Brahmmani flies East

DATE: April 2024

The Shri Yantra painting finished and brought the surge of the dragons and call of the Creator. A friend's daughter's wedding in Thailand was planned since last year. It was a golden opportunity to visit another friend of Thai origin (befriended in New York) after 23 years. Also an opportunity to go deep sea diving and explore Thailand. And when one is leaving the country after 2019 (due to Corona), one wants to pack the most in one go. So the college time bucket list for the east of the earth had Angkor Wat and Bali penned in. The time I could spend away was not unlimited so it took me about a month to research and sort out my travels and accommodations for the month long escapade.

These are my friends from Kailash since August 2014! I had planned to spend the travel night in The Old Town in Bangkok (also known as the City of Angels) on 26 Feb 2024 so that we could take a drive around the river and take in the vistas of Wat Arun (Temple of dawn).

We found an old man with his Thuk Thuk and managed a bargain with his limited English skills, to see the temple from across the river. Half way into the drive we realized we were just driving deep into the city over flyways passing concrete building jungle, but we were having a breeze of a time to be worried about anything. And then we were passing through smaller older alley ways with street food stalls, most shops were shut and sleeping, and suddenly we were in front of the exit gate of Wat Arun from where you can see the temple. Here our thuk thuk driver met his friend who with a little bit better English told us a little bit about the timing of the temple as well. It was quiet and serene on a pleasant night. Some monks made their way out of the gates and we wished them Sawade kha.

After taking in the vibes of the sacred space and some pics we expressed gratitude for a comfortable darshan and headed back to the spot where we found him. We got off at the Democracy circle and walked around the gorgeous Wat Ratchanatdaram Worawihan. {"The temple’s most prominent structure is the “Loha Prasat”, or metal castle, so named as all 37 tops of the castle are cast from metal.

There are 3 such types of structures like this in the world. The first one was built in India, while the second is in Sri Lanka. Loha Prasat is the 3rd such structure and the only one currently standing." (more here -- https://bearducktravel.com/en/wat-ratchanatdaram-worawihan-en/)

Also the 3 storied sanctuary has 37 spires that represent the virtues of enlightenment.

The almost full moon added to the magic to the One Night in Bangkok.}

We were staying at a lovely boutique hotel called Siam Champs Ulysses which happened to be right next to Thai Bharat Cultural lodge which looked dedicated to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. It was closed when we found it on our walk back from our night out. We all were excited by the happenstance and admired the huge posters of the Freedom Fighters and the Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) standing along with Netaji. There was a lady in uniform amongst the men and we speculated t to be a very young Indira gandhi, but on research done today it is Colonel Lakshmi Sehgal. And on further research

"The Thai-Bharat Cultural Lodge (Thai: อาศรมวัฒนธรรมไทย-ภารต) is one of the most prestigious Indian cultural organisation in Thailand that seeks to promote comparative studies and exchange between Thai and Indian history and culture. It was founded in 1940 in Bangkok by Swami Satyananda Puri with encouragement from the Indian Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. The Swami Satyananda Puri foundation was established by the Thai-Bharat Cultural Lodge in 1942. The SSPF library today is a reference library that houses many old and rare Indian texts. The foundation is also involved in promoting work on Indian culture, especially on the Ramayana.

Today, the TBCL promotes Indian cultural affairs in Thailand and supports Thai and Indian students, studying both in Thailand as well as for studies in India.[1][2] The Indian government also provides assistance to the Cultural lodge for promoting Indian languages and culture."

from Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai-Bharat_Cultural_Lodge

Though first thing that had caught my attention when I had entered my hotel room that afternoon straight from the airport was an old monochrome picture of a Giant Swing. The caption informed me that the Giant Swing was used in a a ceremony to initiate people into Brahmanism. And then it clicked in my head that Thailand is the only place where Brahmanism exists, where Brahma is worshiped with rituals. This was a memory from the History of Art classes from college. A flutter in my heart and a voice that said - "but of course, where else will Brahmmani go but to and with Brahma!" I smilingly and silently paid gratitude to all my guides but was too tired to click a pic of the framed reminder of history. Down below is one taken from the internet and the study of this site enlightened me about the Triyumpavai-Tripavai Royal Ceremony - 15 days of rituals and prayers for Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma.

It is a very interesting read - https://www.thailandfoundation.or.th/th/culture_heritage/triyampavai-tripavai-the-swing-ceremony/

And I was lucky to find a video of the Swing ceremony which has been stopped for many years due to financial cost and fatal injuries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zwjTv4feNo

And another older one showed up with the Royalty but no sound -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeDbKXVxico&t=409s

Next morning we left for Hua Hin in a comfortable taxi and a quiet driver who endured our chatty journey. The country side looked like an extension of southern India in terms of the vegetation, with many beautiful Wat (temples) to cross. Ornate and shining. With huge Budha statues in the grounds. There were fewer mosques that looked different from the ones we are accustomed to seeing in India usually white and green. There's were more streamlined in structure in a sandy color and the gumbadh adorned with calligraphy in blue.

Dusit Thani in Hua Hin was our destination for the Wedding where we were greeted with Dhol and flowers, welcome drink and our friend's husband, the father of the bride. And just like that we were back in India dancing to the Bhangra beats :-D

We got dressed and got busy with the wedding celebrations. Admiring the beauty of everything and everyone around. The Mehndi ceremony with an open bar and dance floor situated right next to the beach. We started with Coconut water and went on to the yummy spread of brunch while catching the wedding family in between. Then we put mehndi for shagun (ceremonial value) and waited in line for the over busy foot massage very thoughtfully organised.

In the middle, one of our friends was on a work call so the three of us decided to walk to the beach. As we crossed the garden figuring out the way to reach the beach, we followed a path and as we got down, it opened out to a white circular platform which had an open faced shrine. It was not too big, but impressive and calling. I went to see who was sitting in it, a golden statue with many arms and then there I could see the 4 faces and 4 bodies of Brahma. Each arm holding something sacred. I went around in Parikrama (circumambulation) in full gratitude, looking at and soaking in Brahma and  elatedly smiling at serendipity - apparently a word born of sanskrit, and here is more (from etymonline.com)....

serendipity (n.)

"faculty of making happy and unexpected discoveries," a rare word before 20c., coined by Horace Walpole in a letter to Horace Mann that is dated Jan. 28, 1754, but which apparently was not published until 1833.

Walpole said he formed the word from the Persian fairy tale "The Three Princes of Serendip" (an English version was published in 1722) whose heroes "were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of" [Walpole].

Serendip (also Serendib), attested by 1708 in English, is an old name for Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka), from Arabic Sarandib, from Sanskrit Simhaladvipa "Dwelling-Place-of-Lions Island."

Attention was called to the word in an article in The Saturday Review of June 16, 1877 ["An ungrateful world has probably almost forgotten Horace Walpole's attempt to enrich the English language with the term "Serendipity." etc.]; it begins to turn up in publication 1890s but still is not in Century Dictionary in 1902.

also from 20c.

It felt like I was being reassured that i need'nt worry about being far away from parents and all will go as per Divine plan for my half baked travel agenda. There he sat with all his creation around him. There was Nandi and Ganesh statues as well. We soaked up the sea breeze and the peace and calm that emanated from the shrine which was just a few meters away from the music, which could not disturb the sound of Presence and the sea.

I saw a book in the hands of Brahma and decided to stop there for a few seconds more hoping to absorb some writing skills. This is another attempt at the difficult and time-consuming task of expressing the self to share my experience of the mystical divine love that carries me at all times and the signs it provides along the way. Forever expanding my knowledge and knowing. Sharing these experiences will spark the readers intuitive capabilities as well.

Hope you enjoyed reading about the first two days of my flight East. More to come.