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India Adventures

A Ganesha Puja was the culmination of watching the statue be built, sculpted, painted, and decorated in honor of the great remover of obstacles.

Maya and Sage in their festival attire for the Ganesha Day activities at the Penukonda ashram, August 2006.

A fire ceremony in the Baba temple to powerfully bring the Ganesha energy and qualities into us. Looks like that fire could burn a few negative karmas and clear a lot of obstacles on our path!

The special Ganesh statue is loaded onto a tractor for a parade through Penukonda (tradition is men only). Green, blue, red, and yellow powders were thrown all over everyone.

The parade included intense chanting, drumming, dancing, and lots of extremely loud fireworks. We chanted: Bolo Genesh Maharaja Ki…Jay! These Indians really know how to party!

Guys are jumping in for a swim! The Ganesh statue is lowered into the lake, where it will be taken out to the middle and sunk to the bottom. It will eventually dissolve since it is made out of clay.

Sage giving Baba a milk abishek (bath) 2007.  Golden Baba was new to us and got a wonderful abishek that day

Priests dressing Baba

Our golden Baba blessed us and many others for some good years.  When Maya closed down the Sai Shakti Temple in Grass Valley, CA, 2020, Baba chose to go to Jeff Bogart’s care in San Jose, CA

Maya and Sage in front of the largest Nandi in southern India. It faces the Lepakshi temple.

The Lepakshi temple is only about a one-hour drive from the ashram. This is a small part of the Lepakshi temple grounds. The temple sits on a mountain top that has been purposely shaped like the back of a tortoise.

This Shiva and Parvati carving, with a rishi, shows how exquisite the sculpting is all over the Lepakshi temple grounds.

Snake charmer on street in Hampi

A queens palace in ancient Hampi

Ancient Hampi dancer stone carving

Sage ringing a musical stone column in a Hampi temple. Columns are tuned to different pitches and musicians used sticks to play songs for dancers.

Maya with a stone carved chariot in Hampi
Ashram students singing in the Baba temple near the start of a 24-hour continuous chanting of Om Sai Sri Sai.
Some of our good friends, with us at the ashram. Back row: Stephanie, Maya, Sage, Alx. Front: Jonathan & Becca
Baba surrounded by prayer candles
A monkey family (notice mother and baby on right) hanging out on top of a new 40′ high ashram wall. Broken glass is cemented to the top to keep monkeys off, but they seem to be enjoying it.
A Hanuman carving in an ancient temple near the ashram
Colorful carvings at an entrance to the ashram
A village girl, with flowers in her hair and a little dust on her face
60’+ high magnificent Shiva at the Sari Palace in Bangalore
Maya and friends greeting a huge Ganesha at the Sari Palace
Bangalore – men are typically in western clothes, women in sari’s. Motorcycles are abundant
Colorful crafts-woman
20+ people happily packed in a very small truck
Rickshaw driver
Girl asking for rupees
Our luggage being loaded onto an ox-cart for our trip out to the ashram (just kidding)
A Bangalore hotel we stayed in
A view of the Penukonda Ashram from our apartment
An apartment building under construction. People live in the rooms that are completed, while work goes on
An apartment building at the ashram
Our good friend, Jonathan Rosen, greeting arriving ashram guests
Maya, studying in the temple garden
The hut on the right was the first ashram building.
Monkey on a high wire — one of their pathways between buildings
The ashram abounds with ornate carvings
Part of an ancient temple close to our ashram apartment
A sacred cow wanders in the Penukonda Village next to a home and an ancient fort wall
A new baby water buffalo is born at the ashram dairy
Farmers with oxen near the ashram
Maya having lunch with Becca and Stephanie, our Santa Cruz friends and next-door ashram neighbors
Sage and Maya in front of the Shirdi Baba/Jesus temple in early morning

Maya meditating. A 41 day process that required mantra, mala, and a few hours of sleep each day.