“This is the city of Gods. I am Shiva.”
“I am Vishnu. We stay in the City of Gods. The trees guard us.”
“I am Brahma. We are the Four Gods facing east, north, west, and south in the City of Gods.”
“I was born last. I am Gautama. We sit forever on top of Mount Meru.”
“I was a prince among men. They called me Siddharta.”
“I am Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, I am the Buddha.” (Temple of Ta-Som, in Angkor, Cambodia.)
“Some say those are the four faces of Buddha. The old folks know better: they say we are Shiva, also known as MahaDeva, the Auspicious; Vishnu, or Hari, is the Protector; Brahma is the first member of Trimurti; he is the Creator. Buddha? He is our little brother. Came long after us. He is the Enlightened.”
“The essential function of the universe (…) is a machine to manufacture Gods.” Henri Bergson (1859-1941)
Close your eyes. Slow down your breathing. Just for a few minutes. Garuda the sacred bird will take you to the forest of banyans where the Gods forever lay asleep and awake in eternal illumination. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Asleep. Awake.
Thank you for flying Equinoxio Airways. This is the last post of the summer. Barring any last minute mishap, we are flying to Paris on Saturday. Vaccinated, PCR’d, masked and all that. We’ll see how Paris is after two years. Travel and posting at the same time is near impossible. So there won’t be any posts for a while. Have a great summer. 🙏🏻 And don’t forget: 😷
Equinoxio 
Nice drawing and wonderful post!
Grazie Mille Luisa. Tout va bien? (Non posso credere estare en Parigi pronto) (Biting my nails…)
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Wonderful drawing and painting. So exciting you’ll get to Paris this summer! Have a wonderful time.
Gracias Rebe. I think I’ll believe it when I reach the city… Hope all is well with you?
Yes, it must seem like a dream, Paris. I’ve had a cold for two weeks that was pretty fierce, but I tested negative for Covid – Thank Goodness. Stay well and have a marvelous time.
Any cold right now can feel suspicious. Glad you tested negative. Did you get your shots already?
(Thank you. We’ll do our best)
Most excellent. Greet Paris for me too. Welcome to Europe!
Thank you. Not there yet. Of course the French unions have started a strike today. Welcome home.
Ahhh! Does it interfere with your plans?
Theoretically no. Fingers crossed. 🤞
Bonnes Vacances Brieuc.
Profite !
Merci. Ça tombe bien, les syndicats ont lancé une grève dans les aéroports pour fêter le retour à la normale… 🤣
C’est désespérant…
Déjà là à Roissy, il n’y aura pas de cars. Pour cause de “mouvement social”. Affligeant. Enfin.
Il y aura le RER et les taxis , j’espère
On verra bien. Ah! La douceur et le charme des taxis Parisiens… Et leur amabilité…
Penses-tu prendre qqs jours? Ça te fera du bien.
Oui !! Mais je reste en France 🙂
Aussi bien. Il y tellement de jolis coins partout en France. (On va faire un saut à Saint-Malo, patrie de mon père)
Love the quote. Travel well… ☺️
A very apt quote right? Never studied Bergson. I think I might buy a book of his now…
(Thank you) 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Fascinating post + quote by Bergson! The eternal mysteries of life endure. 🙂
They do. Thank you.
I enjoyed your sketches and wished more to have seen Cambodia. Enjoy your summer and stay safe and healthy.
Thank you. U 2.
A good way of expressing this. Enjoy your trip
Reblogged this on Indie Adda and commented:
Gorgeous sketches and awesome writing! Have fun!
🙏🏻
beautifully explained Guglu. Gorgeous sketches!
🙏🏻
I love the intersections of culture and beliefs. Nice to see some more of your work too.
Thank you. you’re only too kind.
Yes, “Indochina” is exactly that: the meeting of India and China…
I’m so glad to hear that you will be able to return to Paris! I know you’ve missed it.
Thank you Liz. Be good.
Ohhhhhhhhhh Paris!!!! Have a wonderful time. I’ll be thinking of you, believe me. The gods mean nothing, when it comes to them or Paris. Paris always wins.
Hi Gigi. Found your comment in my “pending” box. Sorry for the delay. And yes, Paris does win… 😉🙏🏻🌹
Wonderful history and art all put together.
Wow… Enjoy Paris mon ami!
Merci. Encore des “gribouillis”.
On va essayer. Je te raconterai.
Bon Dimanche.
Les “barbeaux à Brieuc” 😉
Bon dimanche à toi….
Bonne semaine à toi depuis Paris… Biz
Oh ho!! Contente que tu aies pu te rendre 😉
Biz right back.
Les premiers jours étaient un peu… stressants. Too much people everywhere, and the bikes and trotinettes électriques don’t respect anyone. Dangerous actually. But I got the measure of it. Avoid certain places. Will go to the bookboxes along the Seine in a while. Bon Dimanche Dale
Ouf… pas évident de naviguer à travers ces gens! Glad you figured it out and c’est quoi des bookboxes?
Enjoy tes vacances, et bon dimanche à toi, B!
Ce sont des bouquinistes qui vendent des vieux livres sur les quais de la Seine. Je les visite chaque fois que je viens. J’en connais même quelques uns.
clique sur le lien:
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouquinistes_de_Paris
C’est ce que je me disais mais au cas où 😉 C’est le genre de place que je visiterais aussi. Very nice.
J’y vais presque tous les jours. 😉 Biz
looking forward to seeing your Paris posts on your return! Please enjoy a crepe and think of me 🙂
I did and I did. There is a tiny crêperie Rue de la Harpe I’ve been going to for years. I already went. Paris was cold when we arrived, now hot. Extremes as usual. Masked people everywhere. And the threat of a Health pass to go to restaurants, museums etc. Problem is the French app doesn’t recognise vaccines applied in Mexico. Or in the US for the matter. Grrr.
Oh god that’s annoying. That’s something that would be so easy to do. I am jealous of you there in Paris 🤩
Macron’s handling of the crisis has been pitiful for 18 months. I may have way to generate a QR code… We’ll see. Only gone once to the Marais 😉. Off to the bookboxes after lunch. Take care Christine,
An illuminating narrative and images to illustrate. I studied the teachings of the Indian guru, Paramahansa Yogananda. I try to meditate every day. It calms and centres me. But I would love to fully awaken. Maybe one day. Have a great return trip to Paris. I’ve visited 4 times. It is a beautiful city, the ‘City of Light’ (La Ville Lumière), mainly because of its leading role during the Age of Enlightenment. Have a safe journey.
Ciompliments on your daily meditation. I used to do Yoga every day. Long time. Then I did an “astral trip” (found myself looking at my body from the ceiling. Scared the sh… out of me. Dropped yoga afterwards. I wsn’t prepared)
Enjoying Paris right now. With extreme temperatures as usual. Weird but nice.
Take care
Yes, I, too, have had some strange and sometimes unsettling experiences since I started out on the ‘spiritual path’ in 2002.
Good to hear that you’re enjoying the Paris trip. It’s very hot here in North Wales too. Stay safe.
Unsettling? Hmmm. 🤔
Will do.
U 2.
Je suis jalouse! Bon voyage et à ton retour!
Merci. Greetings from la Rue des Saints-Pères… 🙏🏻
Love your drawings and they remind me again what fun I had exploring the Siem Reap temples. Enjoy your time in Paris. Wishing you a safe journey.
Thank you. On all counts. Angkor is high on go-back-to list. Greetings from Paris.
Very jealous of your Parisian adventure, be sure to check out Shakespeare’s book shop. Wonderful post too well done.
Thank you. Havem’t been to Shakespeare’s yet. Tends to be overcrowded. And though there are less tourists this year, I can get claustrophobic. But I will walk by. Cheers.
Wonderful Brian I’ve been drawing with my grandson always so delightful and relaxing…arting is so enjoyable 🤓🕊hoping all is well with you and your loved ones ~ sending joy from the west coast 🌞🙋♀️
Drawing with the little one must always be a joy. Greetings from Paris. (A somewhat madhatter scene, but we will always have Paris won’t we? 😉
Hope the heat wave in Canada is over. 🌹🍷
The faces of the gods look so peaceful. This was like a brief meditation in my day. Thank you.
De rien chère amie. The sketching and painting experience were moments of meditation for me too. (Need to go back)
How’s the situation in the UK? Shut off most news. Greetings from Paris.
Love how you do the drawings. Also a great read.
I finally made my first post in 2 years.. lol
Enjoy Paris!
Hi Robin. SO nice to see you around. Hopping to your blog right now. All well?
Yes all is well. We even went to Our Banks, NC for our family vacation. How was your vacation?
Nice thank you. So glad you could go back to NC.
Missed you and see you are travelling, beautiful post.
Aum namah shivaya 🙂 Hope all is well dear friend.
Dhanyavaad. All well. Travelling does put my mind at ease, even if it is becoming more complicated. (I wish I could go back to the city of Gods soon) 🙏🏻
Nice progression of each drawing while complementing the story! Stay safe and enjoy your summer in Paris 👍🙏🏾💯✈️ (P.S. forgive me for the emojis lol…ever since I learned about them, it became of drug…I can’t stop using it)
🤣👍🏻🏴☠️🍷😎🐰🌹
Where are you? Its been ages since you posted something!
I think you now know where I was. 😉 back home already. (Saw your mail. Will answer soon.)🙏🏻
Excellent drawings and nice post 👍👍 Thanks for sharing ❣️👏!
Thank you for your visit.
Buongiorno 😉
Buona notte a te, cara “Simone”. Piacere vederte quà. (I must learn to write Italia properly.) 😉
Je suis bien en retard ici. 😉 Je sais déjà que ton voyage a été un succès. Bises, chér Mzungu. A bientôt
Pas de retard. La “maison” est toujours ouverte, la lumière est toujours allumée. Remets juste un peu de bois dans la cheminée. Il doit y avoir du marc de Bourgogne quelque part. Ou une bonne bouteille de vin. 🍷
À la tienne 🍷
Buona settimana 🙂
Nice drawings and lovely quote. Hope all is well, peng yu. Love and hugs to your family.
Kam sia Peng Yu. Likewise.
I manage to miss your farewell till later post dear Brian. How did that happen? I’m going to close my eyes now as well and let the gods you speak if whisk me away to Paris in spirit if not body. I hope you are having a splendid get away. 🥂
I am back. A month already but you can open your eyes and I will take to Paris. Post is posted… 😉
Ha how wonderful is it to return to your blog after an eternity to find your soulful invocations to our holy trinity! Enjoy Paris Brian.
Helloooo! So nice to see you “ma’amji”. The inspiration came as I was finishing the painting. Most people think the statues in Angkor Vat are Buddha, when they originally were Brahma. Then a bit of research to wrap it up and lean something new. I see you have put more comments. So I will learn more about how you are… (So lovely to hear from you again.)🙏🏻
I see from your next post that you are back from Paris!
I like your drawing! I also enjoyed your Lesson of the Gods!
Thank you!
Pleasure Resa. I stopped sketching/painting more than 40 years. Then took it up again. It’s funny how the hand remembers drawing and painting better than the mind.
(My pleasure)