Particularly the simple, unshakeable faith that so many people in India have in their Gods. In my solo travels in India, I have met some remarkable people who have pursued dharma with a conviction that acts like a lodestar for them as they navigate their life’s journey across the sea of samsara. As you scroll through the images, you will see what I mean!
The gentle Buddhist monk, whose light brown eyes crinkled and almost disappeared into his cheeks as he smiled a child-like mischievous smile.
The lady in a simple pink sari standing with folded hands outside the Brihadeeshwara temple in Thanjavur, her eyes brimming with devotion as she applied Kumkum on a Murti carved on the exterior of the temple. Seldom have I seen such serenity in a human face.
The old Varkari walking along the annual waari; tall, dark and strong, like a huge boulder left to bake in the sun for years. He has been walking with the waari every year for over 40 years and his only remaining desire in life was to die while walking on the waari!
The old man engrossed in reading the Dnyaneshwari outside the temple in Alandi where Sant Dnyaneshwar took ‘संजीवन समाधि’. He didn’t even look at me as I clicked his pic, so lost was he in the immortal words of माऊली!
All these people are ordinary people who chose to take the path less travelled in search of something that had eluded them in the course of their normal life. They all had one thing in common. They all led a wandering, itinerant lifestyle and they radiated a contentment that I have rarely seen in other people.
Perhaps that is the secret of inner peace.
चरैवेति चरैवेति! Keep Walking!
- Shefali Vaidya
