease will soon end, all over the world and will never come back, even if a cure is found.
All Telugu festivals (except ‘Sankranti’) are celebrated according to the Lunar Calendar and hence the Telugu New Year’s Day does not match with the Western Solar Calendar - a fixed date. The Telugu New Year commences from the next day after the New Moon in March or April every year.
The Telugu New Year’s first day is celebrated as Ugadi Festival. Ugadi in Sanskrit is Yugadi (Yuga+Adi). Yuga means Era and Adi means New, so Yugadi or Ugadi festival is the celebration of the New Year. Yesterday 5th April was the last New Moon Day (Amavasya) of the previous year and today 6th April is the First Lunar Day – Shukla Padyami of the first Telugu Lunar Month Chaitra Masam and the New Year.
Every Telugu Year has a name, there are sixty such names in chronological order. At the end of sixty years, the names would be repeated once again. The name of this New Year is ‘Shaarvari’ and this year would always be called and mentioned as ‘Shaarvari Nama Samvatsaram’.
In short, Ugadi Festival which is celebrated on Shukla Padyami of Chaitra Masam is on 25th March this year. And the name of the New Year is Shaarvari Nama Samvatsaram.
The festival is celebrated with great fanfare. Ugadi greetings are exchanged with all near and dear ones. Prayers are offered to the deities at home and blessings sought for a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. In the Puja Room, Kankanam/Talisman is tied on to the right wrist of every male family member and on the left wrist of women family members. Wheat grains placed in front of the deities are picked up in a small quantity by every family member using just three fingers to foresee how the year ahead is going to be for them. If an even number (Sarri) of grains is picked up, the year is going to be normal and if an odd number (Baesh) of grains are picked it will be an excellent year. Then Ugadi Pachhadi a unique drink offered as Naivedhyam to the deities is consumed. Ugadi Pachhadi is prepared using water, Jaggery, Tamarind, raw Mango, Neem flowers, Salt, Oma/Tymol seeds, dry Coconut, dry fruits – Cashew and Sara palukulu/Chironji. Ugadi Pachhadi has Shadhruchulu - meaning six different tastes that are sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, hot and saltish.  This tasty drink which in some houses is prepared as chutney is a symbolic reminder of the myriad facets of life one would be facing in the year ahead. Later, the festive lunch is a sumptuous one with some traditional items like Polelu/Bobbatlu. People also visit a Temple in the neighbourhood to seek blessings for a very good year. Either at the Temple or on TV one also listens to Panchanga Shravanam that is listening to the predictions for the year from the Telugu religious almanac which covers all people, occupations, weather, agriculture, calamities and so on.
New Year commences today for Karnataka and Maharashtra States as well. It is celebrated with almost the same rituals and fanfare in Karnataka as Ugadi and in Maharashtra as Gudi Padwa.

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

LOCKDOWN IN INDIA



Fight Coronavirus,
Save lives!
Stay Home,
Stay Safe,
With stacks of foods,
And indoor games!
Stay at Home to Stay Safe,
And Live Like in The Good Old Days!

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Shri Vishwanath Mandir, Banaras Hindu University Campus, Varanasi.



VIDEO:

Shri Vishwanath Mandir is also known as Vishwanath Mandir, Vishwanath Temple, New Vishwanath Temple and Birla Temple. It is one of the most famous temples and a big tourist attraction in the holy city of Varanasi. The temple is situated in Banaras Hindu University campus and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Shri Vishwanath Mandir is one of the tallest temple towers in the world with the Vimana's height being 253 feet.
The main Shri Kashi Vishwanath Mandir, on the banks of River Ganga, was destroyed (and reconstructed after each destruction) in 1194 by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, between 1447-1458 by Hussain Shah Sharqi and then in 1669 by Aurangzeb.
In 1930, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya planned to replicate Shri Kashi Vishwanath Mandir in the campus of Banaras Hindu University. The Birla family undertook the construction and the foundation was laid in March 1931. The Shri Vishwanath Mandir at BHU was finally completed in 1966.
Shri Vishwanath Mandir's construction took thirty-five years to complete (1931-1966). As I mentioned earlier the temple is one of the tallest in India. The total height of the temple is 253 feet (77 metres). Temple's design was inspired by Shri Kashi Vishwanath Mandir and is made mostly of marble.
Shri Vishwanath Mandir, although a Lord Shiva temple, consists of nine other temples within this temple complex and is open to people from all castes, religions and religious beliefs. The Shiva temple is on the ground floor and the Lakshmi Narayan and Durga temples are on the first floor. Other temples within Shri Vishwanath Mandir are Nataraj, Mata Parvati, Lord Ganesha, Panchmukhi Mahadev, Lord Hanuman, Saraswati and Nandi. The entire text of Bhagavad Gita and extracts from sacred Hindu scriptures are inscribed with illustrations on the inner marble walls of the temple.
Shri Vishwanath Mandir is situated 1.7 kilometres inside the campus of Banaras Hindu University. It is 3.3 kilometres from Durga Mandir and 7 kilometres from Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple.
The attached photographs and video are from our trip to this popular temple.











Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Temple Stamps Table Top/Wall Hanging Souvenir from INDIA POST!

This is a unique addition to our family’s Stamp Collection (starting from the 1930s!), a FRAMED Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Temple Stamps  Table Top...